Assurance, Financial Services - Audit Quality Support Team - Senior Manager

at  EY

THE OPPORTUNITY

Our Audit Quality Support team (AQST) plays a vital role in supporting our Audit Quality Programme. As an AQST Senior Manager you will contribute to a growing team supporting our most complex and challenging audits through real-time coaching and reviews to promote consistent high-quality audits.
We are looking for senior managers to help run the UK Financial Services AQST programme through a combination of leadership and development of the programme and performance of reviews. This role will provide you with an excellent opportunity to further develop both of your technical and soft skills.

SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES FOR SUCCESS

• For administering the AQST programme:
• Proactive communicator, quick to engage with audit quality leadership
• Innovative mindset, focussed on ways to improve delivery of AQST reviews and provide the most value to audit teams
• Ability to lead and influence peers, and to lead teams remotely
• Organised project manager with strong prioritisation skills
• For administering reviews
• Strong technical auditing and accounting skills within Banking & Capital Markets, Wealth & Asset Management or Insurance), are essential, particularly of IFRS 9, IFRS13 or IFRS 17.
• Gold standard technical audit skills and dedication to staying up to date with technical updates and inspection findings.
• Broad business knowledge to apply across financial institution entities.
• Ability to understand and assess significant volumes of information quickly and through this identify aspects of heightened risk.
• Flexible working style and ability to navigate across diverse culture to adapt to the different teams you will be working with.
• Ability to build constructive and professional relationships with senior audit team members.
• Courage to challenge the effectiveness and articulation of the audit strategy by audit teams.
• Attention to detail in review of the execution of audit work and identification of areas for improvement.
• Ability to challenge the judgements made and quality of work performed by audit teams and to present and discuss issues arising on their merits in a calm and professional manner.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, presenting findings accurately, fairly, and convincingly.
• Proactive communication and deadline management, both with the audit team and audit quality leadership.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work with the FS audit quality leader, quality leadership partners from each industry (Banking & Capital Markets, Wealth & Asset Management, and Insurance), and FS AQST leader to run the FS AQST programme, including:
• Performing annual risk assessment of FS PIE and non-PIE audit engagements to determine those in scope for AQST or other review coaching programmes;
• Allocating appropriate reviewers to selected engagements;
• Providing instructions, training, and coaching to UK FS Senior managers nominated to perform AQST reviews;
• Working alongside other members within the central AQST team to execute AQST reviews across Banking & Capital Markets, Wealth & Asset Management, and Insurance engagements;
• Reporting status and results of reviews to both the UK Audit Quality Executive and Banking & Capital Markets, Wealth & Asset Management, and Insurance Business Unit Leaders;
• Escalating thematic issues coming out from the reviews to audit quality leadership; and
• Ensuring that inspection findings are disseminated to teams in a timely manner through our coaching programmes.
• Provide direct coaching and review support to the highest-profile engagements selected for AQST review within your industry expertise of Banking & Capital Markets, Wealth & Asset Management or Insurance
• Perform risk-based scoping through engagement with the audit team;
• Challenge the effectiveness and articulation of the audit strategy;
• Review the execution of the audit work and identify areas for improvement;
• Exercise professional scepticism when constructively challenging the audit teams on the appropriateness of their approach to identified significant risks, adequacy of their documentation and adoption of best practices identified within the firm; and
• Challenge the team’s approach and execution around the application of IFRS9, IFRS13 and IFRS 17.
• Source, supervise, train, and deploy a dedicated team of offshore audit quality managers to support the FS AQST programme.
• Supervise offshore audit quality managers administrating EY’s Global Key Findings Review programme.
• Assist with deployment of other UK quality initiatives including, among others, standardisation, and digital implementation.

TO QUALIFY FOR THE ROLE, YOU MUST HAVE

• ACA/ CA/ ACCA (ICAEW, ICAS, Irish Institute or equivalent international qualification)
• Financial services audit background either Banking & Capital Markets, Wealth & Asset Management, or Insurance
• Significant experience with large public & complex audits
• Strong project management and technical (auditing and accounting) skills
• Strong focus on and passion for audit quality and coaching/reviewing teams