Lead Auditor📣 Job Ad

About the Lead Auditor Role

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority is seeking an experienced Lead Auditor to join its full-time team in Riyadh. This role is designed for professionals capable of conducting complex audit work with general direction, focusing on analytical problem-solving for challenges escalated from less experienced levels.

Role Purpose and Scope

The Lead Auditor directs and supports audit teams in various activities, including search, inspection, office audits, and field visits. A primary responsibility involves conducting comprehensive real estate conduct audits to formulate audit conclusions. All activities must adhere strictly to applicable systems, manuals, policies, procedures, quality standards, and the professional code of conduct.

Key Responsibilities

• Stay current with real estate tax systems, policies, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and auditing standards to ensure compliance with evolving tax rules and reporting procedures.
• Develop and update valuation templates and audit tools, aligning with operational procedures and policies, to streamline real estate transaction audits and ensure accurate, timely valuations.
• Maintain and update real estate disposition audit manuals, eligibility criteria, legal requirements, and supporting documentation, integrating them into computer-aided audit tools to enhance audit evaluation efficiency.
• Unify, classify, and prioritize audit schedules for real estate transactions involving SMEs, categorizing them by industry type for distribution to relevant audit teams for evaluation and review.
• Verify the validity of submitted legal real estate documents, confirm real estate declarations and records, and ensure completeness of required documentation prior to assessing tax liability.
• Gather data for office audit activities, communicate with internal and external stakeholders (*, account managers, banks, government bodies) to obtain necessary information and clarifications, and liaise with legal affairs regarding contractual structures to confirm applicant legitimacy.
• Study and evaluate real estate transactions, verify report accuracy and declaration entries, trace transactions from accounting records to source documents, and consult with the Regional Audit Team on identified discrepancies.
• Compare real estate transactions against similar standards and sales, identify high-risk issues, detect non-compliant cases, and communicate with internal stakeholders to mitigate potential risks, including tax evasion.
• Conduct field audit visits, meet with representatives to investigate accounting records, regulations, exceptions, and questionable transactions, and advise on requirements, obligations, penalties, and rights.

Audit Process Management and Compliance

• Consolidate, study, and evaluate legal and financial observations based on eligibility criteria and pre-approved tax requirements to recommend real estate transfer tax audit responsibilities and draft audit reports in accordance with applicable policies and procedures.
• Review real estate transfer tax valuations, confirming the valuation approach based on the accounting and financial structures of SMEs.
• Review drafted audit reports for compliance with policies and procedures, approve tax amounts, and provide constructive feedback to auditors for continuous improvement.
• Submit accepted audit reports to chairs for review and approval, incorporating feedback to finalize audit results.
• Understand objections and appeals, coordinate with Legal Affairs or the AMANA Secretariat for dispute resolution, and provide support for key certifications by clarifying final audit findings.
• Maintain and update systems and databases, ensuring all audit results are managed and stored to facilitate data exchange with internal stakeholders and other government agencies.
• Prepare reports and statistics on real estate transfer tax audits (*, types, segments, volume) to identify patterns and trends, supporting decision-making in revenue assessment and forecasting.
• Coordinate with the Legal Support Department to ensure compliance with the Authority's technical position and relevant tax laws, policies, and regulations.
• Communicate with the Authority's internal departments to provide assistance and information regarding direct tax assessments for small and medium taxpayers.

Required Experience and Qualifications

Candidates for this position should possess 5 to 10 years of relevant experience in auditing, particularly within tax or real estate domains. The role requires a strong understanding of real estate tax systems, generally accepted accounting principles, and audit standards. Essential skills include analytical problem-solving, meticulous attention to detail, and effective communication for stakeholder engagement.

Working with the Authority

Join the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority in Riyadh and contribute to upholding tax compliance and financial integrity within the real estate sector. This role offers an opportunity to apply advanced auditing expertise in a dynamic regulatory environment.