Team Inspector - Audit Quality Review

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) mission is to serve the public interest by setting high standards of corporate governance, reporting and audit and holding to account those responsible for delivering them. We are the UK Competent Authority for audit regulation. We also set the UK Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes as well as UK standards for accounting, auditing and actuarial work, and monitor and take action to promote the quality of corporate reporting and operate independent enforcement arrangements for accountants and actuaries. Further information about our role can be found at www.frc.org.uk.

Audit Quality Review (AQR) is made up of suitably qualified and skilled staff with previous audit experience, including sector and IT specialists. It undertakes inspections monitoring the quality of Public Interest Entity (PIE) audits, but also (by separate arrangements) Crown Dependency and major local audits undertaken by the PIE audit firms. AQR also performs full scope inspections of the National Audit Office, third-country audits and certain Crown Dependency audit firms. AQR inspectors routinely take part in the monitoring activity of the Audit Market Supervision (AMS) team, who take a cross-market approach to areas of importance to audit quality and firm resilience. This includes, but is not limited to, AMS firm-wide inspection work to ensure compliance with ISQC1.

The Role:

The role provides an insight into how the major firms operate and how they are responding to current issues in the profession and changes in regulatory requirements. Successful candidates will also have the satisfaction of being able to influence the practices and procedures of the major audit firms to enhance quality. The successful candidate will:

• Conduct audit file reviews. File reviews include analysis of audit workpapers, information gathering through informal and formal questioning of the audit team, discussion with the audit firm of potential issues identified, and conclude with formal written reporting.
• Conduct inspections of firm-wide procedures at the major audit firms as required.
• Participate in other FRC projects as required

The Person:

An accountancy qualification as well as experience at a senior level in the external audit profession are required.

The ideal candidate will have:

• A professional accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA, or equivalent).
• Significant post qualification experience in the audits of listed and other public interest entities.
• Strong technical auditing and accounting skills.
• A demonstrable interest in an audit firm’s audit quality initiatives.
• Broad business knowledge and interests to facilitate working across multiple sectors.
• Ability to understand and assess significant volumes of information quickly and through this identify aspects of potential audit quality concern.
• Ability to build constructive and professional relationships with senior audit team and audit firm personnel.
• Ability to challenge the judgements made and quality of work performed by audit teams authoritatively, and to present and discuss issues arising on their merits in a calm and professional manner.
• Strong written and oral communication skills including report drafting, presenting AQR findings accurately, fairly and convincingly.
• Enthusiasm to work collaboratively with AQR and other FRC colleagues.
• Effective project and time management skills.

The role is based in our Central London Office, but the post holder should be able to work flexibly to support the team’s activities and provide cover within the FRC, as necessary.

Rewards and benefits

• The FRC offers competitive remuneration packages, including 30 days annual leave plus ability to buy extra leave.
• Generous employer pension contribution of 10%.
• Staff Employee Assistance Programme, WeCare, including confidential counselling and work life services.
• The FRC offers staff the opportunity to save at least 25% on the purchase of a new bike through the Cycle to work scheme.
• The FRC has a strong work/life balance ethos.

Please go to https://www.frc.org.uk/frc-for-you/careers to apply.

The FRC believes that equality of opportunity and diversity is important in the work that we do and we are strongly committed to being an inclusive employer. Our values of being fair and independent supports this commitment. We are a signatory to the Government's Disability Confident scheme, which means that we guarantee an interview to any disabled candidates entering under the scheme, should they meet the minimum criteria for a role.

Equal opportunities monitoring is an important means of demonstrating and implementing our commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and diversity. Completing our diversity form will assist the FRC to identify any barriers that prevent access to employment and career development for certain groups of people, and to develop solutions, such as action plans, new policies and practices. The form is completed on a voluntary basis and we strongly encourage all job applicants to complete it.

Note to agencies:

FRC has a commitment to building relationships directly with candidates and only engages with agencies who are on our preferred supplier list to support us in sourcing quality candidates. We do not accept speculative CV’s from agencies that are not on our preferred supplier list. For any speculative or unsolicited CVs which are submitted without FRC instruction will be deleted and will not considered as an introduction.