Audit Quality - Regulatory Support Team - Director

Job Description

Ideas | People | TrustWe’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today’s changing world.We work with the companies that are Britain’s economic engine - ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high-growth businesses that fuel the economy - and directly advise the owners and management teams leading them.We’ll broaden your horizons Audit quality is central to our strategy as an Audit Stream, the key ingredient to our success. Consistent high audit quality enables us to attract, develop and retain talented people and be proud of our work. Audit quality allows us to compete in the marketand demonstrate that we can play a key role in market reform.Consistently high audit quality does not happen by chance. It requires a mindset and culture of challenge and professional scepticism, appropriate resources both people and intellectual, investment in central support for engagement teams and technology solutions.Within the last year we have increased our headcount significantly, invested in new partners, and commenced a significant investment programme in our central quality support team.We’ll help you succeed The work we do is underpinned by quality. We deliver audits which are trusted and transparent which can be relied upon by companies and their stakeholders.You’ll be someone who is comfortable working pro-actively and, managing your own tasks, as well as confident collaborating with others and communicating regularly with Senior Managers, Directors, and BDO’s Partners. You’ll help deliver accurate and transparentreporting to all relevant stakeholders as you provide long term value. This is an opportunity for talented, high performing and ambitious Director to join the Regulatory Support team in the Audit Quality Directorate (AQD) in an exciting period and help to shape the role and the expanding team. You will report into the RegulatorySupport Partner and work closely with Regulatory team Director.The firm is subject to a number of external regulator reviews on a continuing basis from the AQR, QAD and PCAOB. The central Regulator Support and Practice review teams provide support to audit teams undergoing this process in order to help them to navigatethe requirements and respond to the regulator in relation to both written informal and formal queries. The team also ensure that findings are considered internally on a timely basis to help drive the cycle of continuous quality improvement.We are looking for a highly technical Director to join the regulatory support team. The individual will work with the two other directors within the team managing inspections for individual audit teams. This will involve:

• Acting as the key contact for the audit team under inspection;
• Attendance at all meetings with audit teams when the regulator is in attendance;
• research and consideration of issues arising to prepare the most appropriate responses to queries raised;
• consultation with audit teams to enable to them to provide the most appropriate responses to the AQR;
• supervision of the senior management allocated to assist with the inspection;
• Liaison with other internal teams and partners who will consider and contribute to the firm’s responses; and
• Feeding back issues arising from the inspection on a timely basis to the central support function in order to drive quality improvement.

Other aspects to the role will include:

• Working closely with the Director within the Practice Review Team and the two directors in the Regulator Support team to direct the Practice Review (PR) and Regulatory Support (RS) teams;
• Act as people manager for members of the Audit Quality Department (AQD); and
• Provide feedback within the RS/PR and wider AQD teams in relation to the issues arising from the AQR reviews.

You will have an excellent understanding of auditing standards alongside auditing theory and practice and be able to opine on auditing and accounting issues and discuss the most appropriate responses to questions posed by the regulator. You will ideally havehad either recent audit experience at a senior level working on PIE and listed audit engagements or performed an internal inspector role to at least senior manager level on listed and public interest entities.The role will involve working with teams across the audit stream of all levels and dealing with challenging situations.You’ll be someone with:

• ACA or similar professional accountancy qualification
• Audit experience at Senior Manager/Director level
• An excellent level of technical knowledge and be highly experienced in practical application
• The ability to think through complex situations and opine on difficult technical scenarios;
• The ability to communicate clearly and concisely both verbally and in writing; and
• The ability to converse and challenge senior individuals who are both internal to the firm and members of the regulator.

You’ll be able to be yourself; we’ll recognise and value you for who you are and celebrate and reward your contributions to our business. We’re committed to agile working, and we offer everyone the opportunity to work in ways that suit them, their teams, andthe task at hand.At BDO, we’ll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development.We’re in it togetherMutual support and respect is one of BDO’s core values and we’re proud of our distinctive, people-centred culture. From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we’ll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personaland professional needs.Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another. At BDO, you’ll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work.We know that collaboration is the key to creating value and satisfying experiences at work, so we’ve invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices. BDO’s people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we’ll encourage you to buildyour network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences. With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you’ll never stop learning at BDO.We’re looking forward to the future At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy.Our success is powered by our people, which is why we’re always findi