Public Sector Assurance Graduate Ipswich 2022

We’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions businesses need to navigate today’s changing world.

We’ll broaden your horizons

BDO is committed to providing up-to-date advice for public sector clients as they navigate uncertain times and new challenges. Our Public Sector team focuses on providing external audit, internal audit and consulting services to Local Authorities, NHS Trusts, Foundation Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and central government.

Our Partners have a long track record of working with public sector clients and leading sector associations (e.g. LGA, HFMA, NHS Providers) and regularly provide media comment on issues affecting the public sector (e.g. Local Government Chronicle, Health Service Journal). We have strong relationships with complementary public sector service providers and our engagements regularly take a holistic approach to ensuring our clients’ needs are fulfilled.

That means you’ll spend every day working as part of a team, working with key individuals to understand their financial performance, business systems, culture and risks.

We’ll help you succeed

The three-year Audit Graduate Programme is your opportunity to combine work experience with achieving your professional qualifications. We’ll provide the training in skills, behaviours and professional knowledge you’ll need not just to pass your exams, but also to become an exceptional BDO advisor. Our pass results are often up to 10% above the national average. This is a unique opportunity to qualify in a working environment with a network of exceptional colleagues who will be invested in helping you achieve your full potential. 

Programme & Qualification

BDO offer the globally recognised Association of Chartered Accountants (ACA) qualification as a Level 7 apprenticeship programme, enabling individuals to become qualified chartered accountants and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The ACA qualification and apprenticeship provides a broad range of accounting, finance and business skills. It opens a wealth of opportunities. The duration of this programme is 36 months.

Upon joining Public Sector Assurance you will become part of a dynamic and knowledgeable team who are experts in their field. You will be working with a range of Local Authorities, NHS Trusts, Foundation Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and parts of central government, including the police and fire services. These vary in size, from £50 million to £2.2 billion gross expenditure per annum, and in their technical complexity.

The Public Sector Assurance team works across 3 offices based in London, Ipswich and Norwich. However due to the location of our client base, you will regularly travel to the following locations: Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, London, Sussex and Surrey, Essex.

Therefore, this position would particularly suit those who live in the Essex and surrounding counties with access to a car.

We expect there to be a mixture of home working and travel to client offices/ BDO offices in order to complete assignments.

Responsibilities

• You will assist within the wider team by obtaining audit evidence necessary to support opinions given
• Prepare analysis of accounting data from client’s books and records
• Ensure audit files have all relevant documentation on the appropriate section; review appropriate and sufficient documentation obtained to support the opinion and conclusions
• Active engagement with client staff in the gathering of appropriate audit evidence
• Active adherence to budget and timetable, bringing matters to the attention of the Senior or Manager, particularly when actual time is in excess of budget
• Involvement in the planning, execution and finalisation of the audit assignment supporting the Audit Manager
• Ensure compliance with internal (audit methodology and risk management) and external (regulatory) requirements
• Identify and understand client needs, including providing initial solutions to client challenges, then communicating these needs and solutions to your Senior or Manager
• Build strong relationships with new and established clients
• Carry out ad hoc assignments as reasonably required by your group
• Undertake any training or development co-ordinated by your group
• Coaching and assisting more junior trainees on the team, both at client premises and in the office
• Participate in group, stream and firm wide activities
• Successfully study towards your professional qualification and, where relevant, corresponding apprenticeship

When you join us

We understand that everyone learns in different ways and the same environment isn’t always suited to every task. We’ll help you deliver the best quality output by giving you choice and flexibility around how, when and where you work. When you need to work collaboratively, you’ll be able to work closely with colleagues, whether that’s in our offices, onsite with clients, or one of our brand-new hubs; when you need to focus, you’ll be able to work from home or in one of our quiet concentration spaces, using technology to stay connected with colleagues. We’ll provide the environment, digital tools and training to enable you to perform at your best, whatever the task in hand, for yourself, your team, and your clients.

When you join us, we’ll make your growth our priority. If you’re right for us, you’ll thrive in an environment built to help you succeed. We’re looking for someone with:

• A 2:2 degree in any discipline (obtained or predicted)
• Three A-levels or equivalent at A* to C excluding General Studies and Extended Projects (obtained or predicted)
• A 9–4 in Maths and English at GCSE or equivalent (we will also consider qualifications from outside the UK)

We’re in it together

At BDO, we believe that when our people feel valued and rewarded, their potential is unlimited. We offer highly competitive starting salaries and review remuneration packages regularly to ensure that our pay always positively reflects performance. As well as offering support with tuition and professional qualifications, we also provide the following core benefits:

• 25 days’ holiday;
• access to a Group Personal Pension Plan, with matched employer contributions;
• Life Assurance cover;
• Income Protection insurance;

That’s not all. We understand that everyone is different, so we offer a range of voluntary benefits to suit every lifestyle. Our flexible benefits platform, Flexcel, means our people can choose from a range of tax efficient options to design a benefit package that best suits them. Through Flexcel, they can: 

• buy up to ten days’ extra holiday;
• add on Private Medical, Personal Accident, Dental or Travel Insurance; Home Technology
• enrol in our Bikes to Work scheme;
• enjoy discounts at cinemas, dining out, shopping and gyms through our Employee Discounts arrangement;
• receive an interest free season ticket loan or interest free graduate loan;
• access additional services like our financial wellbeing platform, online GP service or our Employee Assistance Programme

Our firm is distinctive and we want to preserve and build on the strengths of our culture and the characteristics that make us both successful and different. We look for people from all kinds of backgrounds who share these same qualities.