JUNIOR AUDITOR DAY-TO-DAY / what auditors actually do & graduate advice (EY, KPMG, PwC, Deloitte)

Devamsha

2 Oct 202009:57

EducationalLearning

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TLDRThis video offers insights into the daily responsibilities and challenges of an audit junior role, focusing on the audit engagement process, busy season pressures, client and team communication, and essential Excel skills. It provides practical advice for navigating the first years in auditing, emphasizing the importance of understanding the client, managing time effectively, and developing strong relationships with both clients and team members.

Takeaways

📚 Understanding the audit engagement's structure through planning, testing, evaluating, and concluding is crucial for a junior auditor.
🔍 Junior auditors are typically involved in lower risk areas and progress to more complex tasks over time.
📝 Documenting knowledge about the client and staying updated with current events is an important part of the job for new auditors.
🤔 Asking questions and seeking clarity on tasks, acronyms, and the rationale behind testing procedures is encouraged.
🗓 Navigating busy season requires effective project management and time management skills, especially with tight deadlines.
🕊️ Building strong relationships with clients and team members facilitates smoother communication and problem-solving.
📈 Excel proficiency, including the use of formulas, pivot tables, and macros, is essential for efficiency in auditing tasks.
📉 The stress of busy season can be mitigated with good stress management and maintaining a work-life balance.
🗣️ Clear communication with clients and team members, including thorough note-taking, is vital for successful audits.
👀 Observing and learning from seniors can prepare junior auditors for future responsibilities and role transitions.
🔑 Continuous learning and seeking out ways to improve efficiency, such as mastering Excel shortcuts, can save time and enhance performance.

Q & A

What are the general stages of an audit engagement as described in the script?
-The general stages of an audit engagement are planning, testing, evaluating, and concluding. These stages provide a high-level overview of the audit process and can vary depending on the client and the software used.
As an audit junior, what areas of the audit are you likely to be involved in?
-As an audit junior, you are likely to be involved in the planning and testing parts of the audit, particularly in lower risk areas. As you progress, you may move into higher risk areas.
What is the importance of understanding the client's business and keeping up-to-date with their news?
-Understanding the client's business and staying updated with their news is crucial for resolving issues during the audit. It helps in building a relationship with the client and makes it easier to ask relevant questions and understand their operations.
What are some ways to get to know the client better during the early stages of your role?
-You can get to know the client better by conducting Google news searches, using firm-specific databases, checking the Financial Times, and looking up news on Twitter. This helps in understanding the client's current events and issues relevant to the audit.
Why is it important to ask questions and understand the background during the testing phase of an audit?
-It is important to ask questions and understand the background during the testing phase to ensure a thorough audit. This includes understanding why certain transactions have occurred, the client's relationship with customers, and any delays in payments.
What are the challenges faced during the busy season in auditing?
-The busy season, typically the first quarter of the year, is challenging due to the high volume of work and tight deadlines. Clients' financial years often end on December 31st, leading to a concentrated period of work for auditors.
How can auditors manage stress during the busy season?
-Auditors can manage stress during the busy season by developing good systems for stress management, ensuring they take time away from work, engaging in hobbies, and maintaining a good relationship with their team.
What is the significance of building a good relationship with the client and the team in an audit role?
-Building a good relationship with the client and the team is significant as it facilitates easier communication, makes asking for information more comfortable, and helps in resolving issues quickly. It also makes the work environment more pleasant, especially during busy seasons.
Why is it recommended to write down everything during professional conversations in the early stages of an audit role?
-Writing down everything during professional conversations helps in keeping track of what has been discussed,问过的问题和答案，and serves as a reference for future discussions. It also ensures that no detail is missed and aids in maintaining a clear audit trail.
What Excel skills are particularly useful for an audit junior and why?
-Useful Excel skills for an audit junior include using formulas like SUMIFS, CONCATENATES, VLOOKUPS, SUBTOTALS, and working with pivot tables. These skills are essential for manipulating large datasets and performing financial functions efficiently.
How can an audit junior ensure they are learning and adapting to new tasks efficiently?
-An audit junior can ensure efficient learning and adaptation by actively seeking training opportunities, practicing Excel macros, using shortcuts to improve efficiency, and always looking for quicker ways to perform tasks by researching and self-teaching.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Understanding the Role of an Audit Junior

The speaker wishes they had known more about the daily activities and responsibilities of an audit junior before starting their role. They discuss the importance of understanding the job's nature for interview preparation and job fit. The video covers the general context of an audit engagement, including the planning, testing, evaluating, and concluding phases. The speaker emphasizes the stress of busy season, client communication, team interaction, and the necessity of project management and time management skills. They also highlight the importance of continuous learning and applying a fresh perspective to tasks, especially when updating files rolled over from the previous year.

05:01

🗓 Navigating the Challenges of Busy Season

The second paragraph delves into the pressures of the busy season, typically the first quarter in the UK, due to year-end audits and SEC filing deadlines for international groups. The speaker describes the intensity of work within a short timeframe, leading to long hours. They stress the importance of good team structure, stress management, and maintaining a work-life balance during this period. Additionally, they discuss the initial nervousness of speaking to clients and the strategy of thorough preparation and clear communication to overcome it. The speaker also underscores the value of building strong relationships with both clients and team members, as well as the importance of note-taking and learning from senior team members to prepare for future responsibilities.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Audit Junior

An 'Audit Junior' is an entry-level position in an audit firm where individuals are responsible for assisting in the auditing process. In the video, the speaker discusses the daily activities and responsibilities of an audit junior, emphasizing the importance of understanding the role before starting, which is central to the video's theme of preparing for an audit career.

