Senior Auditor: Primary Sector - SARS

Job Purpose

To conduct advanced audits of a complex nature with the aim of influencing compliance through raising accurate assessments in line with relevant legislation. Provide technical support to other auditors and utilise tax, corporate and other legislative knowledge and experience to identify tax gaps, avoidance and evasion schemes. Identifies initiatives and necessary changes to legislation to impact compliance levels.

Job Outputs:

Process

• Accumulate information to review work progress that provides input to reporting, decision making and the identification of improvement opportunities.
• Analyse complex data / evidence, review and confirm identified risks and consideration of additional risks which may relate to the entity being audited, across tax types, across related entities etc.
• Analyse transactions of a complex nature across multiple tax types and / or entities and / or groups of related entities which may be based locally or internationally with the aim of understanding the tax implications thereof.
•  Analyse voluminous information of a complex nature provided at dispute stage and taxpayer complaints logged across the linked and / or related entities and / or groups of entities
• Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks.
• Be involved in research to identify complex tax risks that may not have been addressed effectively through audit or other interventions. These risks will be referred to Case Selection which may lead to the identification of new audit focus areas e.g. industry, tax specific risks etc.
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation.
• Conduct advanced audits of a complex nature (plan, execute, finalise) in line with relevant Acts / Regulations / Policies / SOPS using SARS systems.
• Continuous engagement with Debt Management aimed at optimal collection on liabilities raised through the audit. Conduct a detailed financial and cash flow analysis to support the recommendations which may be used thereafter. Engage the taxpayer regarding the collection of debt with or without the assistance of Debt Management at the finalisation stage of the audit.
• Correctly apply policies, practices, standards, procedures and legislation in the delivery of work outputs.
• Draw on own knowledge and experience to diagnose symptoms, causes and possible effects in order to solve emerging problems.
• Engagement with Litigation and Dispute management during and post the audit process to address issues relating to the interpretation of relevant legislation e.g., tax, legislation relating to companies etc. This engagement will take cognizance of the outcomes of similar matters, tax court cases and civil court outcomes. The auditor may be required to testify in a civil court on matters of a complex nature.
• Identify and escalate enhancements to management on policies, procedures and guides. Auditors are also requested to provide inputs to draft policies and procedures to the product areas e.g., different Tax Types product areas, Process Design and Engineering, etc.
• Identify and escalate serious tax offences for potential criminal investigations. The escalation to include a detailed analysis of the facts together with the applicable tax legislation. Engagement between the auditor and the investigator further enhances the handover process. The Auditor may be required to testify in a criminal court.
• Identify information required to mitigate audit risks of an advanced and complex nature and engage taxpayers / tax practitioners / third parties both locally and internationally for additional relevant information and clarification.
• Identify new and additional complex risks for audit scope expansion, identification of new risks relating to other tax types and related entities for referral to Case Selection for profiling for new audit interventions.
• Initiate process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change.
• Manage the efficient progress of the audit of linked and/or related entities and/or groups of entities being audited utilising approved systems.
• Navigate and extract relevant information from SARS systems and external sources to collect and evaluate risks and compliance to relevant legislation. This relates to information of linked and / or related entities and / or groups of entities which may be based locally or internationally.
• Plan for value-added process improvements, initiatives and services to deliver on operational strategy and objectives.
• Prepare and issue detailed and relevant communication / reports as required to internal and external stakeholders. Ensure that communication is coordinated and aligned between related audits be it tax types or at an entity level.
• Prepare inputs based on analysis and interpretation of facts and legislation, participate and present to relevant Committee. Highlight treatment of audits of similar nature to the relevant Committee to ensure consistent treatment. i.e. Technical Committee, Understatement Committee, Large Assessment Committee, Objections Committee, National Appeals Committee.
• Provide inputs and guidance to Account Maintenance on remittance of penalty and interest requests.
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation
• Provide technical support to other Auditors. This may involve conducting research, training and development, and coaching support during an audit or dispute process.
• Raise accurate assessments on SARS systems in relation to relevant legislation and ensure that assessments raised on linked and / or related entities and / or groups of entities are aligned from a tax perspective.
• Utilise digital information, systems and tools as they become available to address complex advanced audit risks. This may include eCommerce transactions and other digital risks.
• Utilise tax, corporate and other legislative knowledge and experience to identify tax gaps, avoidance and evasion schemes. Identify initiatives and changes to required legislation to impact compliance levels.
• Where large data files are required to be downloaded, engage Electronic Forensic Services (EFS) to assist. Detail the data required and the risks, to contribute to the identification of required data files and/or additional data. 

Governance

• Implement and provide input into the development of governance, compliance, integrity and ethics processes within area of specialization.

People

• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and team members to achieve predefined objectives.
• Search for, integrate and share new knowledge attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job. 

Finance

• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures to ensure cost effectiveness and reduction of financial costs.

Client

• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service. (I)
• Provide authoritative, specialist services, expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders.
• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service.
• Provide authoritative, specialist services, expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Relevant Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) AND 6 years' experience in a corporate tax environment including 4 years of basic audit experience in the primary tax types (with strong focus on CIT and VAT).

Behavioural competencies

Accountability

• Conceptual Ability
• Commitment to Continuous Learning

Technical competencies

• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Reporting
• Audit Methodology
• Risk Identification

Compliance Competency

• GOC Confidential