As an Employee Benefits Plan Audit Senior Associate, you’ll listen to learn about your client’s plan and the risks they face, and then apply that knowledge to focus on what matters most — all with the resources, environment and support to help you excel. You’ll build relationships with your clients and your engagement team while working collaboratively to improve the client’s overall financial reporting processes and help them better understand their plan processes and areas of risk.
From day one, you’ll be empowered with access to firm leaders and mentors, training programs, resource groups, team-based communities, and growth opportunities to help you develop your career and achieve more, confidently.
Your day-to-day may include:
Auditing defined contribution pension plans, defined benefit pension plans, and health and welfare plans
Overseeing multiple client engagements as the in-charge, including staffing, while managing the budget
Working with clients and audit teams to identify and promptly resolve audit and plan related issues and make recommendations for operational or internal control improvements
Training and supervising less experienced team members and providing consistent, regular feedback
Building your technical and professional skills through formal training
Working at a client site, with your team in the office or remotely. We empower teams to listen first to expectations of clients and teammates; then you and your team can determine when and where to work. No matter when or where, you will have the support you need to thrive
Representing Grant Thornton at recruiting and professional networking events
Other duties as assigned
You have the following technical skills and qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in accounting, economics, finance, mathematics, or related disciplines
Minimum of three years of progressive audit experience in a mid-sized to large public accounting firm or equivalent, and well versed in an array of plan types (DC, DB, HW, ESOP)
Meeting education requirements for CPA certification in the state where you are applying for employment
Analytical, technical, and auditing skills, including proficiency in US GAAP, GAAS, and PCAOB rules and standards
Advanced knowledge of employee benefits laws, ERISA laws, and regulations, Internal Revenue Code and regulations, compliance, and resolution programs
Can manage multiple engagements and competing priorities
Value teamwork, are agile and know the power of building strong relationships
Can travel as needed
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
The pay range for this role in Illinois only is: $80,000-120,000k.
At Grant Thornton, we believe in making business more personal and building trust into every result – for our clients and you. Here, we go beyond your expectations of a career in professional services by offering a career path with more: more opportunity, more flexibility, and more support. It’s what makes us different, and we think being different makes us better.
In the U.S., Grant Thornton delivers professional services through two specialized entities: Grant Thornton LLP, a licensed, certified public accounting (CPA) firm that provides audit and assurance services ― and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC (not a licensed CPA firm), which exclusively provides non-attest offerings, including tax and advisory services.
In 2025, Grant Thornton formed a multinational, multidisciplinary platform with Grant Thornton Ireland. The platform offers a premier Trans-Atlantic advisory and tax practice, as well as independent American and Irish audit practices. With $2.7 billion in revenues and more than 50 offices spanning the U.S., Ireland and other territories, the platform delivers a singular client experience that includes enhanced solutions and capabilities, backed by powerful technologies and a roster of 12,000 quality-driven professionals enjoying exceptional career-growth opportunities and a distinctive cross-border culture.
Grant Thornton is part of the Grant Thornton International Limited network, which provides access to its member firms in more than 150 global markets.
Audit Senior Associate II