Job Information
Grant Thornton Associate Director – Credit Union Audit & Advisory in Cork, Ireland
Associate Director – Credit Union Audit & Advisory
Audit & Assurance | Dublin | Cork | Limerick | Galway
About Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton (GT) has nearly 3,000 people across 9 offices in Ireland, The Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Bermuda, and is part of a global network of over 68,000 professionals in more than 145 countries worldwide.
At GT, we work as trusted advisors, combining local insight with national expertise and global reach to help organisations succeed. We build long-term relationships and deliver commercially focused, practical solutions that help our clients make confident decisions — now and for the future.
At Grant Thornton Ireland, we don’t just predict the future — we help build it.
A Career at GT
Looking for a more fulfilling leadership role in professional services? One where your experience is valued, your voice is heard, and you can help shape the future of a growing, specialist practice?
At GT, we offer:
A more inclusive and collaborative working environment
A flexible, supported leadership role
The opportunity to develop a long-term sector specialism
A platform to influence strategy, people development and client outcomes
We respect and value your experience and encourage you to bring your authentic self to work and be at your best.
The Role
We are seeking an Associate Director to join our Audit & Assurance practice, with a leadership role across our specialist Credit Union portfolio.
This is a senior, sector-focused position combining statutory audit leadership, credit union advisory, internal audit, and regulatory assurance, with responsibility for both delivery excellence and the continued development of our credit union offering.
The successful candidate will have ownership of a significant and complex portfolio of credit union audits, alongside a growing pipeline of advisory, restructuring and governance engagements delivered throughout the year. The role offers extensive exposure to regulators, boards and senior management within the credit union and wider financial services sector.
During the peak audit period (August–January), the role will focus on leading and overseeing the delivery of credit union audits at portfolio level. Outside of the audit cycle, the Associate Director will play a key role in leading and developing credit union advisory and consultancy engagements, while helping shape the future direction and growth of this service line.
Key Responsibilities
Audit & Assurance (Credit Unions)
Lead and oversee the delivery of a large portfolio of credit union statutory audits, including planning, execution, review and reporting.
Provide senior oversight across multiple engagements during peak audit season, ensuring effective resourcing, quality control and timely delivery.
Review audit files, financial statements and key deliverables in line with professional standards and regulatory requirements.
Act as a senior point of contact for boards, audit committees and executive management.
Maintain a strong focus on quality, risk management and regulatory compliance across the audit portfolio.
Credit Union Advisory & Restructuring
Lead and deliver a wide range of credit union advisory engagements throughout the year, including:
High-Level and Detailed Business Cases (HLBCs / DBCs)
Asset and loan book reviews
Due diligence and financial assessments
Merger financial projections and restructuring support
Support Transfers of Engagements (mergers), including financial modelling, regulatory engagement and post-transfer governance considerations.
Play a key role in developing and expanding GT’s credit union advisory capability, including shaping service offerings and delivery models.
Internal Audit, Risk & Governance
Lead risk-based internal audit and governance engagements, including outsourced and co-sourced arrangements.
Oversee governance reviews, assessing board effectiveness, oversight frameworks and committee structures.
Provide senior-level advice on risk management frameworks, internal controls, SOX-related controls and regulatory compliance.
Review and sign off on clear, practical reports for boards and senior management, outlining findings, risks and recommendations.
Support clients through regulatory inspections, remediation programmes and supervisory engagement.
Stakeholder & Regulatory Engagement
Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with boards, senior management and regulators across the credit union sector.
Act as a recognised trusted advisor, providing commercially pragmatic and technically robust advice.
Collaborate with Partners and internal specialists across Audit, Advisory, Risk and Corporate Finance.
People Leadership & Development
Lead, mentor and develop managers and junior team members across audit and advisory engagements.
Support performance management, coaching and progression of team members.
Contribute to building a dedicated and sustainable advisory capability within the credit union portfolio.
Business Development & Practice Growth
Identify client needs and opportunities across the credit union sector.
Lead or support proposals, tenders and presentations for new and existing clients.
Actively promote Grant Thornton’s credit union audit and advisory services internally and externally.
