Job Description

Advance your career with BDO Wave South Africa as an Internal Audit Senior Executive based in Cape Town. As part of our UK and Ireland Risk Advisory Services (RAS) team, you will take ownership of defined areas of internal audit, assurance and advisory engagements for UK clients, working closely with colleagues across the UK and South Africa.

You will gain exposure to a range of businesses, industries and risk environments, strengthening your commercial understanding and professional judgement. The role requires you to manage priorities proactively, build trusted relationships and identify opportunities to improve engagement quality and delivery.

You will also review selected work and coach junior colleagues, developing your leadership capability while supporting consistently high standards across the team. These responsibilities will strengthen the technical judgement and people-management skills needed to progress into more senior roles.

Job Requirements

Roles and responsibilities:

• Deliver internal audit, risk, assurance and advisory work from scoping and fieldwork through to reporting and follow-up, meeting agreed objectives, timelines, budgets and quality standards.
• Perform walkthroughs, risk assessments, controls testing and data analysis, maintaining clear working papers to support findings.
• Apply relevant professional standards and engagement-specific legislative, regulatory and governance requirements, including UK requirements where relevant.
• Identify control weaknesses and root causes, and recommend practical, proportionate improvements.
• Draft clear reports and supporting materials for review by Managers, Senior Managers, Directors and BDO Partners.
• Build relationships with UK clients and colleagues across the UK and South Africa, communicate issues promptly and contribute effectively to virtual meetings and presentations.
• Manage assigned priorities proactively, escalate delivery risks promptly, and support engagement administration, budget monitoring and progress reporting.
• Review selected work completed by junior colleagues, provide constructive coaching and feedback, and support their day-to-day development.
• Contribute to proposals, client relationship activity, knowledge sharing and the development of reusable tools, methodologies and insights.

Education and Skills:

• A relevant professional qualification (e.g. CA(SA), CIA, CISA, ACCA or equivalent).
• Demonstrable experience delivering internal audit, risk, assurance or advisory engagements, taking ownership of defined workstreams from planning and fieldwork through to reporting across commercial, regulated or non-profit organisations.
• An inquisitive and proactive mindset, supported by relevant experience in risk management, internal audit and systems or controls testing, with the professional scepticism and confidence to challenge constructively, assess control design and operating effectiveness, and recommend improvements that strengthen client outcomes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate evidence, interpret data, identify root causes and reach clear, well-reasoned conclusions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to conduct stakeholder interviews, present findings clearly and produce concise, evidence-based reports.
• A collaborative and organised approach, with the ability to manage competing priorities, work effectively with UK-based engagement teams and client stakeholders, and support or coach junior colleagues.
• Experience using data analytics or AI-enabled tools to support audit scoping, testing, evidence analysis or reporting would be desirable.