For those in internal audit

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    Topic
  • #2480754
    CPA is a WIP
    Participant

    Hello there,

    I am currently an in-house accountant and I am considering applying to a role in internal audit with a privately owned international company. Per job ad: “your primary role will be to assist with the performance of financial and operations audits by evaluating the design and testing the operating effectiveness of internal controls.”

    For those of you that made a transition into IA or began their careers in IA; would you please answer some of my inquiries. I would immensely appreciate it.

    1. Do you find internal audit fulfilling and meaningful career?
    2. Is 25% travel a lot? The job ad states both international and domestic travel. Would I risk losing a long-term relationship due to this amount of travel?
    3. Do the higher-ups and staff view internal auditors as value-adding personnel? Or are auditors viewed as nuance and “just wanting to get others in trouble”?
    4. Is this a growing field and be a good choice to transition from an in-house accountant?
    5. Finally, purse the CPA or CIA.

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  • #2483598
    TNCPA16
    Participant

    Hi – I have spent nearly 12 years working in internal audit, so here are my 2 cents:

    1. Do you find internal audit fulfilling and meaningful career?
    Yes, definitely. Working in IA, I get to see the “whole picture” of the business because I work with just about every department. It's a great stepping stone to other positions because you do get a lot of visibility to the company.

    2. Is 25% travel a lot? The job ad states both international and domestic travel. Would I risk losing a long-term relationship due to this amount of travel?
    I'd ask about this if you interview. We always put “up to 25% travel” on job descriptions when we post for our company, but realistically, no one ever comes close to that (maybe a week or two the entire year). Also, ask what a normal travel schedule looks like – are you traveling one or two days every single week? A week each month? Or would you be gone for several weeks at a time? As for your relationship – that's something you need to discuss with your partner.

    3. Do the higher-ups and staff view internal auditors as value-adding personnel? Or are auditors viewed as nuance and “just wanting to get others in trouble”?
    This is very much dependent on the company and the type of culture their IA department has created. It is also dependent on you. If you approach auditing as you are here to find all their mistakes, people aren't going to like you very much. But if you approach it as you are here to help improve processes and add value to the business, you might find people like auditors 🙂 The biggest piece of advice I can give is to build relationships with the people you are auditing. Most people are inherently afraid of auditors, so make yourself approachable – which is much easier when they get to know you and you get to know them.

    4. Is this a growing field and be a good choice to transition from an in-house accountant?
    There is always going to be a need for auditors and accountants. If I was you, I'd think about my long term career goals and what position would be better suited to get me there.

    5. Finally, purse the CPA or CIA.
    CPA for sure. CIA is better than not having any certification, but it does not hold the weight that a CPA does.

    #2483811
    Puppykoala
    Participant

    Very solid pointers @TNCPA16. I'm about to start an internal auditing career after 3 years of data analysis work. These are the exact advices I got from the peoeple I have sought advices from. Also, CIA is much easier to obtain as I heard so definitely get the CPA part done before anything else.

    Shoot for the stars!

    FAR 88 04/19

    REG 95 07/19

    BEC 91 11/19

    AUD 88 12/19

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