International Institutions & Donor Assurance Graduate

We’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions businesses need to navigate today’s changing world.

We’ll broaden your horizons

Our Advisory team provide a wide variety of services that deliver value-led advice and outcomes. Whether it’s buying a new business, expanding internationally or struggling with financial difficulties, our team provide support and solutions that help businesses overcome challenges. The team work across strategy, operations and improvement as well as at a transactional and defined project level. From technology to risk advisory, you’ll be exposed to some of the world's most exciting financial operations and business deals, building your experience and expertise alongside the brightest minds in the industry.

We’ll help you succeed

The three-year Advisory Graduate Programme is your opportunity to learn our sector inside out, get real experience on real projects and achieve a recognised professional qualification. We’ll cover your exam fees and give you the study leave and extra training you’ll need to pass them while you balance your own workload. That training isn’t just about passing the exams, you’ll learn a range of personal, management and client-related skills that will help you become a full rounded BDO advisor and achieve your full potential.

The salary for this role is £28,000 and your job title will be Advisory Trainee.

Programme & Qualification

BDO offer the globally recognised Association of Chartered Accountants (ACA) qualification as a Level 7 apprenticeship programme, enabling individuals to become qualified chartered accountants and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The ACA qualification and apprenticeship provides a broad range of accounting, finance and business skills. It opens a wealth of opportunities. The duration of this programme is 36 months.

The trainee role in IIDA presents an opportunity for a great variety of work with different international clients, carrying out audit and assurance work for international donors, working onsite with funding beneficiaries.

Assignments vary, but you will typically be away for 1-2 weeks at a time, carrying out audits, verifications and internal controls reviews at organisations as varied as small local NGOs, government ministries and UN agencies. At first, you will work with an experienced team leader, but our programme allows trainees to take on real responsibility and autonomy at an early stage.

Travel tends to be slightly more limited in the first 6-12 months due to training and exams, but thereafter you can expect to travel and work at client sites across the world for around 40-60 % of the time.

Responsibilities

• Undertake audit fieldwork reporting to a Senior or Manager, taking increasing responsibility with experience, which may include assignment planning, leading fieldwork, leading client meetings and drafting the assignment report
• Be willing to be out of the office at client sites in any part of the world. These are mostly in Europe, but can be in locations in Asia, Africa or the Americas
• Balance the commitments of studying for exams while travelling extensively
• Demonstrate a basic understanding of the objectives of an audit, particularly in a donor funding context
• Prepare legible and comprehensive working papers, completing sections of the audit file with assistance from more senior colleagues
• Be aware of assignment deadlines and work with the team to meet them
• Develop a knowledge of audit issues and techniques specific to the donor-funded aid environment
• Develop a good understanding of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and other applicable technical frameworks, supported by regular training
• Understand what constitutes an assignment finding and how it should be classified and written up in the assignment report
• Achieve utilisation of at least 70% on an annual basis
• Develop internal contacts and demonstrate an awareness of the other services offered by BDO
• Attend the firm’s technical training seminars and appropriate departmental seminars
• Be aware of the firm’s risk management and practice assurance procedures and ensure compliance
• Identify soft skills requirements in conjunction with your appraising manager/partner and communicate such requirements to the training department
• Consistently demonstrate the BDO values
• Successfully study towards your professional qualification and, where relevant, corresponding apprenticeship

When you join us

We understand that everyone learns in different ways and the same environment isn’t always suited to every task. We’ll help you deliver the best quality output by giving you choice and flexibility around how, when and where you work. When you need to work collaboratively, you’ll be able to work closely with colleagues, whether that’s in our offices, onsite with clients, or one of our brand-new hubs; when you need to focus, you’ll be able to work from home or in one of our quiet concentration spaces, using technology to stay connected with colleagues. We’ll provide the environment, digital tools and training to enable you to perform at your best, whatever the task in hand, for yourself, your team, and your clients.

When you join us, we’ll make your growth our priority. If you’re right for us, you’ll thrive in an environment built to help you succeed. We’re looking for someone with:

• A 2:2 degree in any discipline (obtained or predicted)
• Three A-levels or equivalent at A* to C excluding General Studies and Extended Projects (obtained or predicted)
• A 9–4 in Maths and English at GCSE or equivalent (we will also consider qualifications from outside the UK)

We’re in it together

At BDO, we believe that when our people feel valued and rewarded, their potential is unlimited. We offer highly competitive starting salaries and review remuneration packages regularly to ensure that our pay always positively reflects performance. As well as offering support with tuition and professional qualifications, we also provide the following core benefits:

• 25 days’ holiday;
• access to a Group Personal Pension Plan, with matched employer contributions;
• Life Assurance cover;
• Income Protection insurance;

That’s not all. We understand that everyone is different, so we offer a range of voluntary benefits to suit every lifestyle. Our flexible benefits platform, Flexcel, means our people can choose from a range of tax efficient options to design a benefit package that best suits them. Through Flexcel, they can:

• buy up to ten days’ extra holiday;
• add on Private Medical, Personal Accident, Dental or Travel Insurance; Home Technology
• enrol in our Bikes to Work scheme;
• enjoy discounts at cinemas, dining out, shopping and gyms through our Employee Discounts arrangement;
• receive an interest free season ticket loan or interest free graduate loan;
• access additional services like our financial wellbeing platform, online GP service or our Employee Assistance Programme

For further information, and to apply, please visit our website via the “Apply” button below.