Trainee Auditor

Join Audit Scotland as a Trainee Auditor as part of our School or College Leaver Programme (2026)
Our School and College Leaver Trainee Auditor programmes include financial support to become a qualified Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland (ICAS). You will get a prestigious, internationally recognised qualification, whilst being involved in varied and interesting work, auditing public bodies in Scotland. 
Over the duration of the programme, you will help your team to plan and deliver quality audit work across a range of public sector bodies, including local and central government and the NHS.
You don’t need to have come straight from school or college to apply for our School and College Leaver programmes. No matter what your background, if you are committed to studying for a professional qualification, our School and College Leaver programmes are designed to develop your skills and expertise in audit and provide formal training and study towards a professional accountancy qualification over the five-year programme.
Audit Scotland will provide you with ongoing support throughout your training and will encourage you to grow, develop and excel in a challenging and rewarding role. As a School or College leaver you will also join our graduate trainees giving you peer support whilst learning the job and undergoing your studies.
To be eligible for our college leave programme, you will need to hold a minimum HND level qualification in any discipline and a minimum of Grade C in Higher English and Maths, or equivalent, by the proposed start date of employment.
To be eligible for our school leaver programme, you will need to hold a minimum of Grade C in Higher English and Maths, or equivalent, by the proposed start date of employment.
An interest in Audit Scotland and/or the public sector as well as the Auditing and Accountancy profession.
Sound analytical skills for gathering, interpreting and evaluating data.
Knowledge of Microsoft Office packages.
If you hold an honours degree in any discipline or equivalent, you are unable to be considered for our school or college leaver programmes. We have a graduate programme which you can apply for. Please visit the graduate page on our careers website to find out more.
If you hold an ordinary degree in any discipline along with the minimum grades required in Maths and English, you are eligible to apply for our college leaver programme.
To achieve this, we support the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission to provide clear, independent and objective assurance on how effectively public money is being managed and spent. Our work covers about £59bn of public spending, almost 300 public sector accounts, and the services and projects that affect all people and communities in Scotland.
We put our organisational values of equality, independence, innovation, integrity and respect at the heart of everything we do.
We employ around 340 staff in a wide variety of roles, working from our offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and through a network of regional offices across Scotland.
We offer a rewarding place to work, a supportive and open culture and a wide range of professional development opportunities. Benefits include 42 days of annual leave including public holidays, an attractive local government pension scheme with 17.6% employer contributions, personal development allowances and flexible working hours. We’ve also been named one of the top 25 workplaces in Scotland and the UK’s ninth best accountancy workplace in the 2025 Best Companies awards.
Diversity and Inclusion 
We are also a proud disability confident employer. 
Audit Scotland’s recruitment process may include various stages and activities including application forms, online assessments, and interviews, to assess whether you meet the requirements of the role.  As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to providing inclusive and accessible recruitment where everyone is supported to perform at their best.  Visit the role profile via our careers website to find out more on support with reasonable adjustments.
We’re keeping this nice and simple – visit our careers website, click the apply button and complete the application form. After the application closing date, you will be asked to complete a short online verbal and numerical test. If you are successful after this stage, you will be invited to complete an online work-simulation exercise designed to assess you against specific competencies required for the role. Check out the School or College leaver page on our careers site to find out more about our trainee programme, life at Audit Scotland and some useful hints and tips on the application process. Please note that only applications submitted via our careers website will be considered.
Closing date for applications is Sunday 18th January 2026.