Skills & Experience
Essential
8+ years’ relevant experience in audit, internal audit, risk advisory or financial services, either in professional services or industry.
Strong technical and practical understanding of the credit union and/or wider financial services sector.
Proven experience engaging with boards, regulators and senior executive stakeholders.
Relevant professional qualification (ACA, ACCA, CPA, PIIA, MIIA or equivalent).
Strong portfolio, engagement and people management experience.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including senior-level report writing.
Commercial mindset with a strong client focus and leadership approach.
Ability to manage complex workloads in a highly seasonal environment.
Desirable
Experience leading credit union advisory, restructuring or merger engagements.
Internal audit or risk expertise in areas such as credit risk, treasury risk, ERM, AML/CTF or conduct risk.
Experience supporting regulatory inspections and remediation programmes.
Contribution to service line or sector development would be an advantage.
Life at GT
Our reward and benefits are designed to help our people flourish — supporting wellbeing, flexibility and career progression in a high-performing environment.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
At Grant Thornton, equity, diversity and inclusion are central to our culture. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone feels respected, supported and able to thrive.
Recognition
We celebrate success and recognise those who go above and beyond through our firm-wide recognition initiatives.
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About Us
We are Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton Ireland is rapidly approaching 3,000 people, in 9 offices across Ireland, Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Bermuda. With a presence in over 149 countries around the world and a global network of 73,000 people, we bring our clients the local knowledge, national expertise and global presence to help them succeed – wherever they’re located.
At GT, we work as trusted advisors, bringing local knowledge and national expertise, with a global presence, to help businesses succeed – wherever they are located. We make business more personal by investing in building relationships and empowering our clients to make the right decisions for their organisation now and for the future. Whether that is working with the public sector to build thriving communities, with regulators and financial institutions to build trust, or with a diverse range of businesses to help them achieve their goals, Grant Thornton Ireland work hard to support clients to act on the issues that matter.
At GT Ireland we don’t just predict your future, we build it.
A Career at GT
Looking for a more fulfilling role in professional services? One where fresh thinking, collaboration and diversity are valued? At Grant Thornton we do things differently.
What does this mean for you?
A career in a more inclusive working environment, a more collaborative work culture, a more supported, flexible working role, more possibilities to grow and more opportunities to help shape the future for your clients. We respect and value your experience. And we want you to bring your authentic self to work and be at your best. It is how it should be.
Grow with us
At Grant Thornton, we care about our people and work hard to make you feel valued. If you are looking to deepen and develop your skills, knowledge, and experience throughout your career, then that is what you will get, and more.
Our Benefits
Please follow this link (https://www.grantthornton.ie/careers/benefits/#faq_5953339_3) for information on our generous benefits package.
About the Team
Equity, diversity and inclusion
At Grant Thornton, we provide equitable opportunities for all our colleagues. We are a responsible, sustainable business where equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) is at the forefront of our workplace culture agenda, and today, we continue to build and develop on our existing ED&I structure and strategy to meet our workplace culture needs. People are at the heart of our business and teams built with varied individuals present diverse viewpoints, which need to be heard and valued.
We are all at our best when we are able to be ourselves and we view integrity and authenticity as integral values to bring to our day-to-day work-life at the firm. We are excited to see the personality and perspectives you will bring to our team because we know we will all benefit from them. Diversity of thought, background and experience enables better decision-making, improves the quality of our delivery, and helps us to meet the needs of our clients. Our firm is built on people and their ideas, so we want to hear all the new perspectives and fresh thinking you have to offer. You form the bedrock of our firm’s best-practice principles and we will champion you as leaders from day one.
Reward and benefits
Our reward and benefits are designed to create an environment where our people can flourish. We are committed to building a culture where our people have access to the necessary benefits to help promote a healthy lifestyle and thrive.
Recognition
We want to create a culture of recognition and celebrating success, by saying thank you to people who surpass our expectations and recognising the right values and behaviours. Our Shout Out recognition scheme is our way of highlighting and promoting achievements. Whether you simply want to say thank you, celebrate a special occasion or give an award for doing something exceptional, you can do all of this and more through the scheme.