Associate, Grant Thornton, Leicester

Markets
• Identifies where relevant knowledge and expertise sits within the firm and the methods of accessing it
• Develops and maintains contacts in the business community and with university or college alumni
• Maintains and grows network of contacts elsewhere in the firm in order to share relevant knowledge and information and prevent duplication of effort
• Proactively identifies clients' needs that can be satisfied from the firm's services and informs the manager or partner
• Involved in office marketing events and is an 'ambassador' of the firm

Clients
• Leads larger assignments, including taking responsibility for all aspects of planning, completion and fieldwork management
• Reviews work prepared by junior team members
• Leads audit planning discussions to identify audit risks and understands the rationale for the audit strategy adopted
• Is able to answer day to day audit queries from clients and consult with managers and partners appropriately demonstrating good judgement
• Able to inform clients of new standards that will affect their business
• Develops a good working relationships with client employees with whom you will have most contact
• Adheres to the firm's risk management policies and procedures, consulting with colleagues as necessary
• Notifies of any potential ethical breaches to managers and partners, making suggestions of how to address them
• Addresses, researches and proposes firm conclusions in respect of technical and audit issues
• Prepares draft Key Issue Memoranda, demonstrating an understanding for the client's business and ready for review by the manager, using a good standard of English
• Liaises with other departments in the office, e.g. tax to ensure that jobs run efficiently and that client service is maintained

People
• Contributes to departmental and office meetings and makes presentations at technical meetings
• Maintains an understanding of audit methodology, challenging the audit approach and recommending improvements for greater robustness and efficiency
• Proactive in managing client expectations
• Develops supervisory and coaching skills, providing on-the-job learning to junior colleagues and delegating work appropriately
• Provides junior colleagues with timely feedback, completing assignment appraisals
• Asks for feedback on own progress and applies it going forward

Operations and results
• Actively monitors budgets and timeframes on all assignments, taking responsibility for achievement of these
• Exercises judgement as to whether work has been audited to an appropriate level
• Manages the content of the files and is aware of the overall expectations for the team
• Identifies opportunities for charging overruns and collates supporting evidence