About Ascend:
Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a dynamic platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while accessing the resources of a Top 25 firm to help them grow. Ascend provides access to growth capital, robust talent acquisition and training, leading quality management resources, best-of-breed technology, AI tools, an offshore captive, shared back-office services, a catalytic leadership system, and modernized equity incentives so that firms can surmount today’s industry challenges to reach their full potential. For more information, visit www.ascendtogether.com.
About MGA
Miller Grossbard Advisors, LLP (“MGA”) is a Houston-based accounting and advisory firm serving privately held businesses, their owners, and other organizations. Since 1991, MGA has provided assurance, tax, business advisory, valuation, family office, succession planning, transaction, and other specialized services.
Our relationship-driven culture encourages independent thinking, professional growth, collaboration, and practical solutions that create lasting value for clients.
The Opportunity
MGA is seeking an experienced Assurance Manager or Senior Manager to lead assurance engagements, develop client relationships, mentor professionals, and contribute to the continued growth of the Assurance practice.
The ideal candidate has strong public accounting experience and meaningful audit experience in at least one of the following industries:
- Oil and gas exploration and production; or
- Medical practices, physician groups, and healthcare service organizations.
This highly visible role offers direct access to firm leadership, meaningful responsibility, and the opportunity to help shape the continued growth of MGA’s Assurance practice.
Core Responsibilities
Engagement and Technical Leadership
- Lead multiple audits, reviews, compilations, and other assurance engagements from planning through financial statement issuance.
- Set the engagement strategy, assess risk, determine staffing and timelines, monitor progress, and resolve issues in consultation with partners and clients.
- Review workpapers, financial statements, disclosures, technical memoranda, proposed adjustments, and required communications for quality and compliance with professional standards.
- Manage engagement economics, including budgets, scheduling, realization, billing, and collections.
- Research and communicate complex accounting, auditing, and financial reporting matters in clear, practical language.
- Support quality-management initiatives, inspections, peer review preparation, standardized tools, and process improvements.
Client Relationship Management
- Serve as the primary day-to-day contact for assigned clients and build trusted relationships with owners, executives, finance teams, physicians, administrators, and boards or committees.
- Lead planning, status, and results meetings; communicate findings, adjustments, internal-control observations, and information needs promptly.
- Develop a strong understanding of each client’s business and provide practical recommendations that balance technical requirements with operational realities.
- Identify opportunities to connect clients with other relevant MGA services and resources.
Team Leadership and Practice Development
- Supervise, coach, and develop assurance seniors and staff through clear expectations, timely feedback, performance discussions, and training.
- Promote accountability, collaboration, professional judgment, responsiveness, and continuous improvement.
- Participate in recruiting, onboarding, retention, staff deployment, and other people-development initiatives.
- Contribute to practice growth through client development, proposals, referrals, networking, cross-serving, and community involvement appropriate to experience level.
- For Senior Manager candidates, assume greater responsibility for client portfolio management, technical consultation, staffing, succession planning, and practice strategy.
Industry Experience
Candidates should bring hands-on audit experience in oil and gas or healthcare. Relevant experience may include the following:
Oil and Gas
- Full cost or successful efforts accounting; capitalization, depletion, ceiling tests or impairment, reserve information, and asset retirement obligations.
- Revenue, joint-interest arrangements, derivatives, acquisitions and divestitures, operator/nonoperator accounting, and related financial statement disclosures.
Medical Practices and Healthcare
- Patient service revenue, third-party payor arrangements, contractual allowances, receivable valuation, revenue-cycle controls, and physician compensation.
- Practice acquisitions and ownership structures, related-party matters, contingencies, regulatory considerations, estimates, and healthcare disclosures.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field and an active CPA license in good standing.
- Progressive public accounting assurance experience, including current or recent Manager, Senior Manager, Director, or equivalent responsibility.
- Demonstrated ability to manage engagements from planning through issuance and supervise multiple teams, deadlines, budgets, and client expectations.
- Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP, generally accepted auditing standards, SSARS, and financial statement presentation and disclosure requirements.
- Meaningful audit experience in oil and gas exploration and production or medical practices and healthcare services.
- Strong written and verbal communication, project-management, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work in the Houston area and travel to client locations as engagement needs require.
Preferred Qualifications
- Approximately eight or more years of progressive public accounting assurance experience, including meaningful manager-level responsibility.
- Experience with privately held, owner-managed, or middle-market businesses and responsibility for client portfolios and engagement profitability.
- Experience with business development, referrals, cross-serving, quality-management activities, audit technology, or data analytics.
- Experience in both target industries, established Houston-area relationships, or interest in long-term practice leadership or partnership.
At Ascend, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Ascend hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.
