Mari-Anne Williamson
Senior Auditor

"One of the best things about Audit Scotland is the people."

I joined Audit Scotland in May 2005 as a professional trainee and during this time I have gained my CiPFA professional qualification and recently been promoted to the post of senior auditor.

I will admit the last couple of years have been difficult at times trying to gain a balance between working full time, studying and having a social life, although the longer term benefits (professional qualification, promotion, and car) do outweigh the short term sacrifices. It helps that within the organisation we have a strong student network and employer support is unrivalled when comparing this to any other organisation within the public sector.

During my time in Audit Scotland, I have been based within the Local Government Team (Audit Services Group) and I currently work in the South East team. The team’s portfolio includes the City of Edinburgh Council, Midlothian Council, East Lothian Council, Scottish Borders Council and a number of joint boards and transport authorities. Within the last year I have mainly been involved in the audits of East Lothian Council, Scottish Border Council and Lothian & Borders Police Board, each of these provide a challenge as all are unique and require different skills and attributes. Our remit is much wider than financial statements and systems audits; an increased proportion of our time is spent assessing an authority’s ability to achieve Best Value, Value for Money and Financial Planning.

Even as a professional trainee within Audit Scotland my role has been demanding and constantly changing, although help and guidance from other team members and managers is available when required. From an early stage in my career I have been bestowed responsibility, which has certainly helped getting me to where I am now.

One of the best things about Audit Scotland is the people. The staff are a great bunch and there is a very strong team culture which helps make Audit Scotland a very good organisation to work for.