💡Audit Engagement

An 'Audit Engagement' refers to the process of conducting an audit, which includes planning, testing, evaluating, and concluding. The video provides an overview of this process, highlighting that as an audit junior, one would be involved in planning and testing, particularly in lower-risk areas, and would progress to handle more complex tasks over time.

💡Busy Season

'Busy Season' is a term used to describe the period of high activity in the audit industry, typically at the beginning of the year when many companies have their financial year-ends. The script mentions the stress and long hours associated with this period, making it a key concept in understanding the challenges faced by audit juniors.

💡Client Communication

Client communication is a critical aspect of the audit process, where auditors interact with the company being audited. The video emphasizes the importance of building a good relationship with clients and clearly understanding what information is being requested, as well as why it is needed, which is crucial for effective auditing.

💡Project Management

'Project Management' involves organizing and managing resources to complete projects on time and within scope. In the context of the video, project management skills are highlighted as essential for audit juniors to balance multiple tasks, meet deadlines, and work efficiently, which is a key theme in the video.

💡Excel

Excel is a widely used spreadsheet program that is fundamental in the field of accounting and auditing. The script discusses the importance of mastering Excel for tasks such as data analysis and financial reporting, with specific functions like pivot tables and vlookups being crucial for audit juniors.

💡Technical Tips

Technical tips refer to practical advice or guidance on how to perform specific tasks or use certain tools effectively. The video provides several technical tips for audit juniors, such as learning Excel macros and using shortcuts to increase efficiency, which are directly related to the daily tasks of an auditor.

💡Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is the process of evaluating the likelihood and potential impact of events that could threaten an organization's ability to achieve its objectives. In the script, the concept is used to describe how audit juniors are often assigned to lower-risk areas of the audit, which is a foundational part of understanding the audit process.

💡Acronyms

Acronyms are abbreviations formed from the initial letters of other words and are commonly used in professional settings. The video mentions the importance of understanding various acronyms used in auditing, which helps audit juniors to communicate effectively within the industry.

💡Stress Management

'Stress Management' refers to the techniques and strategies used to cope with stress, which is particularly relevant during the busy season in auditing. The video script advises audit juniors on the importance of managing stress and taking time away from work to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Highlights

The video provides insights into the daily activities and responsibilities of an audit junior, which is often not well-discussed.

Understanding the role helps in interview preparation and determining if auditing is the right career choice.

An audit engagement typically involves planning, testing, evaluating, and concluding, with juniors focusing on planning and testing in lower risk areas.

Junior auditors are often tasked with updating audit files, applying a fresh perspective to rolled-over files from the prior year.

Documenting knowledge of the client and relevant events is crucial for new auditors to understand the client's business and resolve issues efficiently.

Audit testing requires a clear understanding of requirements and the importance of asking questions to gain a deep insight into the client's operations.

The importance of back-and-forth communication with clients to clarify and understand their business processes and financial transactions.

The audit process involves multiple rounds of reviews by seniors, managers, and partners, emphasizing the need for thoroughness and accuracy.

Project management and time management skills are critical, especially during busy season when multiple clients and deadlines need to be juggled.

Busy season, typically the first quarter in the UK, can be stressful due to year-end financial statement deadlines and the volume of work.

Stress management and maintaining a work-life balance are essential during busy season to ensure mental well-being.

Building a good relationship with clients and teams is vital for efficient communication and smoother audits.

The importance of note-taking when communicating with clients and teams to ensure nothing is overlooked or forgotten.

Observing and learning from seniors prepares junior auditors for future roles and responsibilities.

Excel proficiency is crucial, with a focus on mastering formulas, pivot tables, and data manipulation for auditing tasks.

Learning shortcuts and seeking online resources to improve Excel skills can significantly increase efficiency in the auditing process.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of not getting stuck in trying to solve problems alone and instead discussing them with the team.

The video serves as a comprehensive guide for those considering a career in auditing or preparing for an audit role.

Transcripts

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JUNIOR AUDITOR DAY-TO-DAY / what auditors *actually* do & graduate advice (EY, KPMG, PwC, Deloitte)

Takeaways

Q & A

What are the general stages of an audit engagement as described in the script?

As an audit junior, what areas of the audit are you likely to be involved in?

What is the importance of understanding the client's business and keeping up-to-date with their news?

What are some ways to get to know the client better during the early stages of your role?

Why is it important to ask questions and understand the background during the testing phase of an audit?

What are the challenges faced during the busy season in auditing?

How can auditors manage stress during the busy season?

What is the significance of building a good relationship with the client and the team in an audit role?

Why is it recommended to write down everything during professional conversations in the early stages of an audit role?

What Excel skills are particularly useful for an audit junior and why?

How can an audit junior ensure they are learning and adapting to new tasks efficiently?