Auditing Careers

Last Updated :

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Blog Author :

WallStreetMojo Team

Edited by :

Susmita Pathak

Reviewed by :

Dheeraj Vaidya, CFA, FRM

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What Are Auditing Careers?

Auditing careers refer to the roles and responsibilities an individual is exposed to when ready to handle the auditing tasks for a company. Auditing is the process of examining the financial information made available by a company. For someone pursuing an auditing career, it is important to be analytical and financially trained to identify the discrepancies.

Auditing Careers

Auditing careers are challenging and equally rewarding at the same time. Auditors play in important role in maintaining the integrity of an organization. Becoming an auditor exposes an individual towards a detail-oriented career and they are expected to be financially and technically correct all the time.

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Auditing Careers Explained

Auditing careers require expertise in finance and an individual must be aware of planning, conducting fieldwork, and reporting phases of audition. The planning phase is where the auditors develop an understanding of the activities to be considered. The fieldwork involves auditors’ test procedures as implemented per their planning. Finally, they go for reporting, which includes drafting of the observation and conclusions drawn from the auditing process.

An audit is a system in which several books of accounts are examined or inspected by an auditor. It is further followed up by physical verification of inventories to ensure that proper internal checks are being performed among all the departments and they follow the proper documentation procedure to record the transactions. The auditor aims to report the true and fair view of the financial statement. The books of accounts are checked and verified by an independent authority to ensure that bookkeeping is done fairly and there is no fraud or misrepresentation within the system.

The auditor keeps assessing the validity, reliability, accuracy, and timeliness of data that flows within the organization, and the authenticity of the source of such data is also judged. This is an important process as the companies' stakeholders get to know the correct position of the organization. Auditor also tests the organization’s internal control and also its power to mitigate the exposure to risks.

Types

When it comes to auditing careers, there are different types of roles that an individual gets to join. The most important of all are internal auditor, external auditor, information technology auditor, and auditing manager.

Career #1 - Internal Auditor

A career in internal auditing is a trained professional employed by companies to provide independent evaluations of the company's operational business and financial activities, including corporate governance. An internal auditing career is assigned to check that proper internal controls are in place and ensure that the company complies with the required laws and regulations and follows the proper procedures effectively and efficiently.

Responsibilities
  • In an internal auditing career, you need to check whether proper internal controls are in place and compliance with the internal policies and other legal requirements.
  • Identify the problem and ensure that they are corrected before the external audit.
  • In an internal auditing career, you also need to Assess the current practices, identify potential problems, and make recommendations to the company's management for necessary improvements.
Job Statistics
  • As per the data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States, in 2016, there were 1,397,700 employed accountants and auditors.
Top Companies
  • The PNC Financial services group, inc., Ernst & Young, Citibank
Salary
  • The average pay per year for an internal auditor's career is estimated to be $70,000 per year, as per payscale.com.
Demand & Supply
  • According to the data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States, accountant and auditors' employment is expected to grow at the rate of 10 % from the year 2016 to the year 2026.
  • This growth is faster than the average of all occupations because their growth is tied up with the overall economy's health. When the economy grows, the work of accountants and auditors will increase for the need to prepare and examine financial records.
Education Requirement
  • A Bachelor’s Degree in finance, accounting, or related field.
Positives
  • High earnings
  • High job opportunity
Negatives
  • Meeting targets requires long working hours
  • Due diligence is required

Career #2 - External Auditor

External auditors perform the task of carefully Examining the validity of the company's financial records to find out if there is any misstatement in the company's record because of fraud, error, or embezzlement and then report the same. They work over the accounting books, purchasing records, inventory, and other financial reports to check that the company is functioning correctly. They do audit planning and work based on that. They also determine whether the company is following Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or not. They perform the test and then submit a detailed report to the concerned persons.

