What’s the difference between being a junior manager or a senior consultant in audit? And are all Audit jobs the same in different companies? Time to find out!
Discover in this interview what’s it like being a Senior Consultant or Junior Manager Audit at BDO: which skills do you need, what’s it like at BDO and how do our colleagues make a difference for their clients?
How did you both end up in Audit at BDO?
Monja: “Even though I already signed my contract at BDO, near the end of my studies I did an internship in audit at a company with quite a small audit team. Afterwards, I realised I made the right decision to work in an environment with a better framework, more support, room for personal development and with an informal and personal atmosphere. Later on, I started as a Junior Auditor at BDO and the rest is history.”
Tiantian: “BDO is also my first employer. After graduating I immediately applied for a job as Junior Auditor and now I’ve been working here for almost four years.”
Working in Audit is quite the same in every company, why should people choose to work at BDO?
Tiantian: “First thing is the variety of projects we have at BDO. It give us possibilities to work both on big and small projects to gain different experience and skills. Another reason why I consider BDO different is the people-focused approach. There is not much hierarchy here, we can talk to each other openly and our opinions can be heard.”
Monja: “Since I’ve started working here, there has always been a nice and informal atmosphere around colleagues, but the way they focus on your wellbeing is what stands out for me. There are a lot of frameworks and initiatives, for example your people manager… but just in general I feel a lot of support and guidance from BDO as an employer.”
What are some specific skills needed for your functions in Audit?
Tiantian: “For me as a Senior Consultant, communication is the first and most important skill. Many people think accounting knowledge is crucial, and that’s true in a way. But talking with your clients and colleagues, asking your manager questions about what to do in a certain situation, guiding junior profiles and giving them advice… Without communicating you might make mistakes, do double work and get inefficient, so it always backfires in the end. The second most important thing is the analytical side of the job. As Senior Consultant, you have to see the overall picture of a client’s figures. Ask yourself: does everything make sense? What is happening within their company?”
Monja: “Being able to set priorities, that’s crucial to me. Keeping deadlines in mind, acting accordingly and not thinking too much ahead. Having certain leadership skills to guide a team through an audit also comes in handy, just like being able to handle stress.
Sebastién: “In general, I think people working in audit should be curious and willing to dig deep. To know everything about their client, to find the reason behind certain figures, to learn… you should never be scared to ask questions.”
What are the biggest differences between a Senior Consultant and Junior Manager within Audit?
Monja: “Having been a Senior Consultant at BDO myself, I feel like there was a shift from doing a lot of audit work to more planning and ‘supervising’ when I became a Junior Manager. There are certain clients which I completely manage. Meaning: taking care of planning, setting up client meetings, following up from A to Z, reviewing…. Of course, I still have to audit some clients myself, especially more complex matters or with bigger, listed clients. And if some of my colleagues have too much audit work, I also help them out if possible. The mix between these two types of tasks, which you don’t have as frequently as a Senior Consultant, makes you improve both your leadership skills as well as your technical skills.”
Finally, Monja, Tiantian, how do you make it count for your clients?
Tiantian: “My added value to my clients is that I always want to be as pragmatic as possible. There’s a fixed set of procedures you can use in Audit, but not all these tools work with every client. So I try to be flexible and proactive about it and come up with alternatives. I’m thinking with the client but also for myself about how to be more efficient and how I can achieve my goals without asking too much of them.”
Monja: “I want my clients to know that we don’t just want to check their figures but that we can also play an advising role and make them grow, for example by helping them get certain attestations. That’s also why I think a strong client relationship is so important. We are an added value to their figures and their business if they let us think with them and advise them where possible.”
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