Associate, Corporate Audit - Maidstone, Kent, UK

About Crowe

Crowe is a leading national audit, tax, advisory and consulting firm with global reach and local expertise. We are an independent member of Crowe Global, one of the top 10 accounting networks in the world, with access to more than 40,000 people in over 140+ countries and across more than 800+ offices globally.

Our vision is to be recognised as essential to the future success of our clients by helping them to answer tomorrow’s questions and make smart decisions that have lasting value through the highest quality audit, tax, advisory and consulting services.

Crowe is where talented people can realise their potential, are successful and enjoy what they do by making a positive difference to our clients, communities and each other.

At Crowe, our aim is to create a community where regardless of gender, identity, sexuality, race, ethnicity, education or background, everyone is valued, can flourish and achieve their full potential.

Due to continued growth in our Maidstone Kent office, we are recruiting an Associate, Audit to join our Audit/Assurance team.

About the role

You will be responsible for the delivery of client-based assignments, ensuring the team’s audit work and reporting is of high quality. This role will include leading and coaching team members as well as managing relationships with clients. The person in this role will also contribute to the success of our business unit, which will involve wider business and people development.

The role requirements

• Studying towards ACA/ACCA qualification
• Significant auditing and accounting experience (ideally UKGAAP)
• Experience of corporates desirable
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially Excel and ideally Caseware
• A passion for client service
• Display energy and enthusiasm and a focus on achieving results
• A keenness to further your own personal development and career goals

Your people responsibilities

• Demonstrating personal commitment to work and team success; showing positive attitude and enthusiasm for work and taking initiative to improve process/situations when appropriate.
• Consistently treating colleagues with fairness and respect, helping to provide opportunities for everyone to contribute and succeed.
• Providing and being receptive to regular and constructive feedback that improves self and others. Continually developing skills and knowledge.
• Influencing, changing and shaping the direction of a particular activity, either internally and/or externally.
• Coaching junior members of staff through sharing experience and knowledge appropriately.
• Providing on-the-job training for developing auditing skills and familiarity with the firm’s audit methodology.
• Participating in service line, office and firm wide activities.

Your direct client responsibilities

• Acting as part of a team, or the first point of contact for our clients on a day-to-day basis.
• Demonstrating excellent writing and communication skills (proficient excel and word).
• Anticipating client needs and communicating effectively with clients in both written and verbal exchanges.
• Acting at all times with the Firm’s best interests in mind. Acts with integrity in all dealings.
• Assisting in the planning, execution and finalisation of all areas of the audit assignment, providing solutions and seeking input for areas of concern and judgement.
• Demonstrating an understanding of the different types of risk, understanding the Firm’s approach and policies for managing risk in relevant business and applicable legal and regulatory rules and following policies.
• Considering and managing risk (reputational, operational and credit) in all interactions with clients.
• Showing a sense of urgency and understanding of how their work (including speed, attention to detail, and quality) impacts the Firm’s ability to serve clients.
• Producing work for the team leader and Manager and/or Partner review, clearly highlighting issues and providing potential solutions to issues identified.
• Demonstrating business development skills and identifying additional sales opportunities.
• Demonstrating an application and solution-based approach to problem solving, referred to for research on delivery of solutions in that field on client assignments.
• Identifying areas requiring improvement in the client’s business processes and possible recommendations and assisting with the preparation of the Audit Findings Reports to be provided to the client.
• Being aware of progress against the audit budget, and being able to explain variances to the budget to the Manager.
• Although the majority of your time will be spent servicing clients in and around the Cheltenham area, at times, there is a requirement to support the other UK offices. A willingness to travel is essential.

Qualities we are looking for

• Ability to execute work efficiently, delivering excellent service and bringing the full breadth of Crowe UK’s capability to support our clients.
• Act as a role model for more junior members of the team, providing on-the-job coaching.
• Adhere to the firm’s risk management policies at all times.
• Deliver work to the highest quality.
• Solid understanding and application of UKGAAP accounting fundamentals and applications.
• Ability to provide fast and intuitive analysis; correctly interpreting data, including financial statements and source documents.
• Demonstration of the ability to effectively participate in the audit process with appropriate consideration of audit risk issues and accounting technical matters.
• The ability to assist and ultimately lead the fieldwork on clients’ sites, including liaison with other departments to ensure the smooth delivery of the Audit process.

Why choose Crowe?

At Crowe we understand that it is often the culture and values of a firm that are most important when looking for a new workplace.

Whether you’re working in statutory audit, corporate tax or you’re a marketing or HR specialist, we place our people at the centre of everything that we do; promoting a collaborative, inclusive and friendly culture while remaining passionate about supporting and developing our people as they build their careers. We listen to our people and adapt to their changing needs alongside the needs of our growing business. We invest in our people to help them be the best they can be.

We value new ideas and innovation, and welcome people who are committed to making a difference by delivering excellent services to our people, clients and communities.

At Crowe, you will find the specialist knowledge, the resources and the commitment to help you build a satisfying and rewarding career, with continued learning and development, highly competitive salaries and flexible benefits.

We want to create the best environment for our people to grow and thrive and recognise the importance of offering a flexible approach to our working environment, which we would be happy to discuss with you further.

Crowe is committed to equal opportunity and diversity in recruitment and employment. We value the differences that a diverse workforce brings to our organisation, driving effectiveness in our teams and providing our clients with a quality service.

Entry and progression within the firm is determined solely by the application of objective criteria, personal performance and merit which is supported by a clearly defined career pathway..