ISQM1 Senior Associate

BDO; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading advisory firm in Liverpool is seeking a proactive Senior Associate for their ISQM team. This role focuses on supporting the delivery of quality management processes and requires strong analytical and communication skills. The ideal candidate will have experience in controls testing and thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced environment, contributing to the firm's mission of helping entrepreneurial businesses succeed.

Benefits

Agile working opportunities

Career development programs

Collaborative workspaces

Qualifications

• Experience in controls testing including design and effectiveness.
• Ability to work independently and proactively.
• Strong communication skills for conveying findings.

Responsibilities

• Develop overall process narratives and identify key risks.
• Document control descriptions and test approaches.
• Support transformation of processes for compliance.

Skills

Strong analytical skills

Strong organisational skills

Communication skills

Networking skills

Job description

Ideas | People | Trust

We’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today’s changing world.

We work with the companies that are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high‑growth businesses that fuel the economy - and directly advise the owners and management teams that lead them.

We’ll broaden your horizons

The Quality and Risk Management Team (QRMT) at BDO comprises several sub-teams including the Legal Team, Enterprise Risk Management, Economic Crime, Quality Management, Ethics and Independence and Advisory and Compliance. It provides Partners and staff with the guidance, tools and support to enable them to identify and manage quality and risk issues. The QRMT is led by the Head of Quality and Risk Management Team, who is a partner who reports into the Head of Quality and Risk for the firm and sits on the BDO Leadership Team.

We’ll help you succeed

Leading organisations trust us because of the quality of our advice. That quality grows from a thorough understanding of their business, and that understanding comes from working closely with them and building long-lasting relationships.

You’ll be someone who is both comfortable working proactively and managing your own tasks, as well as confident collaborating with others and communicating regularly with senior managers, directors, and BDO’s partners to help businesses effectively. You’ll be encouraged to identify and draw attention to opportunities for enhancing our delivery and providing additional services to organisations we work with.

About the role

BDO continues to work on the enhancement of its system of quality management (SOQM) to support its desire to improve and sustain audit quality and drive a consistent quality standard across all areas of assurance work.

The SOQM is part of compliance with the International Standard of Quality Management (UK) 1 (ISQM1) which was implemented as at 15 December 2022 and was evaluated for the first time during 2023. ISQM1 requires audit firms, including BDO LLP, to design and implement a system of quality management to ensure that the Firm and our personnel fulfil responsibilities in accordance with professional standards and other requirements and that reports issued are appropriate in the circumstances. ISQM1 also requires ongoing monitoring and an annual evaluation of the system of quality management under a reasonable assurance framework.

The BDO ISQM1 team is responsible for supporting the SOQM in collaboration with the business owners in the firm, this includes undertaking risk assessments, control design and testing and evaluating inputs from across the firm to conclude on the annual evaluation of the SOQM.

BDO is looking for a talented and proactive Senior Associate to join our ISQM team. This role is crucial in supporting the successful delivery of our control design, process walkthrough and operational effectiveness testing programme.

The successful candidate will work closely with the ISQM Managers and Senior Managers within a dedicated squad. They will be responsible for our programme of monitoring and remediation during our annual cycle concluding on 30 June each year.

Key elements of the role

• Developing, documenting and completing overall process narratives and flowcharts identifying key risks and controls across our key components including Engagement Performance, Resources and Acceptance and Continuance
• Documenting and updating detailed control descriptions and providing input to control design where required
• Organising and articulating first draft test approaches and requesting evidence in support of control attributes
• Supporting the ongoing design and remediation work with the business owners of processes and controls which form part of the system of quality management.
• Supporting the business with transformation of processes that form part of the SOQM looking at efficiency and technology solutions to drive compliance with the firm’s policies and procedures.
• Developing strong working relationships with a large group of stakeholders across the business and ability to interact with on occasion senior leadership who own controls for testing purposes.
• Communicating timetables and detailed requirements to relevant parties. This includes the timely follow-up where information is delayed and tracking of responses.

You’ll be someone with

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to identify risks and detail the specific key responses in the form of controls.
• Strong organisational skills and a self-starter however support will be provided from squad managers.
• Significant understanding and experience of controls testing and their application in the workplace including design, sufficiency, operating effectiveness, deficiencies, and recommendations;
• Able to work independently and proactively but with appropriate coaching and consultation.
• Excellent analytical, interpersonal and communication skills both written and verbal.
• Strong communication skills to convey findings and recommendations clearly.
• Strong networking skills and the ability to build relationships across the firm, develop strong rapport with key stakeholders and gain the confidence of Partners and other senior staff.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, ever-changing, rapid-growth environment with multiple projects and tasks.
• Likely to have either an analytical, audit or controls/compliance background.
• Experience of working in a large professional services firm and an understanding of the regulatory environment is preferable but not mandatory.
• SOX or previous ISQM1 experience desirable.

You’ll be able to be yourself; we’ll recognise and value you for who you are and celebrate and reward your contributions to our business. We’re committed to agile working, and we offer everyone the opportunity to work in ways that suit them, their teams, and the task at hand.

At BDO, we’ll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development.

We’re in it together

Mutual support and respect is one of BDO’s core values and we’re proud of our distinctive, people-centred culture. From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we’ll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personal and professional needs. Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another. At BDO, you’ll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work.

We know that collaboration is the key to creating value and satisfying experiences at work, so we’ve invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices. BDO’s people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we’ll encourage you to build your network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences. With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you’ll never stop learning at BDO.

We’re looking forward to the future

At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy. Our success is powered by our people, which is why we’re always finding new ways to invest in you. Across the UK thousands of unique minds continue to come together to help companies we work with to achieve their ambitions.

We’ve got a clear purpose, and we’re confident in our future, because we’re adapting and evolving to build on our strengths, ensuring we continue to find the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise. We shape the future together with openness and clarity, because we believe in empowering people to think creatively about how we can do things better.