Audit & Assurance

What is Audit & Assurance?

Audit is a process of examining and evaluating an entity’s financial statements. The purpose of an external audit is to provide reasonable assurance to customers, suppliers, employees, investors, creditors, lenders, and other stakeholders that the financial statements show a true and fair view of the entity’s financial performance.

We work with a range of companies from small owner-managed businesses to much larger privately owned and listed businesses, based in the UK and overseas. Many of our Audit clients are also Business Tax clients of the firm so we work closely with our Business Tax colleagues to deliver a seamless audit and tax compliance offering.

Time is spent with management and the owners of the business gaining a detailed understanding of the business and identifying risk and key areas of the financial statements most at risk of being incorrect. We then gather evidence, focusing on higher risk areas, and report our findings to the shareholders. For many of our clients, we also prepare the financial statements.

Types of clients we work with

Academies & Schools - free schools, special schools, colleges, multi-academy trusts
Bloodstock - studs, bloodstock agents, and farriers
Charities - local and national
Farms & Estates
Film & Entertainment - national and international films and other media
Professional Services - law firms, estate agents, chartered surveyors, architects
Property & Construction - developments, letting agents, residential and commercial property portfolios
Technology - blockchain and crypto, life sciences, IT, software & digital, sustainable technology

Starting a career in Audit

Your initial focus would be understanding basic accounting and audit principles. In your first twelve months you would work as part of the Audit team working on low-risk areas reporting to the Audit Senior. You would develop your knowledge throughout your training contract taking on additional responsibility in your second year, working on more complex areas of the audit, before becoming an Audit Senior and leading audit engagements and reporting to the Audit Manager.

You would learn how to interact with third parties, such as the owners, directors and key management of our clients, and work alongside experienced seniors, managers, directors, and partners.

As an example, by the end of your first year, we aim for you to be able to:

Prepare financial statements.
Be aware of, and able to discuss, audit risks with the Audit team.
Be able to gather audit evidence for low-risk audit areas and communicate any audit findings for these areas.
Be comfortable dealing with clients and colleagues in person and over the phone.

What skills are relevant for a career in Audit?

Audit is a demanding profession that requires a wide range of skills. Some of the most important skills are:

Technical knowledge - You will need to have a deep understanding of accounting principles and auditing standards. You need to be familiar with the different types of audits that are performed, such as financial statement audits, internal controls audits, and other types of audits.
Critical thinking and problem-solving - You need to be able to think critically and solve problems. You need be able to identify and assess risks and be able to develop and execute audit plans.
Communication - You need to be able to communicate effectively with a variety of stakeholders, including owners, directors, management, audit committees, and investors. You need to be able to write clear and concise reports and be able to present your findings in a way that is easy to understand.
Teamwork - You will often work as part of a team. You will need to be able to collaborate with others, share information, and work towards common goals.
Attention to detail - You need be able to pay attention to detail. You need to be able to identify errors and omissions in financial statements and be able to document your work accurately.

What qualification will I achieve?

Graduates - You will have the choice of studying for either the ACA (ICAEW) or ACCA qualification as part of a three-year Level 7 Apprenticeship. More information about the two qualifications can be found here:

ACA

ACCA

School Leavers - You will study the AAT accounting qualification as part of a three-year combined Level 3 and 4 Apprenticeship. More information can be found here:

AAT