An interview with Aidan Clarke, Assistant Manager
Working as an auditor is a rewarding and challenging career choice but where you choose to spend your days is an important factor. The Just Audit management team has, collectively, masses of experience and believe they have cultivated the ultimate audit environment to benefit their team (and therefore their clients).
The key factors in creating a successful workplace model, in their opinion, are a combination of:
making sure everyone is supported in terms of learning and development
making sure everyone is properly equipped in terms of the practicalities
maintaining good, strong lines of communication
having a flexible, work from home culture
genuinely upholding a ‘family and health first’ motto
enjoying satisfying work, carried out to a high standard
operating in a calm, no blame culture, with strong team support
having more personal time with less stress and expense as no commute
being paid properly for every hour you work
“I’ve been at Just Audit for six years now and have never worked anywhere where the staff are so well looked after. Rachel Davis, the MD, highly values family and home and it really shows.” said Aidan Clarke, Assistant Manager. “We are a tightly knit group, almost family, and although we all work from our home offices all over the UK, we are in constant communication and know each other very well.”
Everyone at Just Audit is provided with all the equipment they need to create a comfortable, productive office space. This extends to a desk, chair, screens, computer, phones and software. The business operates with leading edge audit systems and everyone has full training in how they are used. As Aidan says “everyone is really helpful - we work together and provide support wherever it’s needed.”
Just Audit makes good use of technology through its professional software but also communicates through Zoom calls and the various apps they use to keep in touch, manage workflow planning and for professional development.
“Working from home is idyllic” explained Aidan. “There are few distractions so we are hugely productive and can get into a focused work zone which gets the work done to a high standard. We’re on hand for each other in the team but we’re not in each other’s way – and the coffee round is always just for one! For those of us with children we have childcare but equally we don’t miss out on life’s important events like sports day or the Christmas play because of the flexibility we’re afforded here.”
Learning and development at Just Audit is largely driven by each member of staff. The practice takes people on at various career points, from juniors to well experienced and qualified managers and associate directors. It supports the learning paths that each team member has chosen. “Just Audit allows everyone to carve their own path which has worked really well for me. I’ve been allowed to grow as I wanted to, trained extremely well and have reached assistant manager level quickly. Equally, if you prefer to manage your career along a slower trajectory, then that’s fine too. We are all empowered to work in a way that suits us and there aren’t many places that work that way” explained Aidan.
In terms of progression, Aidan left a large plc where he was part of an audit team. He has gone from a junior position at Just Audit to assistant manager within six years but, importantly, he is really enjoying the journey. “I became a person again at Just Audit. I was no longer part of a process but involved at every stage and started to see each project through from start to finish. The work is end-to-end with each client so I feel invested, engaged and responsible – which is great. With clients, and the general practice accountant we work alongside, we build a professional rapport, understand how to work well together and, as we revisit year after year, the learning curve reduces every time. I move from client to client and not from test to test.”
In all, Just Audit has created a place to work where people matter, family comes first and the trust bonds between the team members mean that everyone works hard to keep it that way. “Rachel values home and family and that reflects throughout the Just Audit culture. Our business isn’t ‘audit’, it’s ‘audit plus’ – is it too late to change the name?!” he finished.