About Chartered Accountants Ireland

Chartered Accountants Ireland is Ireland’s leading professional accountancy body, representing over 39,000 members in over 100 countries and educating 6,600 students. Its members provide leadership across both the public and private sector, bringing experience, trusted expertise, and strict standards to all aspects of their work. As the largest professional body on the island of Ireland, Chartered Accountants Ireland engages with several stakeholders including governments, policy makers, regulators, and business groups on key issues affecting the profession and the wider economy. Chartered Accountants Ireland supports members at every stage of their career from education to qualification to continuing professional development.

Institute values

The Institute seeks to ensure an environment based on our values of Excellence, Forward-Looking, Openness and Accountability. Candidates should be able to demonstrate how these may apply to them in the role for which they are applying and how their previous experience is relevant to them.

Summary of role

The Professional Standards Department of Chartered Accountants Ireland, along with the relevant compliance and disciplinary committees is responsible for the delivery of the Institute’s regulation and disciplinary obligations which derive both from statute in Ireland and the UK and its own Bye-Laws & Regulations. In this regard, the Institute is subject to oversight by a range of State agencies in both jurisdictions, including the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

Quality Assurance inspections are the means by which the Institute ensures professional services provided by members and member firms are of a high standard, by monitoring compliance with relevant regulatory requirements through a system of returns and inspections and taking regulatory action when necessary.

All members who hold a Practising Certificate (PC) and their firms are included within the Institute’s programme of Quality Review. The Professional Standards team is seeking to recruit a Quality Assurance Inspector, to contribute to this ongoing regulatory function.

The role:

Main duties and responsibilities of the role include:

Conducting monitoring visits to Chartered Accountant Ireland member firms
Reviewing firms’ processes and methodologies in relation to practicing activities
Reviewing firms’ compliance with the Institute’s rules and regulations
Critical assessment of the work carried out by practicing firms including judgements made by principals on key issues including audit, accounting, investment business and anti-money laundering issues
Interviews with principals and other team members
Reporting on the visit including findings and recommendations to the firms
Adding value by making recommendations to firms aimed at improving quality

You will perform a wide range of challenging work and gain:

A unique insight into how firms operate and respond to current issues facing practice
An up-to-date knowledge of business, accounting, and regulatory compliance issues of relevance to the profession
A detailed knowledge of relevant disciplines, including one or more of statutory audit, non-audit services, investment business and anti-money laundering requirements.

Required competencies:

The successful candidate must be a member of a Recognised Accountancy Body/Recognised Supervisory Body with a minimum of 5 years’ post qualification experience in a practice or regulatory environment.
An excellent knowledge of professional, technical and ethical standards together with excellent organisational, communication and influencing skills and a good level of IT literacy will be required.
The candidate should be able to demonstrate ability/provide evidence of communicating effectively on sensitive matters with credibility at all levels.
Demonstrable experience of report writing for technical and other professional audiences
Have an analytical and process-driven approach, while being capable of exercising judgement.
Experience of management of multiple deadlines.
Requirement to travel (predominantly within island of Ireland) – full clean driver’s licence.

Members of the Quality Review team are primarily home-based, with a certain amount of travel required. Many monitoring visits take place either remotely or via a hybrid approach which involves a combination of home-based and on-site reviewing.

Personal profile:

Highly motivated with the consistent ability to meet or exceed goals by working in a collaborative manner with their team and peers.
The candidate must be capable of working on their own initiative. They must be able to take ownership of the role and be capable of making key decisions while also actively collaborating within a team focused on results and targets.
A strong focus on attention to detail and results is required.
An ability to take on new duties and support others when required within the team.
Ability to quickly build rapport and develop effective working relationships with others.
Ability to multi-task, delegate and adapt to changing contexts and priorities of PSD.
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to identify relevant data to use in planning and decision making.
Ability to understand, adapt to and interact with diverse people, teams, perspectives and cultures.

Flexible work arrangements

The Institute is seeking and encourages applications from experienced candidates who may be looking for flexible work arrangements. If such arrangements are being sought, please bring these to the attention of your interviewer.

The Institute will use the information which you have provided in this form to respond to your request or process your application and will hold and protect it in accordance with the Institute's privacy statement,which explains your rights in relation to your personal data. By submitting this application acknowledge you have read our privacy statement.

Chartered Accountants Ireland is an equal opportunities employer.

Quality Assurance Inspector 09.26

Job Description