About the company

Our Audit Teams provide audit assurance services which are vital to our clients’ business control and credibility. Our expertise range from servicing private, entrepreneurial companies through to UK listed companies, financial services and some of the largest FT Global organizations in the world. By joining a unique integrated structure you will benefit from working in collaborative teams and be given responsibility for delivering robust and independent audit services in a supportive environment.

In a rapidly changing business world, we also care about our industry and have long pressed for a debate on audit competition. We believe that companies and their shareholders alike deserve the benefits that increased competition can bring and are committed to playing an active role in shaping its future.

About the role

As an audit intern you will be part of a team responsible for completing about 250 limited assurance audits of small local authorities (primarily parish councils). Local authorities spending between £25K and £6.5M per annum are required to submit an annual return of their income and expenditure and we are required to undertake procedures set by the National Audit Office to give independent assurance on the annual return.

The level of assurance is less than that of a true and fair opinion required for larger authorities (hence the term limited assurance) and the procedures are relatively straightforward. However, you will need to have an enquiring mind and analyse information, especially financial data quickly and accurately.

You will be trained and closely supervised by an experienced Audit Manager and all your work will be reviewed by the Audit Manager and Partner. However, you will be expected to learn quickly and work independently taking responsibility for the clients assigned to you. The clients are managed remotely but you will have regular contact with them on the phone, by e-mail and by letter so you must be a strong communicator.

You will be set weekly completion targets working towards a team target of 95% complete, reviewed and opinions issued by the statutory deadline of 30 September. Clients complete a satisfaction survey so a key skill is chasing them for information and persuading them to correct errors in a friendly and professional way that leads to positive feedback.

The outcome of your work will contribute to providing various stakeholders with assurance of an organisation’s financial and accounting records and standards of governance. The local authorities raise most of their income via a precept added to resident’s council tax bills so there is considerable public interest in how the money is spent. The Partner and Audit Manager will deal with objections received from local electors and any suspicion of fraud or illegality but you will need to be alert to politically sensitive issues, whilst working at speed on set procedures.

Following the program, if a career in accountancy is something which you wish to pursue, you may be invited to apply for one of the firm’s graduate positions which would commence the following summer.

Requirements

• Demonstrates strong analytical and research skills;
• Takes ownership of assigned tasks and adopts a pro-active approach;
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload;
• Produces accurate and timely work;
• Participates in meetings, providing information and ideas with clarity and persuasiveness;
• Ability to build relationships;
• Respects differences in people and values diversity of ideas;
• Actively seeks to enhance own expertise and knowledge;
• Demonstrates drive and commitment to self-development;
• Professional approach to work and clients i.e. professional appearance, respect for individuals, and ethical conduct.
• Strong academic performance is important so we know that you’re ready to take your professional exams.

However, we understand things don’t always go to plan – so if you don’t meet our minimum requirements, please let us know if you have any exceptional achievements or extenuating circumstances which affected your results. We also consider your achievements in the context of your socio-economic background, so encourage you to submit your contextual information.

• On track for a 2.1 or above in any degree discipline
• Minimum of 112 UCAS points. This is based on the new 2017 UCAS Tariff. You can calculate your UCAS points here
• Grade B or above in GCSE English Language and Maths.

How to apply

Click here to apply for this role.