Risk Consulting Graduate - Internal Audit - Public & Social Sectors - London - September 2024

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 graduate with strong analytical and project management skills? Do you enjoy building trusted client relationships? This is a great opportunity to make a difference to the organisations you'll be working with in the public and social sector whilst gaining an excellent technical grounding and real responsibility.   

About the role 

In this role, you will conduct internal audit reviews of our clients' operations in specific areas. You will be responsible for undertaking internal audits into individual areas of the client's business, providing recommendations that are proportionate and in line with public sector best practice. You will undertake all aspects of the internal audit from opening meeting to report writing/audit closure. The audits that you will undertake will be varied and diverse and will have a direct meaningful impact on our clients and the communities they serve. You will help them to shape their internal processes, reduce their exposure to risk and highlight the opportunities facing them. 

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. 

During your first year you will: 

• Perform internal audits by testing and reviewing documentation to establish a client's exposure to risk and the effectiveness of the processes in place to mitigate risks; 
• Obtain relevant information from clients whilst building an effective rapport with client staff; 
• Undertake internal audit testing using a range of tools and methods in order to review and provide recommendations on the client's business operations; 
• Develop a thorough understanding of the nature of the client's business, best practice, and applicable regulations; 
• Take ownership for an internal audit project within the first two months, including providing feedback to clients verbally and through written internal audit reports; and 
• Develop personal and professional skills through regular training, with the support of your team and your line manager. 

During your second year you will: 

• Start to be involved in supporting client managers in the planning stages of work, such as attending scoping meetings and drafting internal audit Terms of Reference documents; 
• Start to specialise in particular sub-sectors or types of audits where you have developed an interest; 
• Increase your confidence in providing your own solutions and ideas to complex client scenarios; 
• Perform more challenging technical audits under the guidance of the relevant Mazars manager; 
• Gain proficiency in report writing, and begin to review the work of more junior team members; and 
• Be able to aid junior team members by providing support and feedback. 

In your third year you will: 

• Be able to complete complex audit reviews with minimal supervision from Mazars managers; 
• Act as a point of contact for both internal Mazars management, junior members of the team, and clients, ensuring that the internal audit work of others is completed within required timeframes; 
• Begin managing the operational delivery of client internal audit plans, including taking ownership for scoping meetings with clients to develop internal audit Terms of Reference documents; 
• Develop client portfolio and contract management skills, that will put you on a pathway to the Assistant Manager grade; 
• Gain exposure to Board-level client meetings, shadow managers who will be responsible for presenting our reports; and 
• Provide on the job advice, training, and supervision of junior staff, with the opportunity to take on Manager responsibilities. 

About the team 

The Advisory & Consulting Service Line is a rapidly growing, award winning, global group of successful teams working together to deliver the highest quality of work for our clients.  

If you are successful in securing a role on our training programme you will join a team of 600+ innovative specialists across a variety of sectors including Financial Services, Industry & Services, and Public Services with consultative expertise in Risk & Management Consulting, Internal Audit, Actuarial and all aspects of the Tech & Digital space. Our Advisory teams are at the forefront of large international infrastructure projects, global M&A transactions, high-profile forensic investigations, business valuations, corporate restructuring and creditor advisory services; all with the aim of adding value to clients by finding solutions to a range of financial issues as one collaborative team. 

The Public and Social Sector Risk Consulting team offers internal audit, advisory and other assurance services across multiple organisations within the public & social sector. We provide our clients with clarity over the performance of their risk management processes and raise recommendations for improvement where required. Working in the public and social sector will enable you to meet and support like-minded individuals at your clients who really want to make a difference in society. You can directly contribute to supporting local communities and be involved with some of the biggest issues in society. 

