Who are we?
Audit New Zealand is the leading provider of audit and assurance services to the public sector. When you come to work with us, you’ll be contributing to New Zealand by helping to ensure that publicly funded organisations are spending money appropriately. If we do our job well – and we do – then we help to create a better and stronger public sector. And that contributes to a better and stronger New Zealand.
We offer two programmes aimed at future graduates. Our Summer Internship Programme is best for you if you’re in your second-to-last year of study. Our Graduate Programme is for those students who are in their final year.
We need people who are:
- passionate about giving something back to New Zealand
- high achievers
- great communicators
- fast thinking, good at developing context quickly
- confident in suggesting new ideas
- great at working in a team
Sound like you? We hope it does.
Meet our Executive Director, Stephen Walker
When I began my career at Audit New Zealand more than 20 years ago, I couldn’t have imagined that the skills and experience I’d develop here would lead me to such exciting opportunities both in New Zealand and overseas. One of those opportunities was to rejoin Audit New Zealand a few years ago as Executive Director. It has been really gratifying to see that it’s still a top-notch place to train as an accountant and a great place to enjoy a rewarding and varied career.
Choosing where to begin your career is an important decision. It is during the early years in your career that you build many of the foundation blocks for your future career. As one of the largest New Zealand recruiters of aspiring Chartered Accountants, we take developing you from high calibre graduates into well-rounded professionals very seriously.
So, while I can’t tell you what the future will bring, I can assure you that Audit New Zealand will provide you with robust skills and experience that will prepare you for whatever opportunities lie ahead. With us, you get the best of both worlds – the business disciplines of a professional services firm and the opportunity to assure New Zealanders that their public sector is operating effectively and efficiently.
As you read the following pages, you will get a better sense of who we are, what we’re about, and what we’re looking for in an intern or grad. You’ll also meet some of the people who make this a unique place and read about what makes them excited to come to work each day. So, if you think being part of an organisation like ours would inspire you too, then we want to hear from you.
Thank you for your interest in joining Audit New Zealand. We look forward to getting to know you.
Our Summer Internship Programme
To apply for our Summer Internship Programme, you’ll need to be in your second-to-last year of study. You’ll get on-the-job work experience over your summer holidays and, potentially, an offer to join Audit New Zealand as an Assistant Auditor once you graduate.
For the first few days of the internship, you’ll be based in Wellington for an induction programme. You’ll spend time with other interns from offices around the country, and learn more about what your time with us will hold. We provide a different work programme for each intern, so you can be sure you’ll work on a variety of clients and projects. If you’re based at one of our smaller offices, you’ll have the opportunity to travel for work. Every intern also spends a week working at the Office of the Auditor-General.
At the end of the internship, you’ll return to Wellington to prepare and give a presentation to our Executive Leadership Team. We’ll make job offers to those interns we think will succeed at Audit New Zealand. If you’re successful, you’d go back to university to complete your studies, and start working for us as an Assistant Auditor in our Graduate Programme the following February.
Applications for the November 2012 – February 2013 Summer Internship Programme open at 9am on 23 February 2012 and close at 5pm on 23 March 2012.
We know it’s a hard transition from student life to full-time work – did we also mention we’ll give you a decent break over the Christmas and New Year holidays?
Meet some of our 2011-12 interns: Sarah Laurenson, Thomas Brooke, and Stephanie Don
Stephanie
One of the highlights of my internship is that I have done a wide variety of work – each week is new and exciting. During my internship, I have worked in two different teams at the OAG (Office of the Auditor-General), done audit planning in the Wellington office, and travelled to both Masterton and Auckland! Every team I have worked with have been friendly and supportive, meaning I was never afraid to ask questions. I have found the office environment really positive, social and fun – it’s been great to have other interns to work alongside and socialise with too.
Thomas
My time at Audit New Zealand was filled with challenges, triumphs, and good times. Quick feedback from supervisors allowed me to know what my strengths were, and where I could work harder to achieve results. The culture at Audit New Zealand is friendly and welcoming which is a must in such a team orientated profession. I got to spend a week shadowing Lyn Provost (the Auditor-General) and I can easily say this week is up there as a contender for the best week of my internship.
Sarah
I interned in the Dunedin office. I felt so welcome and included - even before my first day working in the office they had invited me to a weekend away in Queenstown. As for the work - every day was interesting and different. I was lucky enough to travel to Alexandra, Balclutha, Oamaru, Wellington, and Christchurch working for a wide range of clients from councils to a university to even cemeteries and a racecourse. The supervisors, mentors, and buddies were always very approachable and open to my questions.
