Job Description
Role title: Internal Audit Specialist
Role Type: Permanent
Location: Edinburgh or London (with blended home working)
At abrdn we empower our clients to plan, save and invest for their futures.
Through the expertise, insight and innovation of our team, we aim to help clients create more ways for money to make an impact. We set our sights on giving them more confidence to achieve their goals, and more clarity about what they need next. And we focus on delivering outcomes that are more than just financial – by investing sustainably to build a better world.
We’re currently looking for talented internal audit specialists to help support abrdn in delivering against its strategic ambitions in the Investments team whilst supporting effective management of the risks faced by the business in that pursuit.
We are highly ambitious function who seek to innovate. We’ll help you grow by recognising and leveraging your strengths and potential, supporting your personal development. In return, we will ask you for your energy, enthusiasm and the drive to deliver the results we aim to achieve.
We can’t wait for you to join us!
About the role
You will act as a role model for IA’s vision, culture, strategy and plan in line with organisational goals delivering difficult messages to the business when required.
Supporting the delivery of strategy by focussing IA's work on the highest risk areas, providing support for less experienced colleagues to do this.
As well as supporting audit delivery teams by performing the scrum master role where appropriate, helping the audit to deliver on time and to the expected quality. Engage with the scrum master community and promote new ideas and ways of working.
Other key responsibilities include:
- Audit Planning, Risk Assessment & Stakeholder Management:
- Supporting the development of the audit plan through researching appropriate universe entity, inputting your knowledge from stakeholder engagements and other insight meetings and proposing audit ideas.
- Supporting Audit Managers and Vector Heads of Audits in developing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders to enhance business area knowledge and to promote best audit practice across the Group. Where appropriate, this will include attending governance committees and forums.
- Audit Delivery:
- Responsible for detailed planning, scoping & performance of audit work to support delivery of Audit Plan. Where appropriate, the Audit Specialist should perform the audit owner role on audits.
- Ensuring issues are identified analysed to determine the root cause and findings reported on with related follow-up undertaken on a timely basis to ensure effective delivery.
- Ensuring documentation of audit delivery work meets methodology and quality requirements. Ensure timely completion of work and escalation of issues and risks.
- Ensuring audit findings are articulated and communicated effectively to senior business management in a clear, constructive and accurate manner (in conjunction with Audit Manager on complex audits).
- Demonstrating a willingness to work across the agile roles with support from the Audit Manager and Vector Heads of Audits.
- Issue Validation:
- Completing issue validation to the expected standards, in line with methodology and in a timely manner, reporting back where the business have not closed issues adequately.
- Other/Ongoing Responsibilities:
- Auditors directed, coached and developed to maximise performance and promote best audit practice across the department. Feedback constructively.
About the candidate requirements
Educated to degree level with a relevant professional qualification or experience (e.g. accounting, audit, risk)
Critical Thinking - Linking the long term vision for Aberdeen Standard plc to daily work. Considering what needs to be done in the future to make the organisation fit to deliver results for the customers and our stakeholders. It is also about considering how external circumstances impact on the strategic direction of the sector and organisation.
Strong Analytical skills -Use of a variety of diagnostic techniques to understand a situation/issue/problem by breaking it down and tracing the root cause/underlying implications in a methodical, step-by-step way.
Excellent Communication skills -Clearly and effectively communicates information, ideas, plans, requests and opinions to internal and external stakeholders through a range of channels, including written and oral. Ensures alignment with communication guidelines and policies
Courageous Decision Making - The ability to make decisions at pace and in ambiguous or conflicting situations. Taking ownership of the process and outcome. It is also focused on the pace of decision making, with a motivation to avoid unnecessary escalation or procrastination.
Laws, regulations and standards - Knowledge of specific regulations, legislation, governance and compliance requirements that impact a role, business area or Abrdn as a whole.
Managing risk - Identify, assess, control and monitor risks. Make the right things happen first time, identify when things have not gone right and understand why, and recover the position.
Impact & Influence - Influencing others to achieve a positive impact. This includes communicating clearly, building support for ideas and having an impact on other people. Impact and influence is linked to understanding others, as it is based on the desire to have an effect on others in order to bring about a specific course of action.
Stakeholder management -Interprets and influences both the external and internal environments by creating positive relationships with stakeholders through the appropriate management of their expectations and agreed objectives.
Project/programme management - Plans, initiates, executes, controls and closes projects/programmes/portfolios of work in a disciplined manner. Tracks and manages resources, timelines, costs, deliverables and performance.
Our Benefits
There's more to working life than coming home with a good salary. We have an environment where you can learn, get involved and be supported.
When you join us, your reward will be one of the best around, including 40 days annual leave, a 16% employer pension contribution, a discretionary performance based bonus (where applicable), private healthcare and a range of flexible benefits including gym discounts, season ticket loans and access to an employee discount site amongst many others. You can read more about our benefits
here.
How we create value
Our strategic drivers are the foundations from which we deliver for all our stake holders: High Impact Intelligence, Enduring Relationships, Connections without borders and Future fit. You can find out more about our values
here
.
Our Inclusive Culture
We are committed to exploring the possibilities of working smarter. This means we’d like to hear from you, whatever way you like to work.
An inclusive culture, where diverse perspectives drive our actions, is at the core of who we are and what we do. If you need assistance or a reasonable adjustment to your interview because you are neurodivergent, or have a physical, sensory, cognitive, mental, visible or invisible disability please let us know and we will assist. You can find out more about our inclusive culture
here
.
We’re committed to providing an inclusive workplace where all forms of difference are valued and which is free from any form of unfair or unlawful treatment. We define diversity in its broadest sense – this includes but is not limited to our diversity of educational and professional backgrounds, experience, cognitive and neurodiversity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief and ethnicity and geographical provenance. We support a culture that values meritocracy, fairness and transparency and welcomes enquiries from everyone.
If you need assistance or an adjustment due to a disability please let us know as part of your application and we will assist.