It’s a new year and we’re off to a roaring start in the Professional Services market, within the first months of 2021 the largest amount of roles we have picked up fall within audit but why? Simply put, most Auditors don’t want Audit for a variety of reasons. Our normal solution is filling those gaps with international relocators but with the borders closed for the foreseeable future, this presents an opportunity.
So why do auditors normally move on? From my conversations with what feels like millions of auditors at different levels it boils down to five main reasons.
- Lack of work life balance
- Low salary
- Wanting to broaden industries or change split between NFP and FP
- To get overseas experience
- Most common of all, wanting to add value to a business instead of repetitively ticking boxes
Now to the point of the article, if you are an Auditor why would you consider a career within the Audit space? First and foremost, not all firms are the same, not all roles are the same and there is a home for everyone.
Faster Progression
After the three year mark when you have got your CA qualification it is a popular time to make a move out of Audit. This means that from Senior up to Director level there is an opportunity for you to climb the ladder faster as there is less competition with your peers. If you enjoy Audit you can make it up to Partnership relatively quickly providing you are the right fit and hit all the targets.
Bigger firm > Smaller firm / Smaller firm > Bigger firm
This is sometimes seen as a sideways step but this can make all the difference in your lifestyle, job satisfaction and overall happiness.
In general moving from a Bigger firm to a Smaller firm can allow you to work with the types of clients you enjoy, more flexibility, higher salary package, less travel regionally and better work life balance.
Similarly moving from a Smaller firm to a Bigger firm can enable you to have stronger training, development, bigger clients, classic structure to progress and also have a reputable firm name to add to your brand.
Work life balance
Whenever I have a chat with candidates who want work life balance, my first question is always what does work life balance mean to you? Work from home arrangements, flexible hours, less hours during peak time and part time (yes you read correctly) are some of the options. When you boil it down, do you really want appreciation for the hard work you put in with time in lieu? Or local contractors who come on board during peak time instead of relying on secondees working remotely? Not every role in audit is going to be inflexible with 60+ hours per week all year round, don’t let your current role traumatise you out of a career path that can give you joy.
I could go on and on around reasons why you should stay in audit but it really depends on what you want long-term for your career. My goal is to get you to the end goal, sometimes I can help you with your dream role and other times it may be a stepping stone role that will get you closer to your destination.
It all starts with a conversation, I can let you know if what you’re open to exists in the market and also push your boundaries to figure out what you really want and need (they are two very different things). Firstly though let’s have a chat!
If you found this helpful, please share with your network.