Audit Senior – Public Services

Job Title: Audit Senior Grade: Senior Qualified Service Line: Audit – Public Services Location: London Reporting To: Senior Management Key Relationships: Audit team, wider Mazars teams i.e. tax teams, colleagues, clients Salary: 43,000 pa core and flexible benefits, plus rewards for excellence bonus Job Purpose As an audit senior you will be supervising and delivering external audits to the highest quality predominantly on public sector clients. Clients As the third largest provider of external audit services within the public sector our vision is to be recognised in the marketplace as a firm focused on our people and our clients, and as a firm that stands out for its contribution to society. Mazars and the public sector The public sector is a strategic market for Mazars, which means that it is a priority area for our investment and growth. We provide audit, assurance and advisory services to local authorities, police and fire bodies, NHS organisations, central government bodies and NDPBs, social housing organisations, universities, colleges and schools. The public services audit team works with local government, health and central government entities. The scale of our clients’ activities includes revenues that range from over 1.5 billion up to under 50m. For local government entities, Public Sector Audit Appointments commissions our work as external audit supplier. In the health sector we directly engage with individual CCGs and Trusts. The firm is a framework supplier on several public sector audit frameworks, including that let by the National Audit Office. Job Role Planning • Contributing to team planning meetings and taking responsibility for completion of planning files, including documentation and evaluation of material systems. • Performing preliminary analytical review and highlight risk areas for further audit investigation. • In light of the above, you will contribute to the work programme for the assignment tailored to the risks associated with the client. • Drafting the budget and assigning audit areas to team members (where applicable) so as to manage the audit risks and develop the team members. • Assisting with the preparation and delivery of the Audit Strategy Memorandum to the client. • Preparing or supervising the preparation of draft statutory financial statements based on information provided by the client. • Organising, preparing agendas for and, where appropriate, chair team meeting and communicate the strategy to team members. • Ensuring all review points are noted and cleared. Controlling the Assignment • Supervising and directing staff; allocating work to team members based on skill and knowledge, ensuring development objectives are met. • Completing complex areas of the assignment. • Providing on the job training to assistants. • Reviewing work and providing informal feedback throughout the fieldwork stage. Ensuring issues are highlighted and resolved before manager review. • Acting as a point of contact for both manager and client, ensuring both are kept fully informed of any issues arising and the progress of the audit. • Reviewing actual to budgeted time and informing managers of any issues immediately. • Building strong working relationships with clients, ensuring any problems or requests are dealt with promptly. • Communicating with all other departments (e.g. tax, outsourcing etc.) and passing on all relevant information. • Being aware of developments concerning client affairs and any opportunities to provided additional services. Completion • Completing financial statement testing, including completion of disclosure checklist and closedown of audit files. • Ensuring standards and procedures are maintained by the whole team; completing/presenting audit file with cleared review points. • Collate and validate all errors, uncertainties and exceptions. • Drafting the audit opinion summary for review and drafting management letters and any other reporting documents, including group reporting and audit committee papers where required. • Providing constructive feedback for the completion of staff appraisals on the assistants and seniors and 360 degree feedback on managers and partners. Person Specification • Qualified accountant – CIPFA, ACA, ACCA, CA or equivalent (essential) • Holds external audit experience, delivering audit services to the Public Sector (essential) • Demonstrates and applies advanced technical, commercial and Public Sector industry knowledge to the role, identifying issues and solutions • Pro-actively identifies client need and keeps them informed of project status as appropriate • Develops and maintains relationships with internal and external contacts at all levels • Begins to develop a network of client contacts • Takes ownership of projects, effectively delegates to others within the team and takes responsibility for quality control • Acts as a role model for the team and values others expertise • Provides assistance, shares experiences, provides meaningful feedback and proactively supports the development of others • Willingness to be involved in delivering feedback to the wider team, including presenting group training sessions • Commitment to self-development • Participates in meetings, providing information and ideas with clarity and persuasiveness Please CLICK HERE to download the job description. About Mazars Mazars is all about people – we believe that each individual makes a difference to the Mazars culture. As an international firm with strong European roots, we are a melting pot of different cultures and disciplines. Diversity is one of our main strengths. We are an international, integrated, transparent and independent organisation specialising in audit, accountancy, tax, legal, and advisory services. The Group has a presence over 80 countries and draws on the expertise of 17,000 professionals. We all work within a culture of high support and high challenge at Mazars. We are not afraid to take on new and greater responsibilities. But we do this through encouragement – not pressure and competition. Mazars LLP is an equal opportunities emplo