What’s the job of an audit manager?  And what makes a good one?

You might be an audit manager already, aspire to be one or perhaps you are looking to develop the audit managers in your firm?

The standard progression in most audit firms looks a bit like this:

Trainee – Senior – Manager – Partner

The move from one level to the other can often be based on qualification level or just passage of time.  Passing your exams means that you move from junior to senior. The move to manager can then be simply time served.

But surely a good audit manager isn’t just an older more technically knowledgeable version of a trainee?

Sadly, this can often be the case, and its not just in audit!

The CMI (Chartered Management Institute) estimate that 1 in 5 managers in UK businesses are ‘accidental managers’ – promoted due to technical ability or time served and with little or no training in how to manage.

So, it’s very common for people to be promoted to manager and not have a clear idea of what needs to be different.  What competencies need to be developed and what might the challenges be?

Some firms, but by no means all, may have a ‘job description’ but very often it’s just the title and a list of client responsibilities!

The ICAEW has recently produced a really useful competency framework for practising auditors.  This builds on the skills ‘ladders’ set out for trainees, incorporates ISA requirements and the competency areas set out in IES8 (that RI’s are required to demonstrate).  The framework demonstrates how skills should be developed over three career stages – qualified, manager and RI.  It’s well worth a look and it comes in the form of a tool kit for you to consider and record your experience

So, what are the key step ups to a manager role?

Here are five areas to think about and some top tips:

Managing People

This can be a tough one, especially if you are managing people who you know well. 

What’s the step up?

You need to be able to delegate tasks and effectively coach those working on your jobs. 

In other words, it’s essential to get people to do things for you and it can be hard – both getting them to do it and letting them do it.

People management needs confidence and it sometimes comes naturally, but not always.  And even if it does, everyone is different and there will be some people that you find it easier to manage than others. 

What do most people want from a manager? Many studies (Havard Business Review, Google) have asked the question, and the answer is always ‘Clear Communication’.

People want clear objectives, a clear briefing given, to be given clarity around deadlines and then they want clear feedback on their performance.

Key tip – Clear communication takes time and that time is best invested up front. 

Often a delegated task only saves you 50% of the time you would have taken to do it yourself – not 100%.  ‘It would be quicker to do it myself’ – well of course it would if you are the one with more experience. Delegating is not just about saving time it’s critical to build capability in others.  Recognising you need to put time into delegating well and that the benefits won’t flow by just telling someone what to do, should help you be more realistic. 

Allow time in the planning meeting for a thorough briefing, make sure the team thoroughly understand what is required, the timescales and deadlines – and build in time to review and feedback.

Managing the project

Or often managing several projects as you are likely to have a number of audits you are now responsible for.

What’s the step up?

Usually, it’s about managing the budget and achieving recovery targets

You need to be cost effective and commercial whilst making sure you have the ‘right resources so you can do the right work’.

This means proper planning – not just taking last year’s file and trying to shave a few hours off!  The right resources also means having the right people – do you need to involve specialists from other departments?

Key tip

Again – its clear communication and up front planning. There’s no point having a budget and not telling everyone what it is!  You then need to encourage regular feedback from the team, as and when they hit problems. Making sure you are booking the right people early – the team and the specialists – will get you ahead of the game. 

Managing Stakeholders

When you become an audit manager the number of stakeholders you have to manage may well increase dramatically.

What’s the step up?

Not only is it likely you’ll have a number of clients you are responsible for and that you may be the key client contact for; there may be a different team and RI for each one!

A challenge will be around time management and ‘spinning plates’ of course, but you should also think about how you combine meeting stakeholder expectations and professional scepticism.

With the pressure to meet the budget and get the job completed on time, to the satisfaction of the RI and the client, there is a risk that professional judgement gets lost in the mix.  And it’s crucial for managers to develop their professional judgment with an eye to your future progression.

Top tip – Develop your listening skills

Back to communication, it’s really important to listen effectively.  Listening to, and understanding, the client perspective – and indeed the RI’s – and appreciating their position.  This isn’t to avoid challenge, quite the opposite, it puts you in a stronger position to challenge and have a robust conversation if needed.  When people feel they have been heard they are likely to be much more receptive to challenge.  You might even be able to avoid the conversation having to be robust!

Managing the Technical Elements

It’s always key to develop yourself technically, not least to help you develop those critical professional judgement skills.

What’s the step up?

The buck stops (almost) with you?  How do you make sure that you are across technical changes that impact on the audit?

Top Tip – don’t leave it all to the RI!  Even if the RI is the one who wants to address the issue, make sure you are involved in the discussions.  Take the opportunity to learn and develop. 

Don’t lose the opportunity in the haste to finalise the job.

Managing you

Audit managers have a lot to do! 

What’s the step up?

The challenge really is to recognise that the audit manager is a different job to audit senior or partner.  It might be different in different firms, of course.  Larger firms may well have established role expectations, and you might have learnt from your experience working for managers yourself.  In some of the smaller firms we work with, the lines are more blurred.  It might be that the RI has a closer, more direct relationship with the audit team.

Clarity around your role is important but don’t forget to think about what you want to get out of it. 

Its more than just a technical step up and there are really good development opportunities to grasp. 

So, the biggest step up might well be managing your time well so you get the job done and develop your skills.

Top Tip

What are your priorities?  Where are you choosing to spend your time and focus

A useful technique is to use the Importance/Urgency matrix (made famous by Stephen Covey and also sometimes referred to as the Einstein matrix).  Are you paying attention to what is important, but not yet urgent or are you constantly firefighting?  Are you trying to do everything yourself rather than taking the time to delegate well?

You need to make sure that you spend enough time on yourself and your development and thinking about how you are going to do the job differently. 

Being effective, being efficient, being ‘good’ isn’t just about doing more.  There is only you – you need to do things differently, deliberately, to succeed!

Nicky Clough, April 2025