Example Achievement Log for a Audit Associate

A year in the life of a Audit Associate's log

• Feb - task: Started fieldwork on Westbrook Manufacturing's FY2024 financial audit. Assigned to test accounts payable controls and vendor master data; learned their legacy ERP system (Infor) and traced 47 invoices through the three-way match process.
• Mar - achievement: Completed AP control testing for Westbrook three days early. Documented one deviation where a $23k payment cleared without proper approval; worked with the client to understand the override policy and adjusted sample for reporting.
• Apr - feedback: Marcus (senior) said in the field debrief: 'Your notes on the AP deviation were clear and useful. Most associates at this stage would have flagged it and moved on.' Gave me more independence on revenue testing.
• Apr - task: Picked up audit of Cascade Valley School District's grant compliance. New client, new sector, different procedures. Spent first week mapping their federal grant documentation and learning the Single Audit Act testing requirements.
• Jun - achievement: Tested Cascade's 14-F grant transactions and found their fund accounting records didn't match the subledger in three months. Flagged for correction; client reprocessed August and September entries, impact was $8,400.
• Jul - task: Went back to Westbrook for interim fieldwork on Q2 controls. Their new AP manager, Chen, asked me to document the approval workflow changes they made post-audit. Created a one-page control matrix for our June follow-up.
• Jul - feedback: Jen (manager) in the weekly check-in: 'The Westbrook matrix was helpful. You're starting to think about what the client actually needs, not just what we asked for.' Asked me to present it at the team meeting.
• Sep - achievement: Completed my CPA exam (all four sections passed in first sit). Notified the office on August 18th; became a full CPA on September 1st licensing date.
• Oct - task: Led rollforward testing for Westbrook's year-end. Sampled 60 September AP transactions, coordinated with Chen on payment timing, and identified two late cutoff items that the client adjusted before filing.
• Oct - achievement: Wrapped both Westbrook and Cascade audits. Two clean opinions issued. Westbrook partner noted in the close-out that we'd reduced testing hours by 12% versus prior year due to improved control design.
• Dec - feedback: During year-end planning call, the Westbrook partner asked Jen if I could return as the client requested my continuity. Jen said yes, and scheduled me for their interim phase in early 2025.

What makes a strong entry

How this becomes your review in November

This year I worked on two recurring audit clients and demonstrated increasingly independent judgment on both. At Westbrook Manufacturing, I moved from controlled AP testing in January to leading their September rollforward by year-end, and the partner credited improved control design with a 12% reduction in testing hours. At Cascade Valley, I identified an $8,400 fund accounting reconciliation issue in grant testing that required client restatement, not just flagging the error, but understanding the subledger and working through the correction. I also passed all four CPA exams on the first attempt. The Westbrook partner specifically requested me for their 2025 interim phase, which tells me the client-facing work and control documentation I built has real value.

Starting your own log

Don't try to reconstruct a year you have already had. Start from today, one line whenever something happens, and let it build. The Perform Review Achievement Log does this for you and can capture wins straight from Slack, and how to start an achievement log covers the wider playbook.

Example Logs for Related Roles

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