Audit Quality – Senior Manager – Ethics

Ideas | People | Trust

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

We work with the companies that are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high‑growth businesses that fuel the economy – and directly advise the owners and management teams leading them.

We’ll broaden your horizons

Audit quality is central to our strategy as an Audit Stream, the key ingredient to our success. Consistent high audit quality enables us to attract, develop and retain talented people and be proud of our work. Audit quality allows us to compete in the market and demonstrate that we can play a key role in market reform.

Consistently high audit quality does not happen by chance. It requires a mindset and culture of challenge and professional scepticism, appropriate resources both people and intellectual, investment in central support for engagement teams and technology solutions. Within the last year we have increased our headcount significantly, invested in new partners, and commenced a significant investment programme in our central quality support team.

We’ll help you succeed

The work we do is underpinned by quality. We deliver audits which are trusted and transparent which can be relied upon by companies and their stakeholders.

You’ll be someone who is comfortable working pro-actively and, managing your own tasks, as well as confident collaborating with others and communicating regularly with Senior Managers, Directors, and BDO’s Partners. You’ll help deliver accurate and transparent reporting to all relevant stakeholders as you provide long term value. 

Independence and Ethics continues to be of increasing importance for professional services firms in terms of cultural influence and compliance. It is a key focal point for a wide range of stakeholders, including, investors, government, regulators & the media; not only in the UK but also internationally. Issues concerning ethics, independence and wider conflicts of interest have been frequently attributed, at a professional level, to have led to insufficient professional scepticism and audit quality. The Ethics team directly support the firms Strategic Framework commitment to High Quality, Independence & Ethics.

The Ethics team is led by the Ethics Partner with the support of a team consisting of twelve individuals ranging from Director to Junior Ethics Executive.

In light of the continuing importance of ethics, combined with the ever increasing complexity of compliance, and the firm’s sustained growth across all streams, especially in the PIE and listed market, the firm is introducing new systems to identify and manage risk in the area of audit independence and conflicts of interest. These systems are transformative to how BDO address audit independence and conflicts of interest, delivering significant efficiencies and proactive identification of risks. These systems impact on all BDO Streams and the successful implementation of these systems are ‘Top 10 Programmes’ for the BDO Leadership team.

Working specifically on the firmwide CTO/COI systems, support and management is needed within the Ethics team to help with the successful implementation of these systems, embedding new business as usual processes and realising the benefits for the wider business. The candidate will work closely with Partner Sponsors of the projects, Project Managers, IT and other stakeholders.

You will be involved in:

• Understanding requirements that the firm has in respect of audit independence and conflicts of interest and work closely with project teams, IT and senior stakeholders to ensure the systems are fit for purpose to fulfil these requirements
• Managing personnel in the Ethics team and in the Shared Services Centre
• Performing testing of the systems to ensure they are fit for purpose
• Drafting guidance and process notes to be used by the business and the Shared Services Centre
• Drafting and delivering training on the systems to the business and Shared Services Centre
• Working with BDO Global project teams to influence the development of systems to ensure the UK firm’s view is taken into account
• Setting up and managing quality control processes to ensure the implementation and business as usual processes meets all requirements of ISQM1
• Advising users in the business on the new systems and how they need to interact with them to ensure the firm meets its obligations to audit independence and conflicts of interest.
• Defining and managing tasks and actions that involve the Ethics team and ensure they are completed in line with project deadlines

You’ll be someone with:

• Relevant experience in a similar position applying ethical standards or a similar regulatory framework.
• An awareness of the ICAEW Code of Ethics and the Financial Reporting Council’s Ethical Standard for auditors would be beneficial but is not compulsory.
• An understanding of complex risk management and conflicts of interest systems.
• Experience in application of regulation and how to interpret and apply rules in a practical way.
• An understanding of risk management principles and how to apply these in practice.
• Strong communication skills – both written and oral – with the ability to communicate confidently and professionally with people at all levels.
• A proven track record of project managing firm-wide systems and projects.
• An ability to quickly build trusted working relationships with people at all levels.
• The ability to work both independently and collaboratively to solve complex problems and drive tasks through to completion.
• Strong organisational skills with experience of working on complex projects.

You’ll be able to be yourself; we’ll recognise and value you for who you are and celebrate and reward your contributions to our business. We’re committed to agile working, and we offer everyone the opportunity to work in ways that suit them, their teams, and the task at hand.

At BDO, we’ll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development.

We’re in it together

Mutual support and respect is one of BDO’s core values and we’re proud of our distinctive, people-centred culture.  From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we’ll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personal and professional needs.

Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another.  At BDO, you’ll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work.

We know that collaboration is the key to creating value and satisfying experiences at work, so we’ve invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices.  BDO’s people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we’ll encourage you to build your network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences.  With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you’ll never stop learning at BDO.

We’re looking forward to the future

At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy.

Our success is powered by our people, which is why we’re always finding new ways to invest in you. Across the UK thousands of unique minds continue to come together to help companies we work with to achieve their ambitions.

We’ve got a clear purpose, and we’re confident in our future, because we’re adapting and evolving to build on our strengths, ensuring we continue to find the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise. We shape the future together with openness and clarity, because we believe in empowering people to think creatively about how we can do things better.

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