The critical roles of an audit associate revolve around assisting the senior auditors or manager in auditing and compliance activities. Usually, the audit associates are well equipped with auditing procedures and standards.
Audit associates are mainly responsible for the business analysis, preparation, and review of accounting and documentation of audit evidence, ensuring minimum firm standards according to government laws and preparing budgets for future operations.
Sometimes they are responsible for gathering information about the organization’s financial structure and providing expert-level suggestions for improvements to the management.
Along with assisting in financial activities, audit associates are also responsible for keeping track of the client’s taxation record of paying taxes on time.
The company can hire audit associates to assist the financial division, while external auditors sometimes hire audit associates to help the audit manager.
Key Roles of an Audit Associate:
The roles of audit associates are generally very complicated and complex as they are considered the ultimate experts in the industry. The typical parts of an audit associate are as follows:
Perform Auditing and Accounting Activities:
The most critical role of an audit associate is to assist and carry out complex auditing and accounting activities.
They also make sure that financial statements are kept according to the prescribed standards. The audit associate is also responsible for analyzing the client’s accounts and generating proper tax records for government agencies.
Project Management:
It is the responsibility of an audit associate to mobilize all the organization’s resources to complete the allotted project in time. A well-experienced audit associate can manage multiple projects with their time frame with proficiency.
Trust of the Clients:
The audit associates are normally considered as the representatives of their firm. One of their key roles includes earning the confidence and trust of the clients by providing high-quality work.
A good auditor is normally recognized by their knowledge and timely judgment about the client’s business.
Document Preparation:
Another critical role of an audit associate in the preparation of documents. The audit associate is not responsible for giving an audit opinion on the business accounts, but they can document the whole process.
Sometimes suggestions and opinions from an audit associate are also included in the final report by the external auditor. They also assist in getting the supporting information and documentation necessary for the last statement.
Other Financial and Auditing Responsibilities:
Following is the list of financial and audit responsibilities of an audit associate
- Assist the auditing and accounting team, and solve their issues in time.
- Find out the problems in accounting and auditing activities and communicate them to the senior associate, manager, or partner.
- Analyze the internal controls of an organizations
- Provide suggestions and recommendations for improvements in internal controls.
- Develop a relationship with the client to ensure that the flow of information from the client to the audit team remains smooth and efficient.
- Preparation of audit reviews after a complete analysis of the client’s accounts.
- Make sure that all business transactions are in compliance with government rules and regulations.
- Ensure the accuracy of the financial statement.
- Communicate with clients and solve their questions in a timely manner.