Audit Industrial Placement - Industry & Services - Milton Keynes - September 2024 Milton Keynes, England
Job description
At Mazars we have a wide range of opportunities for you to gain experience in a firm that truly cares about your aspirations. Our business is an engine for rapid and consistent career progression, and we are known for giving ambitious people early responsibility and exposure.
Are you a university student looking for a year in industry with a strong desire to learn and progress? Are you an effective communicator keen on adding value to your client's day? If you are an analytical thinker and have a commitment to self-development and learning, this is a great opportunity for you
About the role
At Mazars, we believe audit is essential to the economic foundations of a fair and prosperous world. Audit has been, and remains, a profession at the heart of our business. Our auditors support the public interest and, by caring about the organisations we audit and their stakeholders, we help to build sustainable businesses for the benefit of society as a whole.
If you join our Audit Service Line, you will be part of a growing team of around 1,400 people who are committed to quality, to technical excellence and to adding value to our clients daily. In the fast-moving world of business, comprehensive, and robust auditing continues to be invaluable, and our teams provide audit and assurance services which are vital to our clients' business control and credibility.
We offer a distinctive, human-centric approach that goes beyond compliance, with an integrated structure that allows us to work together as one team. We serve regional, national and international companies of all sizes and structures, and you'll have the opportunity to work on a variety of client engagements in interesting sectors.
Job purpose
The role of an auditor is to ensure financial statements produced by audited entities are ‘true and fair' and an accurate representation of the transactions and balances they claim to represent. In the audit service line, you can expect to be part of highly engaged teams, working together to deliver high quality audits in line with expectations and deadlines.
We are now operating a hybrid working model, so as a trainee you will split your time between working from home, visiting the office, client sites when required or studying for your professional exams.
We are looking for candidates with a strong desire to learn and progress, and we give increasing responsibility when an individual is ready rather than at pre-determined times. However, our broad expectation of roles and responsibilities during the three-year training contract is set out below.
During your first year you will:
- Work with various audited entities, building a strong understanding of their business or organisation;
- Learn how to prepare professional audit documents in line with our audit methodology using audit software and systems;
- Develop a thorough understanding of financial statements; and
- Be able to obtain relevant information from key stakeholders whilst building effective and professional relationships.
If you are offered a permanent role to return at the end of your placement, you will re-join as a second year after completing your degree. The rest of your training is outlined below.
During your second year you will:
- Build and develop audit skills in increasingly complex and technical areas;
- Be able to take ownership for sections allocated to you in an audit file;
- Self-review your own work, ensuring minimal review points are raised by managers; and
- Be able to coach and support less experienced and new team members.
In your final year you will be expected to take on significantly more responsibility. Depending on the audited entity, this may involve taking the lead on a technical area or a team and ensuring the entire audit file is completed. This will include a combination of working to stated deadlines, managing the work of other team members, taking responsibility for the budget, and presenting in both team and audited entities meetings.
About Industry & Services
The Industry & Services team provides audit services to companies of varying sizes, from FTSE 350 companies, to companies with turnover of over £3bn, to smaller, privately-owned companies. The entities we audit range from manufacturing, transport, energy and utilities to those of a more services nature such as media, retail, professional services and technology.
Recent UK government audit reform has created huge opportunities for our Industry & Services team. We continue to win significant new business across large and listed companies of all sizes, including major international corporations. Mazars is a key challenger audit firm to the Big Four, and our rapid, recent growth and capture of a larger share of the market means that it is an incredibly exciting time to join us!
About you
- You must be in the penultimate year of your undergraduate university course (the placement must take place either in your 2nd year of a 3 year course or 3rd year of a 4 year course)
- Interpersonal skills - the ability to build client and colleague relationships with a foundation of trust and responsibility;
- Analytical skills - the ability to think critically, research and solve problems;
- Excellent business writing skills;
- Deep curiosity of business;
- Proactiveness and enthusiasm;
- Commitment to self-development & learning;
- Affinity with our values; in particular, respect for individuals, diversity, and integrity; and
- A willingness to travel.
Strong academic performance is important; however, we understand that things don't always go to plan. Our recruitment process looks at your whole self – academic achievements as well as other experiences in which you have grown and developed. We balance your academic results alongside the aptitude assessment within our recruitment process to ensure that you will be successful in your role with us.
Mazars & me: who are we?
Mazars is a leading international professional services firm delivering exceptional quality in audit, tax, financial advisory, outsourcing and consulting. It's also a fun, fast-paced, positive place to work and make friends.
At Mazars, we celebrate individuality and thrive on teamwork. We give people the freedom to make a personal contribution to our shared purpose. We support one another to deliver quality, create change and make an impact. So that everyone can reach their full potential.
Every story is different at Mazars. Our people have amazing, personal experiences so the best way to learn about life here is to hear it first hand from them.
Learning and development
We offer a diverse range of experiences, with prestigious clients and dynamic projects across a range of sectors and geographies. We offer an excellent technical grounding and real responsibility from the start, with early exposure to clients and partners. We have a culture of coaching, feedback, mentorship and one-to-one support, so you will learn from working closely with accessible colleagues and leaders who have so much to share. Most importantly, we give our people the tools and support they need to define their own career path and realise their full potential. As part of your training, we offer the opportunity to gain a professional qualification whilst earning a competitive salary and gaining invaluable experience.
This includes funding, time off to study, attend college and complete online courses. Your professional qualification is only part of the story at Mazars; we support all our trainees with a blended approach to training and development including classroom study, 1:1 coaching, and soft skills training. We will fund you towards an CFAB qualification.
You will be supported by a mentor and an appraising manager to keep your career and aspirations on track. And you will be allocated a buddy who will support you to settle into the team and navigate your first year at Mazars.
Inclusion and diversity
Being inclusive is core to our culture at Mazars; we want to ensure everyone, whether in the recruitment process or beyond, is fully supported to be their unique self and provided with a level playing field. To read more about our approach click here.
Next steps
At Mazars, we are one diverse, multicultural, multi-generational team that fosters a sense of connection and belonging. If you are looking to join a firm where you can take ownership of your career, get involved, believe in yourself and put your ideas into action, then we think you will be a great addition to our team.
Roles will be closed as soon as we find the right people, so to avoid disappointment we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.
