Senior Manager – Financial Services Audit

A.F. Ferguson & Co, a leading professional services firm, is committed to being the employer of choice for talented professionals from diverse backgrounds. As trusted business advisors, we operate in a dynamic environment that offers exciting opportunities for individuals who bring varied experiences and perspectives. We foster a culture where employees are encouraged to be authentic and valued for their unique strengths.

Within PwC’s Audit and Assurance practice, professionals focus on delivering independent and objective evaluations of financial statements, internal controls, and other verifiable information. This work enhances the credibility and reliability of financial reporting for a broad range of stakeholders. The team assesses compliance with regulations, governance frameworks, risk management processes, and related controls. In financial statement audits, the goal is to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error, culminating in the issuance of an auditor’s report expressing an opinion.

The Senior Manager role involves providing senior leadership across a portfolio of complex financial services audit engagements. Collaborating closely with partners and directors, the Senior Manager ensures audit quality, resolves significant accounting and auditing issues, manages senior client relationships, and leads multidisciplinary teams. This position also plays a key role in portfolio management, talent development, market initiatives, and the growth of PwC Pakistan’s Financial Services Assurance practice.

Key Responsibilities

- Lead complex audits and assurance engagements across a diverse range of financial services clients, including banks, digital and microfinance banks, development finance institutions, insurance and takaful companies, asset managers, mutual funds, non-banking finance companies, and capital-market entities.
- Set engagement direction in partnership with senior leadership, challenge audit strategies, and ensure appropriate responses to significant, elevated, and emerging risks.
- Oversee critical judgments and complex matters such as expected credit losses, impairments, fair value measurements, insurance contract liabilities, actuarial assumptions, consolidation, going concern assessments, regulatory capital, solvency, and emerging financial products.
- Review essential audit documentation, financial statements, audit reports, regulatory returns, management letters, and communications to audit committees and boards.
- Lead consultations with specialists in technical accounting, methodology, risk and quality, independence, legal, actuarial, valuation, tax, and technology to ensure timely and well-documented conclusions.
- Maintain senior-level relationships with CFOs, finance leadership, audit committees, boards, and other key stakeholders, providing clear insights while safeguarding auditor independence.
- Manage engagement quality, acceptance and continuance, independence, delivery, reputation, and commercial risks, escalating issues promptly to engagement leadership.
- Oversee portfolio economics, resource allocation, scheduling, budgets, recoveries, billing, and collections, driving efficient delivery without compromising quality.
- Develop and mentor managers and wider engagement teams through coaching, performance feedback, succession planning, technical guidance, and on-the-job learning.
- Support regulatory and group-auditor interactions, quality reviews, and inspections, including preparation of robust documentation and remediation actions.
- Contribute to proposals, client account planning, thought leadership, market initiatives, and the development of audit and assurance opportunities within independence boundaries.
- Champion audit quality, professional skepticism, ethical conduct, collaboration, innovation, and consistent application of PwC policies and values.

Required Qualifications

- Qualified Chartered Accountant and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP).
- Minimum of five years post-qualification experience, primarily in external audit and assurance.
- Proven experience leading complex financial services audits and managing multiple engagements or a significant client portfolio.
- Broad sector exposure across banking, insurance, asset management, non-banking finance, or capital markets is highly preferred.

Required Knowledge and Skills

- Advanced knowledge of IFRS Accounting Standards and International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), with particular expertise in IFRS 9; strong IFRS 17 knowledge is preferred for insurance-focused portfolios.
- Deep understanding of Pakistan’s financial services regulatory environment, including ICAP, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Auditor Oversight Board (AOB), and applicable corporate governance frameworks.
- Ability to resolve complex technical issues, make balanced judgments, influence senior stakeholders, and communicate effectively with boards and audit committees.
- Strong leadership skills with commercial awareness, negotiation, project management, and resource management capabilities.
- Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, and develop high-performing teams and collaborate across assurance, tax, advisory, and specialist functions.
- Digital mindset with practical experience using audit platforms, data analytics, and technology-enabled audit procedures.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, capable of preparing concise, high-quality reports and presentations.