interim_auditAnd we are off! It is that time of year again – interim audit. This time of year consists of away trips to various places of the UK, meeting new colleagues that you may not have worked with before, a lot of biscuit treats, and of course some audit work.

What is an interim audit?

An audit consists of two main phases, the interim audit and final audit (see Rob’s post about the audit cycle for further info). The interim audit, much like the final audit, seeks to gain assurance over accounts. However, because the accounting period for our clients usually spans 1 April to 31 March, we cannot audit them for the entire 12 months of the year. Instead we audit them for the first 9 months (1 April to 31 December).  At final we then audit the full 12 month period using our work at interim – thus reducing the amount of work we have to do at final. The interim audit may also identify any issues, and highlighting these early will give us and the client enough time to address them.

Ooh I see. Tell me more, please.

The work we do on interim is very similar to that which we do at final but there are a few differences. Tests like existence of assets – whereby we ensure that the assets the client have in their accounts actually exist – are usually done at final rather than interim since if we were to do it at interim and find that they exist, we would still have to perform the exact same test at final as they may not exist then.

Interim audit is also where you will first meet the client. It is a good time to get familiar and build client relationships. Between now and the end of final, you will probably have asked them many questions so it is good to get a rapport from the start.

That’s a great explanation. Thanks. So how many audits do you go on?

So far in this interim period, I have been auditing the Prudential Regulation Authority at the Bank of England (they have a very good canteen), and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. And in a few weeks, I am due back at the Treasury. As you can see, the audits I have been on vary considerably which means I get to meet lots of new colleagues and travel to different and exciting places. In fact I would certainly say that the travelling is one of the joys of audit; no sooner will I have unpacked my overnight bag than I’ll be off once again…


Apply now – applications close 28 February

If you want to apply for our 2015 graduate training scheme, you can still do so until Saturday, 28 February 2015. Head over to our graduate recruitment site for further information.

If you’ve got any questions around the application process, please leave a comment below. You can also contact our recruitment team by email, via our Facebook page, or on Twitter.

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