Audit Principal

**Job description
- **

The role of public sector auditors has never mattered more. To support our strategic ambitions we are looking for Audit Principals (the equivalent of an Assistant Manager at most firms) who want to make a real difference - leading and motivating financialaudit teams to deliver audit work that is both high quality and delivers insight to help improve public services.

**Responsibilities**It is hard to think of a more interesting time to be involved in public audit. NAO auditors are involved in responding to the new and complex audit risks arising from Covid-19; government’s ambitions to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050; brokering new tradingarrangements globally; and working domestically to ‘level up’.

The work we do makes the headlines. For example, our recent report on accounts highlighting the significant financial loss incurred by the Department for Health & Social Care on personal protective equipment, or our reports on the levels of fraud and errorin Covid loans offered by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, made impact. Further information can be seen in our Annual Report.

Alongside this, we are transforming the way we deliver our audits in response to the requirements of ISA 315 and continuing to develop our audit methodology in response to the quality expectations of Parliament and other stakeholders.

**Would you be interested in contributing to this important and interesting work as an Audit Principal (Assistant Manager equivalent)?**

As the UK’s independent public spending watchdog we support Parliament in holding government to account. We improve public services through our high-quality audits. In challenging times, it remains vital that Parliament is well supported in scrutinisingthe performance of government - and rarely have there been more challenging times.

Whilst we deliver our financial audit work in the same way as an audit firm, our position is unique. Our work is extraordinarily influential. Our work auditing nearly £1 trillion of public expenditure and income gives us great insight into how governmentmanages its money. Our ambition is to make greater use of this insight to help improve the management of public finances and risks to delivering public services.

Our Audit Principals lead on our most complex engagements and manage our smaller engagements to deliver a portfolio of work which leads to the certification of our clients’ annual reports and accounts. They deliver high quality and cutting-edge audit workto international auditing standards. Their insights and the value they add not only benefits the bodies they audit directly but also informs our other work - including our value-for-money studies and investigations. Key responsibilities of the role include:

- Working in accordance with the NAO’s values and championing our diversity and inclusion.
- Demonstrating a strong commitment to their own self development, to delivering the NAO’s strategic objectives, and keeping themselves up to date on office initiatives and information relevant to their work and specialism.
- Demonstrating an ability to balance tasks and priorities to lead a complex, challenging portfolio of work including supporting the work and development of others.
- Using their technical knowledge and ability to manage tasks and projects to deliver high quality work across our financial audit practice.
- Using professional judgement and scepticism to assess the quality and validity of audit evidence and challenge where greater assurance is needed.
- Collaborating internally and externally to both offer and access expertise from across the office and to use our knowledge to create greater impact.
- Contributing to the development of our approach to financial audit, supporting improvements in our audit methodology, audit software, use of financial data, and operational working practices.
- Influencing and adding value by building their understanding and insight into the challenges and perspectives of their clients.
- Complying with corporate responsibilities and support others to do so.

**Skills required
- **

Our people strive for excellence, act with courage and integrity, are curious and seek to learn, all while being inclusive and respectful.

Essential skills and experiences for the role are:

- Experience of IFRS and international standards on auditing.
- Relevant financial qualification (CCAB) with recent post-qualification experience in leading external audit engagements.
- Exceptional project management skills, able to deliver high quality audit work while protecting the welfare of your teams.
- A proactive approach to problem solving and relationship building to maximise the influence of our work with government bodies and other stakeholders.
- Collaborative, engages well with colleagues at all levels, and invests in their development and the wider success of the organisation.
- The ability to lead, develop and motivate diverse teams and support all colleagues to deliver great work and achieve their potential.

Desirable skills and experience for the role are:

- Experience of public sector or charity audits.
- Experience in implementing and embedding transformational change in financial audit methodologies, software and use of data.
- Working in a Centre of Expertise that provides assurance over complex transactions and balances.
- Experience in supporting a firm’s second and third line of defence work to improve the quality of their work.
- Auditing Shared Service or complex IT environments.

**Are you interested?**
- An up-to-date CV
- Covering letter setting out briefly why you are suitable for the role (word limit: 1,000 words)

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