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The Professional Services and Relationships Group provides timely, expert advice and assistance across the ANAO on a diverse range of audit and related topics.
We provide direct support to the Executive through independent quality reviews, the provision of advice and the preparation of responses to Australian Government reform. We also provide vital support to our financial statement and performance auditors, including an up-to-date and comprehensive policy and guidance database; an audit methodology package including templates and guidance; and learning and development courses and information seminars. Most importantly, we offer well thought-out technical auditing and accounting advice to our auditors when they are in the field.
We contribute to the audit and accounting profession in Australia by providing Client Seminars that update ANAO clients on financial reporting developments and contractor briefings on topical public sector issues, as well as being an active member of the Australasian Council of Auditors-General. We also support ANAO initiatives to build auditing capacity outside Australia by assisting the Indonesian Audit Office with quality assurance and audit support through the ANAO’s Strategic Partnership Agreement with AusAID.
Our staff are afforded numerous opportunities to develop our technical knowledge through learning and development activities, as well as networking with policy agencies, professional bodies and other audit offices. A number of our staff also spend part of the year working on financial audits, thereby further developing their technical auditing and accounting skills.
Roles, requirements and responsibilities
Job Requirements
To be considered for a Professional Services position at the ANAO, you will require the following:
- Accounting or other tertiary qualifications considered relevant by the delegate are highly desirable;
- Strong accounting, financial or performance auditing/ analysis and/or IT technical skills;
- Understanding of financial statements and related financial or performance audit risk-based methodologies and practices, including IT audit principles;
- Demonstrated capacity to deliver less complex technical training and undertake technical research;
- Good track record in project management; and
- Australian Citizenship.
More senior positions also require:
- Accounting and/or other relevant tertiary qualifications are highly desirable;
- A professional background demonstrating superior accounting, financial management and/or auditing skills;
- A strong track record in client and project management; and
- Demonstrated capacity to lead and manage audit operations.
Responsibilities
Meet your workmates
Dale
After a career working in accounting and auditing at a major private firm and another government agency, I came in to interview for an audit manager position at the ANAO in February 2015. I soon found that PSRG was a great fit for me—my skills and experience meant I was well placed to provide technical support and advice to the whole organisation (including our performance and financial statement auditors) and to deliver products across a range of topics and issues.
My work in PSRG keeps me challenged. In managing the audit technical products we deliver and providing advice to our audit staff, I deal in the difficult areas of audit practice and methodology. I really enjoy getting the ‘meaty’ questions that require me to research and understand accounting and auditing issues. I like resolving tricky issues and finding new ways of doing things.
I get genuine personal satisfaction from my work here. As an example, I’m proud of my involvement in managing ANAO’s auditing standards. These are part of the Federal Register of Legislation, and serve as a record of my contribution to the ANAO. I’ve also recently been involved in developing guidance on changes to the reporting of Key Audit Matters—through this I’ve had real input into improving the usefulness of audit reports, and it’s been fascinating working at the cutting edge of the auditing world.
In PSRG you’re a technical expert, a resource to the whole ANAO. You get to know the key decision makers. You develop your people skills—presenting on issues and providing clear advice to staff is part of the job. And importantly, you work across issues relevant to the entirety of the organisation, as well as across the Australian Government.
Ingrid
I joined the ANAO in May 2012, having previously worked in a financial accounting role at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House for three years and as an auditor in the private sector for three years prior to that.
The ANAO was recommended to me by one of the mums in my mums' group, who worked in the same area. After hearing about the variety of work that she had the opportunity to perform, I thought the ANAO would be a good fit for me. I was particularly interested in fulfilling an accounting role that was quite technical in nature.
My role includes giving technical advice, drafting audit policy / guidance and designing audit methodology for both financial statement and performance audit. I have also had the opportunity to present many training sessions about audit policy and methodology. I enjoy the variety in my role, which keeps me busy and interested. I find interpreting highly technical accounting information and disseminating this information to auditors to assist them in undertaking their fieldwork to be very rewarding.
I like the fact that the ANAO actively promotes the achievement of an optimal work / life balance, which is particularly important to me as a mum. The ANAO also emphasises the importance of learning and development and is willing to invest the necessary time and resources to ensure that staff are afforded the training they need, both to excel in their roles and to advance their careers. I have had the opportunity to attend many internal and external training courses.
When I am not at work I am usually chasing my three boys around and doing endless loads of washing!
Mirjana
After joining the ANAO as a graduate in 2005, I worked as an auditor for five years, contributing to the financial statement audits of variety of entities. This experience enabled me to develop my audit, analytical, written and oral communication skills. Looking for a new challenge, I joined PSRG in 2010 to further develop my technical auditing and accounting skills and be part of a team that provides support to auditors across the ANAO.
There’s a lot of variety to my work in PSRG. My role includes: providing technical auditing advice to auditors; contributing to development and implementation of audit policies and methodologies; and monitoring national and international developments in the auditing world. As part of my role, I am responsible for development and delivery of a number of technical training courses and updates.
My work in PSRG keeps me challenged and provides me with the opportunity to contribute towards development of solutions to emerging auditing challenges. I thoroughly enjoy helping our auditors solve difficult accounting and auditing problems, particularly during their busy periods of the year.
The ANAO provides an ongoing learning and development program which assist staff in developing and maintaining the skills to deliver high quality products and services. Personally, I have had the opportunity to attend the Australian Public Sector Young Leaders Conference in Melbourne and be part of the ANAO’s Talent Management Program.
PSRG offers a supportive team environment and allows me a genuine work-life balance. As a mother of three children that works part time, I can happily say PSRG, as well as the ANAO, is very accommodating and flexible.
Tamie
I’ve been working in the ANAO’s External Relations team for the past five years, which is now part of PSRG. External Relations is the ANAO’s liaison point with both national and international audit offices, and our key stakeholders—which include the Parliament, public sector entities and the public.
I’m currently the ANAO’s Parliamentary Liaison Officer, working with our Executive to engage with the Parliament, primarily through the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit—this is the parliamentary body that has oversight of our audits. It’s engaging and rewarding work building relationships with important stakeholders and learning about the Committee’s processes. In this role I am exposed to work across all sections of the office, giving me a really good understanding of the operations of the ANAO and the opportunity to work with a variety of people, both inside and outside the ANAO.
I’m also responsible for the day-to-day management of the ANAO’s capacity building programs with the audit offices of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. I coordinate hosting of international visits, as well as supporting our staff that are deployed overseas full-time or are travelling for our international programs. I’ve travelled overseas several times as part of my role, including to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and Bandung, Indonesia. These experiences helped me to better see the outcomes we are trying to achieve through our partnership programs and to broaden my understanding of the challenges faced by our secondees. It helped me see why it’s such a huge change coming here to Australia, to live and work for an extended period of time.
External Relations is a very busy environment, and the variety of work combined with the short time frames to deliver on tasks make it particularly challenging. But I feel fortunate to get a wide variety of opportunities, interesting work and support in expanding my skills.