This is the way it audit be

We’re at that time of the year again when many will be in a frantic flurry to finalise accounts for HMRC. But even when face deep in the books, pondering the black and red of financial life, it’s also the perfect time to take stock of your own career in accountancy.

You may already be a legal cashier, payroll assistant, bookkeeper or financial analyst but ask yourself this: Are you currently making the most of your skills and abilities?

If not, you need a new challenge . . . and the world of auditing could be for you.

Auditors are the top-tier superheroes of accountancy, saving clients from any form of financial jeopardy, ensuring risks and objectives are continually reviewed and overspending is stopped short before it can cause harm. They also dig deep to ensure individuals and organisations are playing by the rules.

As you’d expect, your work has to meet the highest standards, be it a company’s own or the UK’s nationally recognised levels – and the key is to approach every single situation independently and, above all, objectively.

So what does the day job actually look like?

Well, after that all-important morning cuppa and croissant, it will probably begin with opening a sheaf of financial statements and combing through the figures to ensure the business is abiding by the correct accounting and legal procedures.

Scrutinising the accounts and work processes can be carried out for a global corporation conducting audits on their companies’ accounts or as part of a programme of work for a firm carrying out audits for a range of clients, big and small.

Either way, at the end of an audit, you’ll be expected to provide a detailed report of any concerns you may have found.

With so much detail involved – and often so much at stake for the business – you’ll need an incredible eye for detail, with analytical skills that would have Hercule Poirot’s waxed moustache in a spin.

You’ll also possess a high level of professional scepticism, all the better to confidently challenge anything that just doesn’t look right to you.

Your mission is to provide a cast-iron configuration of the accounts against the company’s objectives, financial or otherwise. This includes collating your findings and presenting them via top-notch communication skills.

Another top talent will be your tenacity. For the true professional, accounting work will be fully engaging and never feel tedious and the auditor who wants to protect their company – and build a reputation of a no-nonsense work ethic for their own career – will be like a dog with a bone, never losing grip on the figures and the task in teeth (or hand!).

Conjuring up bureaucratic wish-wash-waffle wastes a client’s time and money: your analyses and solutions will be fulsome, fast and effective.

Finally, always keep your passport up to date and have an overnight bag packed and ready to go. In the fast-paced world of auditing you can often find yourself suddenly travelling to off-site audits in locations as exotic as Aberdeen or Antigua.

Search now for latest vacancies in Accountancy.

Posted on December 4, 2019