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Audit & Assurance

Our Audit & Assurance team plays a vital role in adding value to a client’s organisation and providing confidence to investors, shareholders and the broader capital markets through the provisions of external audit and other assurance services to a wide range of clients.

What is an audit?

Shareholders and investors place great reliance on a company’s financial statements.

The primary objective of an audit is to provide an object opinion on whether a company’s financial statements represent their true financial position fairly and accurately – ultimately, enabling both current and potential shareholders and investors to make informed decisions.

There are 3 main phases on an audit:

  • Planning – definite audit scope and objective, conduct initial information gathering and develop audit plan 
  • Fieldwork – gathering evidence, reviewing documentation and perform detailed testing of transactions
  • Reporting – communicate audit results of management, develop recommendation and prepare final report

What makes working in Audit & Assurance unique:

  • Teamwork – As an auditor, you’ll work in a close-knit, highly collaborative team environment. Teams will vary in size, depending on the size of the client but you’ll always have access to a support team of your peers and seniors.
  • Varied work environment – Don’t be tied to a desk! Unlike a lot of typical jobs in accounting, auditors balance their time between a variety of working environments. On any given day, you could be travelling to work on a client’s site, working in the our office or working from home.
  • A strong commercial understanding – Working in Audit offers an intimate look into the inner workings and strategic objectives of an organisation. Here you’ll build an unrivalled foundation in your understanding of business, strategic and financial decisions making as well as managing risk.
  • Global opportunities – Audit is a truly global career. Once you’ve completed your Charter Accountant (CA) studies, the ability to work overseas with your expertise is limited only by your imagination. Ask us about our global secondment opportunities!

Joining Audit & Assurance as a graduate or vacationer will see you:

  • work closely with your clients to understand how their business works and the industry in which they operate in
  • conduct process walkthroughs to understand the “typical” flow of a transaction
  • carry out audit fieldwork including transaction sampling, data analysis and controls testing
  • attending a stocktake on a client site to validate the existence and completeness of recorded inventories.

What we’re looking for from you:

  • Strong attention to detail
  • Communication and interpersonal skills
  • Teamwork and collaboration
  • Integrity
  • Initiative
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Meet Emma

Name: Emma Zeibari
Job Title: Senior Associate
Service Line: Audit & Assurance
University Attended: University of Western Australia
Degree qualification:  Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance)
Year graduated: 2021

Emma began working at Grant Thornton as a Vacationer in January 2021, giving her insight into life as an Auditor. After her Vacationer experience, she was offered an undergraduate position in March 2021, before accepting a full-time Graduate role in June 2021.

Day-to-day, Emma is either working at a client site or flexibly from home, where she analyses cash, accounts payable, equity, operating expenses and capital assets. “You also get to expand into a lot of other cycles such as receivables, revenue, exploration and evaluation and journal entry testing. These can all differ from client’s industry and level of risk, so you are always working on different work papers each week, making every day different,” Emma says.

Emma particularly enjoys the diverse team she collaborates with, as Grant Thornton offers the opportunity to work with many different people. “We get a lot of exposure to many different businesses as different industries and people. Therefore, we get a wide range of diversity among team members, and I feel like this really creates our culture,” Emma says.

What do you enjoy the most in your role? “I enjoy fieldwork the most where you are testing your assigned cycles. You get to understand the client’s system, select a sample for testing and then go to the client with any queries, which really combines many of your main audit tasks into one. Each cycle is different and tested differently depending on the level of risk it has, so you never do any work the same on fieldwork.”

How do you feel supported in your role? “When a manager or senior trusts you to get the work done on time and effectively. A sense of appreciation or being told you are doing well goes a long way in this job. Often, we have appreciation messages that get posted every few weeks from other levels in the jobs for people that have shown you are going out of your way or have improved greatly,” says Emma.

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Meet Bijay

Name: Bijay Puri
Job Title: Associate
Service Line: Audit & Assurance
University Attended: Griffith University
Degree qualification: Master of Professional Accounting & Bachelor of Business
Year graduated: 2022

Commencing with Grant Thornton in 2021, Bijay’s career trajectory wasn’t cut and dry. Bijay arrived in Brisbane from Nepal in 2013 to study a Bachelor of Business (Hospitality Management) at Griffith University. After completing his degree, Bijay was offered an opportunity to work at the Sheraton Hotel in Port Douglas. Despite facing challenges within the hospitality industry during COVID-19, Bijay says it wasn’t all bad. During this time of uncertainty, he was able to reflect. He decided to pivot his career trajectory, pursuing a Masters in Professional Accounting. While studying, he began his journey with Grant Thornton as a Vacationer in February 2021, before beginning work as a full-time Associate in July 2021.

He enjoys the challenges in Audit, and loves working as part of a team. “Being an Audit Associate is like solving a giant puzzle. Teamwork is imperative, and communication is key to successful work in this area. For me, being able to contribute to the team and do my part to solve this giant puzzle has enabled me to grow,” Bijay says.

How do you feel supported in your role? Bijay says that Grant Thornton has been a supportive and rewarding learning experience, especially with the Buddy Program and having an assigned coach to give him further support when he needs it. “The relationship I have built with my peers and clients; the development in my skills and knowledge and being able to take ownership in these areas show that I am moving in the right direction. The direction is to grow, and I am on the right track compared to what I was before joining Grant Thornton.”

What do you love most about life in Audit? “The experience of getting to talk to clients and understand how they manage their business through accounting processes brings a wealth of information and knowledge. The exposure from various engagements during the year is just something one cannot expect in any other job, and I love that the most,” Bijay says.

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