Specialist: Audit (Excise Audit) at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

- The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the nations tax collecting authority. Established in terms of the South African Revenue Service Act 34 of 1997 as an autonomous agency, we are responsible for administering the South African tax system and customs service. Its main functions are to: collect and administer all national taxes, duties and levies; c... Specialist: Audit (Excise Audit) -------------------------------- * Job Type Full Time * Qualification Bachelors , Postgraduate Diploma * Experience 8 years * Location Gauteng * City Pretoria * Job Field Finance / Accounting / Audit Job Purpose * To conduct advanced audits of high complexity, with the aim of influencing compliance through raising accurate assessments in line with relevant legislation. Mainly to provide technical product type (Excise) support and strategic audit planning to auditors I,II and III on matters of various complexity levels, and high impact cases. Utilises advanced tax, corporate and other legislative knowledge and experience to identify tax gaps, avoidance and evasion schemes, and suggests potential solutions to minimise tax risks. Identifies initiatives and changes to required legislation to impact compliance levels. Provide training as and when necessary to different regions within the Excise Audit landscape. Provide business insights on the performance of various Excise Products for purposes of reporting. Education and Experience Minimum Qualification & Experience Required * Relevant Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) in Accounting/ Audit/ Tax and/ or Legal related field and 8 years' experience in a Customs &Excise Audit environment. Minimum Functional Requirements Applicable professional registration at either of the following professional bodies: * South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) * South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT) * Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) * Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) * South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) * Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) * Legal Practice Council (LPC) Job Outputs: Process * Analyse a wide spectrum of highly complex transactions across multiple tax types and / or entities and / or groups of related entities and / or areas of specialisation which may be based locally or internationally with the aim of understanding the tax implications and determine compliance with relevant legislation. * Analyse and make recommendations about improvements to specialist systems, procedures, policies and practices. * Analyse highly 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. This may relate to specific areas of specialisation. * Conduct audits using newly identified systems / tools of digital information, methodology and other advanced technology identified to address highly complex advanced audit risks. * Continuous engagement with Litigation and Dispute management to address issues relating to the interpretation of relevant legislation. Engagement with Legal counsel may be required for highly complex specialised matters. The specialist may be required to testify in a civil court on matters of a highly complex nature. * Continuous engagements 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 provided. * Engage the taxpayer regarding the collection of debt at the finalisation stage of the audit. Engagement with Legal counsel may be required for highly complex specialised matters. * Contribute to the optimum utilisation of org. resources, advising on effective planning and development of area of specialisation resource plans. * Coordinate and provide technical support to ensure the finalisation of disputes and complaints. Analyse information of a complex nature provided at dispute stage and taxpayer complaints logged across the linked / related entities / groups of entities and / or specialised projects. * Coordinate and support the efficient progress of the audit of linked / related entities / groups of entities being audited utilising approved systems. * Develop a single practice area in alignment with operational activity and procedural frameworks and ensure tactical implementation. * Draw on own technical or professional expertise, knowledge and experience to identify and recommend tactical solutions to defined problems in practices. * Identify and escalate serious tax offences for potential criminal investigation, provide detailed analysis of the facts together with the applicable tax legislation. Engagement with the National Prosecuting Authority may be required for highly complex specialised matters. The Specialist may be required to testify in a criminal court. * Identify changes required to legislation, with relevant stakeholders and policy owners to close compliance loopholes. * Identify information required to mitigate audit risks of an advanced and highly complex nature and engage taxpayers / tax practitioners / experts / third parties both locally and internationally for additional relevant information and clarification. * Identify new and additional highly 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. * Integrate business information, compare, analyse and produce reports to identify trends, discrepancies and inconsistencies for decision making purposes. * Optimise goal achievement through tactical strategy implementation and optimisation of practises, processes and systems across an internal value chain. * Plan for value-added, continuous practice and system improvements to deliver on objectives to enhance tactical implementation and excellence. * Plan, conduct and support highly complex advanced audits/ projects to ensure compliance with relevant Acts / Regulations / Policies / Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). * Prepare and issue detailed, high level relevant communication / reports as required to internal and external stakeholders. Ensure that communication is coordinated and aligned between related audits on tax types, entity levels or areas of specialisation. * 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. * Prepare system notes of progress and outcomes as required and maintain during the audit process, e.g. Service Manager, TeamMate. Review system notes of auditors involved in the audit of the linked and / or related entities and / or groups of entities. * Proactively identify interconnected problems, determine its impact and use to develop best fit alternatives; best practice implementation solutions. * Provide guidance / technical support to other Auditors on highly complex matters / areas of specialisation. This may involve conducting research, training and development, and coaching support during an audit or dispute process. * Provide input to draft policies and procedures to the product areas e.g., different Tax Types product areas, Process Design and Engineering, etc. * Provide inputs and guidance to Account Maintenance on remittance of penalty and interest requests. * Raise accurate assessments on SARS systems in relation to relevant legislation and ensure that assessments raised on linked / related entities / groups of entities / specialised projects are aligned from a tax perspective. * Recommend changes to optimise processes, systems, practice areas and associated procedures and execute the implementation of change and innovation. * Research to identify highly 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, specialised projects, etc. * Translate top-down policy, apply modification in relation to own practice area and communicate impact to relevant stakeholders. Governance * Develop and /or align governance and compliance policies for own practice area to identify and manage risk exposure liability. People * Integrate new knowledge and transfer skills attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job. * Provide specialist know-how, support, advice and practice thought leadership in area of expertise. Finance * Implement and monitor financial control, management of costs and corporate governance in area of accountability. Client * Develop and ensure implementation of a practice that builds service delivery excellence and encourages others to provide exceptional stakeholder service. * Participate in the specialist practice community and contribute positively to organisation knowledge management. * Provide authoritative, specialist expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders. Behavioural competencies * Accountability (V) Level 3 * Analytical Thinking Level 3 * Attention to Detail Level 3 * Commitment to Continuous Learning Level 3 * Conceptual Ability Level 3 * Customer Service Level 3 * Drive for Results Level 3 * Expertise in Context Level 3 * Fairness and Transparency (V) Level 3 * Honesty and Integrity (V) Level 3 * Organisational Awareness Level 3 * Respect (V) Level 3 * Trust (V) Level 3 Technical competencies * Audit Methodology Level 3 * Business Knowledge Level 3 * Business Writing Skills Level 3 * Coaching and Mentoring Level 3 * Computer Literacy Level 3 * Data Collection and Analysis Level 3 * Efficiency improvement Level 3 * Execute, Implement and Follow Through Level 3 * Financial Acumen Level 3 * Functional Policies and Procedures Level 3 * Operational Audit Level 3 * Planning and Organising Level 3 * Problem Analysis and Judgement Level 3 * Quality Orientation Level 3 * Reporting Level 3 * Tax Knowledge Level 3 * Interpretation of statutes Level 2 Deadline:8th October,2026 Check how your CV matches this job Method of Application ------------------------- Interested and qualified? 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