Responsibilities
  • We are examining the validity of the company's financial records to find out if there is any misstatement in the company's record because of fraud, error, or embezzlement and then reporting the same.
  • Submit the detailed report of the audit to the clients.
  • Coordinate with the audit process.
Job Statistics
  • As per the data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States, in 2016, there were 1,397,700 employed accountants and auditors.
Top Companies
  • Ernst and Young, Delloite and touche LLP, KPMG.
Salary
  • The average pay per year for a senior auditor is expected to be $ 68,517 per year, as per payscale.com.
Demand & Supply
  • According to the data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States, accountant and auditors' employment is expected to grow at the rate of 10 % from the year 2016 to the year 2026. This growth is faster than the average of all occupations.
Education Requirement
  • A Bachelor Degree in finance, accounting, or a related field.
  • Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
  • Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
  • Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Positives
  • High earnings
  • Good employment
Negatives
  • Long working hours
  • Due diligence is required and pressure to find out the fraud and risk.

Career #3 - Information Technology Auditor

An in-depth analysis for monitoring the performance of the special technological functions designated by the company's management is done by the Information Technology Auditor. He checks the internal controls and the risks that are there in the technology system of the company. He also helps the company's management design and implements the audit strategies for technologies used by the company.

Responsibilities
  • An IT auditor figures out the fault in the security and network settings.
  • They check and assess the internal IT controls that are put in place. They are the people who develop and ensure operational efficiency of the entire technological infrastructure.
  • The auditors are the ones who work to ensure there is no data leaks in the organization. To achieve this, they plan and implement the best security measures in the systems and devices.
  • They identify the vulnerability of the systems to external threats, and accordingly have proper systems in place to take care of it.
  • The IT auditing professionals are aware of different technological framework and methodologies to implement and ensure an organization has a robust technological infrastructure.
  • They are expected to remain updated about the cyber threat trends and patterns. This, in turn, helps them to implement required measures in the organizations.
Job Statistics
  • As per the data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States, in 2016, there were 1,397,700 employed accountants and auditors.
Top Companies
  • Ernst and Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG LLP.
Salary
  • The average pay per year for an information technology auditor is expected to be $ 65,935 per year and $ 28.89 per hour, according to payscale.com.
Demand & Supply
  • According to the data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States, accountant and auditors' employment is expected to grow at the rate of 10 % from the year 2016 to the year 2026. This growth is faster than the average of all occupations.
Education Requirement
  • A Bachelor’s Degree and information technology certification.
  • Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
  • Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
Positives
  • High earnings
  • Job growth at high speed as Informational technology auditor's demand is increasing.
Negatives
  • Stress level high

Career #4 - Auditing Manager

A career as an Auditing manager is responsible for examining and analyzing accounting records, checking the company's current practices, and identifying the potential problems in the system. They oversee the company's accounting, finance, business operations, internal controls, fraud detection, risk management, and information technology systems practices. They are also responsible for supervising the auditing staff and training them. They also recommend the necessary changes wherever they think necessary in existing policies to ensure that they are working in accordance with the standards that the concerned government, company established, or another department.

Responsibilities
  • Supervise the auditing staff.
  • Examination and analysis of the accounting records.
  • Evaluate the company's current practices and identify potential problems in the system.
  • Ensuring the compliance of the internal policies in the company.
  • Ensuring the compliance of the external regulations in the company.
Job Statistics
  • As per the data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States, in 2016, there were 1,397,700 employed accountants and auditors.
Top Companies
  • Ernst and Young, Delloite, KPMG LLP.
Salary
  • The average pay per year for an auditing manager is expected to be $ 88,584 per year and $33.85 per hour, according to payscale.com.
Demand & Supply
  • According to the data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States, accountant and auditors' employment is expected to grow at the rate of 10 % from the year 2016 to the year 2026. This growth is faster than the average of all occupations due to the increasing need to prepare and examine financial records.
Education Requirement
  • A Bachelor's or master's degree in finance, Accounting, or related field and Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
  • Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
  • Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) certification
  • Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
  • Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
  • Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
Positives
  • High earnings
  • High job opportunity
Negatives
  • Handle the pressure as many things are to be managed and in different areas.
  • Due diligence is required.
  • Long working hours with stress.