Job description

Audit Managers are fully qualified and experienced accountants with responsibility for the auditing function within their own organisations (Internal) or for a portfolio of clients (External).

The purpose of the audit function is to review the financial accounts and statements of a company or organisation and to provide an independent opinion on whether these accounts and statements are accurate, relevant and complete and provide a fair representation of the financial position and performance of the organisation.

Internal auditors may focus on the reporting systems, processes and controls within their organisation whereas external auditors provide an objective assessment of these systems, processes and controls as well as their opinion on accounts and reports.

Audit Managers can work internally or externally. Some typical duties include:

• Managing teams of financial specialists and auditors.
• Client relationship management.
• Implementing and assessing financial systems, processes and controls.
• Ensuring compliance with financial policies and statutory regulations.
• Reporting to senior company figures, sometimes at board level.
• Assessing risk and advising on risk management.
• Reviewing and reporting upon financial reports and statements.
• Advice on corporate governance.
• Reporting to regulators.

Qualifications

Audit Managers in large organisations are usually fully qualified chartered accountants with a significant amount of post qualified experience. To be an auditor you must retain your membership of one of the relevant accounting bodies.

Salary Snapshot

Recent salaries advertised on TopFinancialJobs (November 2009) include:

• £71-80,000 per annum for a chartered (ACA) accountant working as an Audit Senior Manager for a Big 4 firm in London in the banking and capital markets sector.
• £51-60,000 per annum for a chartered (ACA) accountant working as an Audit Manager in the investment management and insurance sector in London.
• £45-50,000 per annum for a qualified (ACA, ACCA) accountant working as an Audit Consultant for a niche business services group in London.
• £70-75,000 per annum for a qualified (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) accountant working as an Audit Manager for a recognisable retail brand in London.

Do you work as an Audit Manager? Would you like to contribute to our "Day in the Life of..." series? Email us at info@topfinancialjobs.co.uk for more details.