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What Is an Auditor?
An auditor is a person who works with a company, either internally or as a third-party associate, to review and evaluate their financial performance. Because organizations, both public and private, have a purpose and service they offer, there is a responsibility on their part to show that they are fulfilling what they have promised to deliver. For example, schools are guaranteed to provide a service in the form of education. Hence, funding goes into providing these services such as educating students, and schools then use the skills of an auditor to show that they are doing their job to the community or public. An auditor reviews financial data and documents to determine how well the organization has performed financially over the past year and how well it has met its performance goals. Additionally, auditors are often responsible for filing taxes and ensuring compliance with laws. Thus, through the use of auditors, organizations or companies earn the trust of those they serve (often taxpayers and shareholders) while demonstrating the value of their work for all to see.
What Does an Entry-Level Auditor Do?
While the specific duties of an entry-level auditor will vary slightly from position to position and specialty to specialty, generally speaking, an entry-level auditor will play a vital role within the auditing team from the planning stage of an audit through the reporting. So, what does this mean? As highlighted above, auditors are responsible for auditing financial statements for an organization or client to identify areas where goals are and are not met. As auditors typically work in a team dynamic, entry-level auditors will often be responsible for handling lower-risk aspects of the audit. Some examples include cash accounts or accounts receivable. However, the specific aspects and responsibilities of the external auditor will be determined by the auditing team as a whole during the planning stage of the audit.
Since audits are performed yearly, auditors are responsible for reviewing specific financial numbers, inputting this data into flowsheets, and comparing it to previous years. With this information, entry-level auditors can then produce initial reports that are later compiled with the rest of the audit team’s reports and then submitted to the financial team within the company, who uses the information to make decisions for the coming year as well as to present findings to Executive members and members of the board.
How to Become an Auditor with No Experience
While many college students have a clear vision of which career path they want to follow, others may still be figuring it out. And the same can be said for veterans of the workforce as well. Furthermore, many people have followed a particular path when it comes to a career, only to find that they’ve lost the passion or need to transition to other endeavors later on. While we’ve been discussing financial auditors up to this point, one great option for someone looking to launch their career as an auditor without having much experience is to pursue an IT auditor role.
While many employers seek candidates with degrees in computer science or computer information systems, gaining the knowledge needed to become an IT auditor with no experience through other means is undoubtedly possible. Some examples of the ways you can gain the knowledge and become an IT auditor are:
- Online courses: In this age of open technology and knowledge, many online courses will teach you how to navigate and work with various computer programs. To market yourself as an IT auditor, take courses on the different programs you may have to work with or encounter in a day to day job setting.
- Volunteering: If you work with an organization that uses an IT system, such as a church or a school, you can gain experience through volunteering your help if they need any troubleshooting or support. Not only will you gain experience, but you may also be able to use these opportunities for future reference.
- Seek out opportunities in your own workplace: If you are currently working and your place of employment uses IT, let your manager and the IT department know that you’d like to learn more about what they do.
With these opportunities to gain experience, you can build enough knowledge to apply and land an entry-level IT auditor position.
Do you need experience to become an auditor?
Can you become an auditor without a degree?
Again, this will depend on which type of auditing you pursue. In auditing in general, most employers will look for candidates with a degree in finance, business, or accounting; however, as with an IT auditor, obtaining training and experience is possible without first pursuing a degree. One way of getting into auditing without a degree (financial auditing that is) includes gaining experience in accounting first. Moreover, consider gaining experience in entry-level accounting positions that do not require a degree: positions such as accounting assistant or an accounts payable clerk. Again, online courses are a great way of gaining the general knowledge needed to start in accounting, and, not to mention, many entry-level positions that hire you will train on the job. Lastly, think about joining a professional organization to gain access to additional trainings, events and to simply expand your network. Once you’ve gained adequate experience, accounting knowledge and professional networking contacts, you can confidently apply without a degree for auditor jobs.
How Do I Get Started As an Auditor?
The traditional path to becoming an auditor usually begins with completing a degree in accounting or finance. Once you’ve earned your degree, the next step is to gain experience in the accounting field first. After gaining some initial experience in the field, some people opt to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification exam, although it is certainly not required to become an auditor. Once you’ve worked for some time (2 years minimum) in the accounting field, you can apply for a job as an auditor.
Another great option is to apply for entry-level jobs with auditing companies. As noted earlier, some companies hire new graduates into entry-level auditor positions and offer on-the-job training. Lastly, suppose you want to become an auditor but do not have an accounting or finance degree. In that case, you can get your foot in the door by starting in the accounting field via an non degree entry-level position, such as an accounting clerk or bookkeeper. From there, you can take courses to earn certificates in accounting or bookkeeping to help advance your knowledge and career to mid-level accounting jobs. Then it is only a matter of time before you can apply to be an auditor.
What Types of Auditors are There?
So far, we’ve highlighted two different types of auditors- financial and IT auditors. However, many career fields use auditors. Some other auditing jobs that you may find interesting include external, food safety, and cybersecurity auditors. An external auditor is similar to the auditing role discussed throughout this article. Rather than being an employee of the company they are auditing (i.e. an internal auditor), external auditors work for accounting firms hired as outside consultants by companies. Food safety auditors are responsible for ensuring that facilities processing food, such as factories, restaurants, and farms, adhere to food safety standards and sanitary regulations. Cybersecurity auditors act as counterparts to IT auditors in many companies. Whereas IT auditors focus on addressing internal information system issues, such as issues with information input processing, cybersecurity auditors work to protect a company’s IT system from external threats through continuous improvements of IT components, such as firewalls and ransomware.
Forensic auditors are also in finance; however, they are responsible for reviewing records about fraud and other criminal activities that are financial in nature. Forensic auditors often testify in court, using their knowledge and expertise to press charges against people in the justice system. Lastly, there are tax auditors. This kind of auditing is related to finance; however, the focus is on taxes and includes reviewing tax records to ensure companies take appropriate steps for compliance when filing.
Conclusion
To conclude, many career options are available to young college graduates and veterans of the workforce. While many choose a career in finance or accounting, they may never consider auditing as a potential extension of their present career. As highlighted above, auditing in many jobs includes working internally or externally with companies to review financial statements to ensure policies are being followed and fiscal responsibility is practiced. Entry-level auditors often do the same; however, they usually handle lower-risk accounts or job aspects during audits. There are, however, other options when it comes to auditing, such as IT auditing, which entails working with companies to ensure their IT system is functioning correctly and is secure from potential cyber-attacks. Lastly, there are different types of auditing, from food safety auditors to forensic auditors. If you’re looking to get into auditing without experience, it is certainly possible to do so, and there are ways of becoming an auditor without a degree. So, what do you think? Now that you’ve learned more about auditing, is it right for you?
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