Trainee Auditor (school or college leaver programme)

Join Audit Scotland as a Trainee Auditor as part of our School or College Leaver Programme (2023)

Join us and you’ll:

• Help audit over £40 billion of public money
• Help improve public services you, your family and friends use
• Get full sponsorship to become a qualified Chartered Accountant with ICAS
• Receive a starting salary of £20,349 per annum and bonus potential with the potential to earn up to £32,503 per annum as you progress through the ICAS qualification
• Have fantastic job opportunities when you qualify

Who are we?

We are Audit Scotland. We're Scotland’s public sector auditor, independent of government. We employ more than 340 talented professionals who know that their work helps ensure the efficient delivery of public services in Scotland. We believe that public money (around £57 billion a year) should be spent wisely.

There's plenty of change ahead, and the need for robust public audit that provides assurance about public spending and helps public services improve is more important than ever. We want to make sure Scotland makes the very best of the opportunities and that change is delivered well – transparent financial reporting and delivering value for money are key to this.

We currently have opportunities available across Scotland with our offices based in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. We also have a small team based in Aberdeen. We offer a flexible working environment of home and office working as well as some travel to client sites.

Why join our team?

We are proud to be named one of the top 40 workplaces in Scotland and the UK’s eighth best accountancy workplace in the 2022 Best Companies awards. Our people are vital to our continued success and as a Trainee Auditor, you will help contribute to delivering quality and relevant audit work across a variety of clients and, in doing so, you will add real value to the development and scoping of audit plans.

Our School or College leaver programme includes full sponsorship to become a qualified Chartered Accountant with ICAS. You’ll get a prestigious, internationally recognised qualification, while being involved in varied and interesting work auditing public bodies in Scotland.

And it doesn’t stop there, we offer a range of other fantastic benefits including:

• Competitive starting salary, plus bonuses for passing exams first time and salary increments
• 38 days holiday (inclusive of 8 floating public holidays), 4 fixed public holidays, flexi-time and exam leave
• Career development and training opportunities
• Access to mentor support and guidance throughout the programme
• Attractive local government pension scheme (19.4% employer contributions)
• Access to counselling and an annual wellbeing and lifestyle medical check-up
• Discounts from major retailers with our innovative savings
• Interest-free loans for annual season tickets

More about you

You don’t need to have come straight from school or college to apply for our School or College leaver programme. No matter what your background, if you are committed to studying for a professional qualification, our School or College leaver programme is designed to develop your skills and expertise in audit and provide formal training and study towards a professional accountancy qualification over the five-year programme. Audit Scotland will provide you with ongoing support throughout your training and will encourage you to grow, develop and excel in a challenging and rewarding role. As a School or College leaver you will also join our graduate trainees giving you peer support whilst learning the job and undergoing your studies.

If you think this sounds like the career for you, then we would love to hear from you. You will need the following skills and experience:

• To be eligible for our college leaver programme, you will need to hold a HND level qualification in any discipline by summer 2023 in addition to a strong academic performance in Higher English and Maths (or equivalent)
• To be eligible for our school leaver programme, you will demonstrate a strong academic performance in Higher English and Maths (or equivalent) by summer 2023
• Strong numerical skills
• Strong verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills
• Able to work as part of a team and independently using initiative
• An interest in Audit Scotland and/or the public sector as well as the auditing and accountancy profession
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office packages
• Sound analytical skills for gathering, interpreting and evaluating data
• Disciplined and organised with good project management skills

Diversity and Inclusion

We value the unique perspective a diverse workforce brings to what we do. Therefore, we’re keen to increase representation in our workforce and support progression of minority ethnic groups. We are also a proud disability confident employer.

Application Information

We’re keeping this nice and simple - visit our careers website click the apply button and complete the application form. We would love to hear examples of any experience you have had whether its paid, voluntary or life experience and how your experience is transferrable to this role.

After the application closing date, you will be asked to complete a short online verbal and numerical test. If you are successful after this stage, you will be invited to complete an online in-tray exercise designed to assess you against specific competencies required for the role. Candidates successful following this stage will be invited to a final stage interview.

The interview will be competency based and will look for you to demonstrate evidence of the required competencies for the role. Exact details will be confirmed nearer the time; however interviews are expected to take place at the end of May.

The start date for this vacancy will be October 2023.

Check out the School or College leaver page on our careers site to find out more about our trainee programme, life at Audit Scotland and some useful hints and tips on the application process. Please note that only applications submitted via our careers website will be considered.

Closing date for applications is Tuesday 4th April 2023.