Audit Assistant Manager
Bristol,
Audit
Auditor jobs
Belong. Bring the energy.
We’re analysers, evidence finders and risk managers
If you’re weighing up a move, you’ll want work that’s still technically engaging – alongside the chance to build strong client relationships and learn from supportive, highly skilled colleagues. We think you’ll find all that here:
- Work closely with partners and clients – so strong performance translates into earlier trust and bigger scope
- Broader client exposure – our diverse portfolio with turnovers up to £300m (from owner-managed businesses to groups, listed entities, and public sector organisations) gives you rounded experience – and a refreshing variety of work
- Commercial insight, not just compliance – our auditors understand what drives commercial performance – cash, margin, working capital, forecasting, controls – and communicate that insight clearly to finance leaders
- Quality and support – with 200+ people in our audit teams, you’ll have depth of expertise and support, while still being able to shape how work is delivered
What it’s like in our audit team
You’ll work with data and analytics, but the role goes well beyond the numbers. You’ll build trusted relationships with client’s finance teams, ask the right questions and help influence practical improvements across their business. You’ll deliver high-quality audits that give boards and owners confidence in their decisions.
Belonging to our audit team is a mix of technical rigour, teamwork and honing your client relationships skills. You’ll spend time at on client sites, usually in the South West, and we also have a flexible hybrid model that combines being in the office work with remote work. Where we work on any one day is guided by what our clients need and what helps our teams do their best work.
We take work-life balance seriously, and consistently working late isn’t the norm here. There will be busier periods, and if you do need to put in extra time we make sure it’s recognised – through time off in lieu or overtime, depending on the situation – so your effort is seen and supported.
You’ll also get commercial exposure beyond the core audit, contributing to wider assignments so you can see the bigger picture, this could be supporting fast-moving projects such as business sales, group restructuring work where you’ll liaise with clients, and sometimes HMRC) or enhancing our internal processes though change projects.
Meet our audit team
“I’m from Devon originally. I moved away for uni but I missed this place. It has so many qualities that I’m looking for in life. I’ve got cities, Dartmoor and beaches all on my doorstep. We’re the largest firm of chartered accountants in the South West so our size gives me plenty of opportunities.”
Emily, ACA trainee accountant
“I love having a role that enables me to be constantly challenged with technical work and that also gives me the opportunity to coach and support others in the team so they develop in their own careers.”
Rachael, Senior manager, auditA clear and structured career path
Progression in our audit team is designed to be clear and practical, with responsibility increasing as your confidence and judgement grow. And you’ll have access to structured training from internal experts to build both technical depth and practical confidence.
At senior level, you might own key sections of an audit, plan your on-site with a manager and become the day-to-day contact for the client – spotting issues early, supporting junior colleagues and ensuring the audit runs smoothly. It can be a great next step if you’re a senior who’s ready to start leading teams, managing client relationships and building your reviewing skills- with the support of approachable managers and partners.
As an assistant manager or manager, you’ll typically lead audits end-to-end for a portfolio of clients, shaping the approach, managing risk and guiding the team through more complex areas, with a bigger focus on having confident conversations with finance leaders.
At senior manager level, your scope broadens again: you’ll oversee larger engagements, coach your team, support partners with stretching tasks and contribute to winning and growing work – becoming a go-to for nurturing client relationships.
Progression depends on performance, experience and business need, but the path is transparent – and you’ll be supported by early opportunities to stretch, regular feedback, internal technical training and our leadership programme.
If you’re used to highly siloed audit structures, as sometimes found at big four audit firms, you may find you can step out of a narrow specialism and demonstrate readiness sooner to take end-to-end responsibility sooner here because you’re closer to the full audit lifecycle.
And because people’s lives and confidence levels differ, we’ll support you to progress at a pace that’s right for you. If you’re looking for meaningful client contact, varied work and a role where your voice is heard – without feeling like a small cog in a big machine – you can build responsibility steadily, with regular feedback and opportunities to stretch when you’re ready.
Auditor life at PKF Francis Clark
Ready to explore a move?
If you’re an experienced auditor looking for bigger scope, clearer progression and work that blends rigour with commercial impact, we’d love to talk. Explore our current audit vacancies or email us on [email protected].
Audit jobs FAQs
What’s it really like when you start an audit job? Audit is more numbers, it’s a great way to learn about managing a business.
Working in audit and assurance means you get the opportunity to experience working on site at clients’ premises as part of an audit team of typically two to four people for one or two weeks per project. Whilst we can (and in some cases do) audit remotely, being on site for part of a project is useful in understanding the business, beneficial as part of your training and development and important for delivering great client service.
We operate as a firmwide audit and assurance department, broken down into regions within the South West. Our teams work largely within their local region to limit travel time. There are occasional instances where we work outside the region, but these are exceptional cases. In some situations work can be performed remotely but balanced with the need for in-person coaching and mentoring, which is invaluable, particularly during training.
Our auditing jobs are based in multiple locations across the South West. We have regular local and firm-wide team meetings across the audit team to keep everyone in touch with what is happening across the team.
We arrange regular team building activities as a whole team, recent examples include bowling, paintballing, clip and climb, raft-building and laser quest. Team members also join in events at their local office, such as breakfast socials, various sporting events and our prestigious summer and winter socials, which are big nights out at great venues.