Professional Authorisations Manager

Term: Permanent
Hours: Full Time
Location: Hybrid working arrangement in Chartered Accountants Ireland, Belfast office 

About Chartered Accountants Ireland   

Chartered Accountants Ireland is Ireland’s leading professional accountancy body, representing over 39,000 members in over 100 countries and educating 6,600 students. Its members provide leadership across both the public and private sector, bringing experience, trusted expertise, and strict standards to all aspects of their work. As the largest professional body on the island of Ireland, Chartered Accountants Ireland engages with several stakeholders including governments, policy makers, regulators, and business groups on key issues affecting the profession and the wider economy. Chartered Accountants Ireland supports members at every stage of their career from education to qualification to continuing professional development. 

About the role

The Professional Standards Department of Chartered Accountants Ireland, along with the relevant compliance and disciplinary committees is responsible for the delivery of the Institute’s regulatory and disciplinary obligations which derive both from statute in Ireland and the UK and its own Bye-Laws & Regulations. In this regard, the Institute is subject to oversight by a range of State agencies in both jurisdictions, including the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

The core functions performed by the Professional Standards Department relate to registration/authorisation of members and firms, firm monitoring, CPD review, and enforcement (investigation and complaints).

The Institute is seeking applications from suitably experienced individuals to assume the role of Professional Authorisations Manager.  Reporting to the Head of Professional Authorisations, the successful candidate will be responsible for managing the professional authorisations functions which include issuing practising certificates, granting firm registrations/authorisations and the maintenance of current information on these firms via the firm annual return process, all conducted in accordance with relevant Institute regulatory requirements, underpinned by legislation in Ireland and the UK. 
 

Key responsibilities

The specific functions of this role will include

• Approval of individual and firm applications relating to public practice and provision of regulated services (including statutory audit, sustainability assurance, investment business, anti-money laundering supervision);
• Ensuring statutory registers remain up to date in accordance with statutory requirements;
• Dealing with inquiries and queries from members and firms relating to registration requirements;
• Managing reviews of this function by external oversight bodies – IAASA, FRC and others;
• Maintenance of processes and procedures to comply with regulatory requirements such as IAASA’s
• Guidelines of the Recognised Accountancy Bodies when performing the Approval and Registration function in respect of Statutory Auditors and Audit Firms;
• People Management responsibilities for a small team including performance management and employee relations.
• Contributing to the ongoing development and enhancement of relevant Institute Regulations – including Public Practice Regulations, Audit Regulations, Investment Business, AML Regulations;
• Participating in ongoing digital transformation and process simplification initiatives.

The role may also include:

• Management of the annual returns process applicable to firms and members;
• Management of member CPD monitoring;
• Contributing to regulatory issues generally within the Professional Standards Department.

The Institute is currently undergoing a programme of change involving digital transformation.   While the core functions of this role will remain, flexibility around its positioning and detailed responsibilities will be required. 

Required competencies include

• Close attention to detail and a hands on approach. 
• Clear and analytical thinker with the ability to exercise sound initiative and judgement through thinking through issues and offering practical solutions. 
• Highly motivated with the consistent ability to meet or exceed goals by working in a collaborative manner with their team and peers.
• Ability to quickly build rapport and develop effective working relationships with others both internal and external to the organisation.
• Ability to multi-task, delegate and adapt to changing contexts and priorities of the Professional Standards team.
• Proficient in using email, Internet, and other Microsoft Office applications (e.g. Microsoft Office with the ability to learn and adapt to new technology.
• An interest in digital tools and ongoing development improvements to enhance member/firm experience would be desirable. 

The successful candidate will be a member of a Recognised Accountancy Body/Recognised Supervisory Body with a minimum of 5 years post qualification experience working in practice, including experience in statutory audit at a managerial level.  Experience of working in a regulatory or compliance role would be an advantage. 

Flexible work arrangements

The Institute is seeking and encourages applications from experienced candidates who may be looking for flexible work arrangements. If such arrangements are being sought please bring these to the attention of your interviewer.

The Institute will use the information which you have provided in this form to respond to your request or process your application and will hold and protect it in accordance with the Institute's privacy statement, which explains your rights in relation to your personal data.  By submitting this application acknowledge you have read our privacy statement.

Chartered Accountants Ireland is an equal opportunities employer.

How to apply:

Applications, including curriculum vitae, should be sent directly via email to hr@charteredaccountants.ie or alternatively be sent via post to:

Human Resource Department
Chartered Accountants Ireland,
Chartered Accountants House,
47 Pearse Street,
Dublin 2