Graduate Trainee Auditor

Join Audit Scotland as a Graduate Trainee Auditor in 2026.

Candidates requiring sponsorship

Due to Home Office requirements, this position is not eligible for skilled worker sponsorship.

Candidates must demonstrate that they have the right to live and work in the UK from the start of the program.

This could be from a visa granting permission to work in the UK independently (for example: a dependent or ancestry visa or settled status).

Why join our team?

Our Graduate Trainee Scheme includes financial support to become a qualified Chartered Accountant with ICAS. You will get a prestigious, internationally recognised qualification, whilst being involved in varied and interesting work, auditing public bodies in Scotland. You will also be supported to complete a personal development programme aimed at enhancing your career prospects in Audit Scotland.

And it doesn’t stop there, we offer a range of other fantastic benefits including:

• Competitive starting salary, plus bonuses for passing exams first time and salary increments as you progress through the qualification

• 38 days holiday (inclusive of 8 floating public holidays), 4 fixed public holidays, flexitime and exam leave

• Career development and training opportunities

• Attractive local government pension scheme (17.6% employer contributions)

• Access to counselling and an annual wellbeing and lifestyle medical check-up

• Discounts from major retailers with our innovative savings

• Interest-free loans for annual season tickets

There has never been a more interesting or important time to join us. We offer a rewarding place to work, a supportive and open culture and a wide range of professional development opportunities. We’ve also been named one of the top 25 workplaces in Scotland and the UK’s ninth best accountancy workplace in the 2025 Best Companies awards.

More about you

You don’t need to be an accountancy graduate or have achieved a specific grade in your honours degree to join us.

Our trainees come from a variety of backgrounds and have studied a range of degree subjects. Our trainees join us straight from university or later in their careers.

What matters is that you’ve got great analytical and people skills, are committed to studying for a professional qualification, and excel in a challenging and rewarding role.

If you think this sounds like the career for you, then we would love to hear from you. You will need the following skills and qualifications:

• Achieved or be on track to achieve an honours degree (or equivalent) in any subject

• A minimum of National 5 Grade C or GCSE Grade 4/C (or equivalent) in both Maths and English

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Able to work as part of a team and independently using your own initiative

• An interest in Audit Scotland and/or the public sector as well as the auditing and accountancy profession

• Sound analytical skills for gathering, interpreting and evaluating data

• Disciplined and organised with good project management skills

Who are we?

Our vision is that public money is well spent to meet the needs of Scotland's people. To achieve this, we support the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission to provide clear, independent, and objective assurance on how effectively public money is being managed and spent. Our work covers about £59bn of public spending, almost 300 public sector accounts, and the services and projects that affect all people and communities in Scotland.

As well as what we do, how we do it is integral to delivering our vision and critical to our wellbeing and our organisational success. We put our organisational values of equality, independence, innovation, integrity, and respect at the heart of everything we do.

How we work

We employ around 340 staff in a wide variety of roles, working from our offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness and through a network of regional offices across Scotland.

We currently have trainee opportunities available across Scotland in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen. Our trainee opportunities are available on a 54 month fixed-term contract.

We operate a hybrid working environment whereby our trainees can expect to work a mixture of at home, in the office and at client sites.

Interested? Next steps

Visit our careers website or graduate page and download the role profile for detailed role information.

To apply, click the ‘apply’ button and submit an application form. If you wish, you can also share your CV. However, please note that due to the volume of applications, we cannot guarantee that CVs will be screened alongside your application form, therefore please ensure your application form includes all information required to demonstrate you meet the essential and where applicable, desirable criteria for the role. If you require an alternative way to apply under grounds of a reasonable adjustment, please get in touch with a member of the HR team.

Stage 1 - After the application closing date, you will be asked to complete a short online verbal and numerical test.

Stage 2 - If you are successful after this stage, you will be invited to complete an online simulation assessment in the form of an analysis exercise.

Stage 3 - Candidates successful after stage 2 will be invited to a final stage interview. The interview will be competency based and we will be looking for you to demonstrate evidence of the competencies required for the role.

The closing date for applications is Sunday 11th January 2026.

Exact details will be confirmed nearer the time; however, interviews are expected to take place early w/c 16th and 23rd March 2026.

The start date for this vacancy will be October 2026.

Check out the Graduate page on our careers site to find out more about our trainee programme, life at Audit Scotland and some useful hints and tips on the application process. Please note that only applications submitted via our careers website will be considered.

Diversity and Inclusion 

We value the unique perspective a diverse workforce brings to what we do. Therefore, we’re keen to increase representation in our workforce and support progression of minority ethnic groups. We are also a proud disability confident employer. 

Reasonable adjustments

Audit Scotland’s recruitment process may include various stages and activities including application forms, online assessments, and interviews, to assess whether you meet the requirements of the role.  As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to providing inclusive and accessible recruitment where everyone is supported to perform at their best.  Visit the role profile via our careers website to find out more on support with reasonable adjustments.