Public and social sector organisations are extremely important, unique and interesting. At Mazars, we work with a wide variety of organisations across the range of sub-sectors set out later in this section. As we act independently to our clients, we play an important role in supporting public scrutiny, helping to hold organisations to account, support continual improvement and striving to make society a better place. You will have the opportunity to work across a wide range of clients within the public and social sector Risk Consulting team. Our team provide distinctive audit and advisory services across the following six sectors: 

• Local government - We are among the top 4 firms providing internal, IT and contract audits as well as anti-fraud and corruption services to local government. The Apex Framework, delivered by Croydon Council and Mazars, provides local authorities with internal audit resources with over 40 local authorities and companies adopting the framework. 
• Education – Education organisations we work with include universities, sixth form colleges, academies and schools. As part of the work we do, we complete specialist funding audits, data return and legislative reviews for our education clients, as well as wider audits around the student experience, apprenticeships, safeguarding and governance, to name a few. 
• Central government – We work with a range of Arm's Length Bodies (ALBs) of government, who deliver and manage public services, provide advice to government and develop regulation. ALBs therefore include organisations with very specific objectives, such as museums and galleries, research institutions and regulators. Internal audits that have been completed by Mazars trainees include managing collections of artworks, assessing the retail operations of gift shops, looking at grassroots sports funding across the UK, ensuring generators are held to account for managing sustainable fuel, assessing the diversity and inclusion aims of regulators and reviewing the arrangements for inspecting railways to help prevent/investigate accidents; 
• Housing - Housing in general, and social housing in particular, is of significant focus within the UK. Mazars is the #1 provider of Internal Audit services to the social housing sector, operating across both England and Wales. We audit key risk areas such as fire safety, income collection and anti-social behaviour, providing consulting and assurance services to almost 100 clients; 
• Police - We provide a range of internal audits to the Office of Police & Crime Commissioners and the associated Police Force. These organisations face various challenges and are very much in the political and media spotlight for the way in which they operate. Our work adds value to the organisations by providing assurance over key areas such as corporate services areas including Finance and HR to more operational areas such as Victim Services, Firearms Licensing and Seized Property. 
• Charities - We provide internal audit and advisory services to a range of household name charities working across fields such as international conservation, care in the community and medical research funding. It's a fascinating sector and offers you the opportunity to work with people with strong altruistic values and to feel as though you are really making a difference. There is also some unique audit work in this area that you don't see elsewhere such as reviewing fundraising strategies and practices, raffles and lotteries, and volunteer management. 

About you

We are looking for exceptional candidates to join our team who demonstrate the following:  

• Interpersonal skills; the ability to build client relationships with a foundation of trust and responsibility. 
• Communication skills: the ability to articulate your ideas and suggestions clearly and effectively in both verbal and written forms. 
• Analytical skills; attention to detail, the ability to think critically, research and solve problems. 
• Interpreting skills: interpreting information, drawing conclusions and making judgements. 
• Proactive approach: you will need to ensure team members/managers are updated about the status of projects in your portfolio and that any client issues are escalated promptly. 
• Project management: strong time-management and project management skills (you will need to prioritise your portfolio of tasks). A desire for autonomy and to take personal ownership for the delivery of projects to time and quality. 
• Flexibility: ability and motivation to work both independently and as part of a team. 
• Enthusiasm for the sector: motivated to work specifically within the public and social sector (across our not-for-profit client base) and driven to make a difference for the organisations you will work with. 
• Personal and professional development: commitment and motivation to self-development and learning. 
• Affinity with our values: in particular, respect for individuals, diversity and integrity. 

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.  

You will receive full support to study towards the ICAEW Chartered Accounting qualification (ACA) or IRM (International Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management and then the International Diploma in Risk Management qualifications). You will be given the opportunity to decide which one prior to your start date. This support includes 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. 

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 with a huge 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.  

We recruit on a rolling basis, which means that we make offers throughout the season as we meet exceptional candidates. 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. 

International applications – Please note that the deadline to apply for international candidates who require visa sponsorship is 15 March 2024. Applications received after this date will not be progressed.