Role Objective (Why this role exists)
We are clearing a multi-year audit backlog across a growing group of companies.
This role is not about theory, policy writing, or long meetings. It is about getting accounts audit-ready, closing open audit queries, and pushing audits to completion.
Success in this role means:
- Outstanding audits materially reduced or fully cleared
- Clean, complete audit schedules delivered on time
- Auditors receiving what they need, when they need it
Key Responsibilities
1. Audit Backlog Execution
- Take ownership of assigned financial years/entities and drive them from incomplete to audit-ready
- Prepare and reconcile audit schedules (TB, GL, AR/AP, fixed assets, accruals, provisions, intercompany, bank reconciliations)
- Identify gaps in documentation and proactively source, recreate, or reconstruct support where needed
2. Audit Query Management
- Act as the single point of contact for audit queries for assigned entities
- Track, respond to, and close audit queries efficiently
- Escalate only true judgment issues resolve routine queries independently
3. Data Cleanup & Reconciliation
- Perform deep-dive reconciliations where historical records are messy or incomplete
- Clean up prior-year balances, mis-postings, unsupported balances, and aged reconciling items
- Clearly document assumptions, judgments, and fixes for audit trail purposes
4. Coordination & Discipline
- Work closely with the CFO and finance team to prioritise which audits to clear first
- Coordinate with internal stakeholders to chase missing invoices, contracts, bank statements, and confirmations
- Maintain a simple but rigorous tracker of status, blockers, and next actions
5. Audit Readiness for Future
- Document recurring issues encountered and propose practical fixes to prevent future backlog
- Help standardise audit schedules and working papers for reuse across entities
Required Skillset & Experience
MUST-HAVE
- 3-7 years of hands-on accounting or audit experience
- Prior experience in external audit, audit support, or financial reporting
- Strong working knowledge of:
o Balance sheet reconciliations
o Audit schedules & working papers
o GL systems and Excel (pivot tables, lookups, reconciliation models)
- Proven ability to work with imperfect data and still reach defensible conclusions
- Comfortable working under time pressure with clear delivery deadlines
- Proficiency in SQL Accounting, XERO, SPC Tax Comp, and other widely used accounting and tax software.
Strong Advantage
- Experience clearing audit backlogs or historical accounts
- Exposure to group structures, intercompany balances, or multi-entity audits
- Familiarity with SMEs or fast-growing companies where processes are evolving
- Prior interaction with Big 4 or mid-tier auditors
Ideal Personality Traits (THIS matters)
- Execution-driven - you get things done, not just identified
- Thick-skinned and persistent - you chase answers until the query is closed
- Commercially pragmatic - you know what auditors really need vs what's nice to have
- Structured and organised - you don't let details slip, even under volume
