Risk and Quality Independence Associate

Job description / Role

Line of Service
Internal Firm Services

Specialism
IFS - Risk & Quality (R&Q)

Management Level
Associate

Job Description & Summary
The Independence Associate is part of the Independence Team and operates across all lines of service. It is responsible for providing support to engagement teams to maintain independence and compliance according to regulatory rules and requirements.

In addition, the associate is primarily responsible for administering independence consultations and in particular, Joint Business Relationships, vendor relationships and other arrangements that PwC might have with other organizations.

Primary duties and responsibilities - The new hire will be assisting the regional independence team in the following areas:

Business relationship reviews
• Conduct initial assessments of Joint business relationships clearance
• Assisting the independence Business Relationship lead with the business relationship clearances
• Joint business relationship monitoring and reassessment
• Vendor relationship reviews

Scope of service reviews
• Support the independence business partners with other day-to-day independence related matters
• Perform independence analysis and assistance with the submission of the Authorisation for Services (AFS) for the corresponding audit partners
• Responding to scope of services related consultations and to assist other members of the Independence team with the AFS documentation process

Other activities
• Consultation system monitoring and assignment of queries among team members
• Updating a number of Independence systems
• Performing data reconciliations for Independence monitoring purposes
• Participating in internal training sessions and contributing to setting the agenda for the calls/meetings

Learning and Growth
• Liaise with Global to understand Global systems improvement initiatives
• Adhere to policies and procedures
• Act as a key resource and liaison to other functional areas of the business, building cross-functional relationships as needed

Requirements

Education
• A professional or academic qualification (degree level or equivalent), or extensive relevant and practical experience.

Language
• Fluency in English required, proficiency in Arabic is advantageous

Overall Experience
• 1 Year experience is an advantage or fresh Graduate relevant experience as a trainee in audit or consulting fields

Specific Experience
• Client facing experience as a trainee preferably in the Professional Services industry
• Experience in a top tier Big 4 firm is advantageous
• An internal transfer from within the firm can be considered

Knowledge and Skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Thorough understanding of general/international accounting standards and practices
• Problem solving skills and innovative mindset
• Risk averse/risk management skills
• Process oriented
• Organization skills
• Thoroughness and attention to detail
• Time management skills and proactivity
• Strong verbal and written communication skills

Ethical conduct
• A conscientious, ambitious team player, with good self-management skills and an ability to take initiative and share knowledge with peers.

Professional attributes
• As a member of the Independence team, the associate would be expected at a minimum to manage their own work and escalate any issues to the business relationship lead, proactively raise issues to improve effective team working and get involved in activities and projects which help to strengthen the team.

About the Company

At PwC Middle East, we've set out an ambitious purpose and strive to live it everyday: to solve important problems and build trust in society.

We're a community of solvers that come together in unexpected ways to build trust and create sustained outcomes. We solve important problems, support one another as we grow, develop and build fulfilling careers.

PwC provides industry-focused services for public and private clients across Assurance and Audit, Deals, Consulting, Tax and Legal. We draw on our development legacy that brings together the collective experience of over 7,000 people in our region with offices across 12 countries to solve for tomorrow.

We're striving to consistently deliver innovative work that builds trust and delivers sustained outcomes. And we're proud of the strength that comes from all our different backgrounds and experiences and we value everyone's uniqueness. We thrive in uncertainty, operate with integrity and leverage the diverse perspectives of our teams.

If you're looking for a place that fuels your ambition to make a difference, that matches your curiosity with continuous learning opportunities and reimagines ways of working to enable you to lead a more balanced life, then you're a future PwCer.