If you’re considering accountancy as a career, you’ll need to think about where you want to specialise. Audit is one of your options. Read on to find out if it’s the right role for you and what you could say when your interviewer asks you “Why did you choose audit?”.
The accountancy career for the business-minded
What is audit?
Audit is one of the main types of accountancy. An audit is a check that every medium or large company has to go through once a year. A team of independent accountants – auditors – look at the company’s financial records. Their job is to make sure the records match up with the financial report that the company releases publically.
Auditors don’t check every single figure. They carry out a series of tests to get a good overall idea of whether the numbers are accurate. It’s meticulous work and can be very varied depending on the type of company being audited.
What are the benefits of an accountancy career?
We’ll get into the specifics later – but first, you should know that a career in audit has several good points in common with all other types of accountancy.
Solid qualifications
Like other accountancy roles, the first years of your audit career will be split between work and studying to become a Chartered Accountant. Qualified accountants have a lot more earning power and freedom to move from company to company.
Job security
Accountancy is a skill that’s always in demand. Even when times are tough for companies, they can’t get by without doing their accounts.
Smart colleagues
To become a chartered accountant takes commitment and intelligence. You’ll find plenty of bright people working in audit.
Competitive salary
A trainee auditor can pull in around £25,000 to £35,000, and you can expect a hefty pay rise when you qualify.
Good career progression
Accountancy firms usually have a clear career path from trainee to manager and on up the ladder. Stay on track and you could pull in serious money as a partner in the firm.
How is audit different from other accountancy routes?
If you’re interested in accountancy, audit is just one of the many roles available. For example you could also get into:
- corporate finance – financial analysis during mergers & acquisitions
- forensic accounting – looking for evidence of fraud
- insolvency – sorting out the finances when a business goes bust
- management accountancy – making plans to achieve your company’s financial goals
- risk management – assessing financial risks to a company
- tax accounting – completing and submitting tax returns and giving tax advice
So what makes audit stand out?
Client interaction
Auditors are thrust into different companies every few weeks which means you’ll always be meeting new people. A good audit firm is built on client satisfaction so if you like the challenge of diplomacy this is the branch of accounting for you. During an audit you need to ask questions and make requests from busy employees. To get the job done you need to build good working relationships and be firm when you need to – but always polite and friendly.
Business exposure
As an auditor you’ll see the inner workings of a wide range of different companies. You need to understand what the company does, how they operate and why they’ve made particular business decisions. If you’re interested in how businesses work, you’ll appreciate the insight you get from a career in audit.
Analytical thinking
As you progress in your career, you’ll find that audit is about much more than making the numbers add up. You’ll need to provide opinions on whether financial statements are true and fair. It takes a lot of analysis and business acumen, applied under time pressure. It’ll stretch your analytical muscles in a way no other accountancy career can.
Potential for travel
Auditors spend a lot of time in clients’ offices – which can be anywhere in the UK or in the world.
Stability
It’s probably the most stable and reliable brand of accounting. Though you’ll be dealing with a range of different companies in your work, every audit has similarities. Once you know how it’s done, you can only get better and better at it. And you can be sure audit will never go out of style - it’s a legal requirement, after all.
What skills are companies looking for?
Auditors work in teams but also need to be motivated and meticulous when completing their own tasks. You’ll spend time in clients’ offices almost straight away so you need to present yourself professionally.
The key skills auditors need:
- Self-motivation and initiative
- Interpersonal skills, diplomacy and discretion
- A professional attitude
- Excellent written communication
- Time management – you’ll need to fit in a lot of studying outside working hours
- Attention to detail
- Numeracy and IT skills
- Problem-solving skills
- An interest in business and finance
- The ability to work under pressure
To sum up…
- A career in accounting offers a competitive salary, valuable qualifications and excellent job security.
- The audit side of accountancy suits people who want to get an insight into the business world and enjoy interacting with clients.
- To succeed, you need to be meticulous, tactful and an excellent communicator, as well as having a head for figures.
Click here to view our list of graduate opportunitites in accounting, tax and audit.