Professional Roles of an Audit Senior Versus a Staff Accountant - Essay Sample

Introduction

The audit seniors reviews and supervises the work which is carried out by the staff accountant on an engagement. Also, they are usually at the forefront of the daily requirements of the firm superiors, junior staff, and the customers. The audit seniors tend to oversee the multiple and fieldwork engagements. Besides, the seniors allocate some tasks to the staff auditors and after that coach the associates while checking for errors in their work. They also monitor the tasks budget, verify its compliance and write a report to the manager by providing recommendations. On the other hand, the staff accountants focus on working on a single engagement at a particular time hence conducting the straight portions of an audit (Nelson 1-34). The staff accountants interact with their customers, but they complete the assigned tasks alone within the stipulated time.

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Consideration of the Responsibilities Assigned to Each Role of the Audit Senior and Staff Accountant

The staff accountants safeguard the integrity of the financial reporting in business thus making sure that the quality of the financial reporting is not over-emphasized. Besides, these accountants are taken as the assets of a company since they utilize their knowledge and skills in the organization's financials. They ask questions in the businesses which help in solving issues and achievement of the set goals and objectives in an organization. They also support in the corporate strategy through the provision of advice and enabling the businesses to minimize cost, mitigate their risk and in improving their top-line. In a company the staff accountants usually represents the interests of their employers (Glover, Douglas and David 193-213). The senior audits give the management of an organization an assurance that the internal control processes and governance are working effectively. In the learning institutions, the audit senior and the staff accountants impart skills, moral underpinnings and knowledge to the next generation of professionals.

Stressors Faced by the Audit Seniors and the Staff Accountants

The new technology which proceeds to evolve makes it difficult for these professionals to make appropriate decisions for investments thus ensuring they get their customers on board. Trying to sustain the accounting activities act as a stressor to these professionals since the practices determine the growth of the business. The audit seniors and the staff accountants experience pressure as they try to meet their deadlines that enable delivery of services to the clients and business. Both the professionals have to stay alert on the tax changes since the changes might benefit the taxpayers, close loopholes and stimulate sections of an economy (Nelson 1-34). The professionals have to focus on the future which helps the businesses and organizations to decide if they want the top talents that would assist in the achievement of their goals.

How the Audit Senior and Staff Accountants Help in the Completion of an Audit Engagement

Both professionals help in checking the engagement proposals which highlight the benefit which can be offered by the firm, outlines the different services to be provided thus estimating the charges for every service. Besides, they check the engagement letter which acts as a contract between the firm and customers, plans meeting where a client is introduced, goals for the audit are set, and the timeframe for the audit decided (Nelson 1-34). Therefore, an audit program is set which elaborates the instructions for the audit stages and how they will be conducted.

The Role Which Is More Important and Stressful

I consider both the audit senior and the staff accountants vital since they help in the achievement of the business goals and facilitate the conduction of an audit in a firm. The audit senior might encounter more stressor since they have to ensure the whole audit process is carried out appropriately and every procedure followed to the latter to promote effectiveness.

Work Cited

Glover, Steven M., Douglas F. Prawitt, and David A. Wood. "Internal audit sourcing arrangement and the external auditor's reliance decision." Contemporary Accounting Research 25.1 (2008): 193-213.Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1506/car.25.1.7

Nelson, Mark W. "A model and literature review of professional skepticism in auditing." Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 28.2 (2009): 1-34. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b49f/c684c535603e811a0ba11fcd00620633e0fd.pdf