Our Graduate Programme
To be considered for our 2013 Graduate Programme, you’ll need to be in your final year of study and able to meet the provisional entrance requirements for the Chartered Accountants College of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants. Once you’ve completed your studies, you’ll start in your graduate role the following February. About half of the places in our Graduate Programme are usually filled by people who were also part of our Summer Internship Programme.
The Graduate Programme begins with a week-long induction programme where you’ll receive training from our specialists and technical experts, as well as getting the materials you need for work – a laptop, wireless card, and cellphone. Grad induction is also a time to get to know other people in your year group, who you’ll rely on for advice and support throughout your whole career.
Graduates start as Assistant Auditors and begin working on a portfolio of clients from day one. Right away you’ll be given support by senior staff as you learn on the job.
Graduates starting in 2013 will be given the option to choose either the existing Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification pathway or the new CA program. For more details, check out NZICA’s website. As one of New Zealand’s largest employers of aspiring Chartered Accountants, we take developing high-calibre graduates into well-rounded professionals very seriously. We also provide some of the best CA training in the market.
Applications for our 2013 Graduate Programme open at 9am on 23 February 2012 and close at 5pm on 23 March 2012.
Meet Eva Ng, Assistant Auditor
My career with Audit New Zealand began in the summer of 2008-2009 with the Summer Internship Programme. This was a valuable experience and I gained an insight to working in a variety of client sectors and different areas of the business. It was a hands-on auditing experience, and a good chance to get to know some of the people in the Auckland office. I was offered a position in the Graduate Programme, and have never looked back.
One of the highlights for me has been working on the audit of the Auckland Council. It’s a huge undertaking and means our whole office has to work together on it – which is a lot of fun.
Audit New Zealand is a great place for development opportunities. The path to qualifying as a Chartered Accountant is supported by generous study programmes. Each Foundations candidate is enrolled in a special course to help us prepare for the exam. This proved to be valuable as in my year, we maintained our nation-wide pass rate of 100%. I look forward to more challenges as I move on to the last hurdle of sitting PAS and PCE2 this year – stay tuned!
Our Application Process
Applications for our Summer Internship and Graduate Programmes will open at 9am on 23 February 2012 and close at 5pm on 23 March 2012. Here’s what to expect:
- Apply online – go to our website, www.auditnz.govt.nz, check out the pages about our Summer Internship and Graduate Programmes, and click “Apply Now”.
- Next, complete the online application.
- You will be sent the link to do our online assessments within 48 hours of completing the application. It’ll take about one hour to complete the assessments, so please make sure you allow yourself adequate time to complete this, away from distractions.
- After the closing date for applications, we will be in contact with you. (Our closing date is 23 March 2012 – no exceptions.)
- We will not be making job offers to people prior to our closing date as we believe everyone has the right to a fair application process. Career Fairs and Information Sessions in some parts of New Zealand are later than others, and we don’t want anyone to be disadvantaged.
- If you are shortlisted for a job with us, you’ll get a phone call from us. We’ll ask some general questions – nothing scary.
- Then, if you’re successful in the phone interview, we’ll invite you to attend an interview day in early April. After that, in mid-April, we’ll send out offers for Graduate and Intern positions to the applicants we think are the best “fit” for Audit New Zealand.
Meet Paul Wong, Assistant Auditor
I started at Audit New Zealand in the Graduate Programme in 2011. Since then, I’ve worked on a wide range of clients, from small crown entities to large central government clients such as Inland Revenue. The culture at Audit New Zealand has a strong focus on continuous improvement, whether that is for a client or our own professional development. It’s astounding to think back now and reflect on how much I have learnt since beginning here.
Audit New Zealand invests a large amount of time and resources into our training and development to ensure we have the necessary skills to perform our job – both technical skills like understanding how to apply new accounting standards, and soft skills like relating well to other people. During the year we have a lot of opportunities to really take charge of our own development, through the many local office trainings or during our week-long module training. In addition to this, “on the job coaching” allows us to apply theories we have learnt to real life client issues (for example, accounting issues relating to the Canterbury earthquakes).
With my professional exams fast approaching, the future is mine to explore. Audit New Zealand has nurtured my development and I know they will also encourage success in my career endeavours.
