How To Become An Auditor? Career Opportunities & Scope

There are job prospects in the field of auditing but most people are unclear about the same. Here are a few tips on how to become an auditor.

There are different kinds of companies which offer different types of products and services. With every passing day, the range of services that are on offer is increasing by the minute. Irrespective of the type of products or services that a firm offers, it is obvious that they deal with money. After all, the goal of any organisation is to earn the maximum amount of profit. At the heart of such moneymaking lies the need for experts to monitor such transactions. These people are known as auditors.

 

Thus, it will be fair to say that any firm or organisation will require auditors in order to maintain their balance sheets and ensure that things are in place. There is a great dependency of any organisation on these people.

How To Become An Auditor?

Auditors are the ones who look into the inner workings of all the aspects of a given company and ensure that all the actions of the company (and each of its individual employees) are in compliance with that of the rules and regulations of the land.

This article explores the different aspects of this highly in-demand profession and tells you all that you need to know about pursuing a career here.

  • Job Responsibilities

The main job role here would include reviewing, analysing and evaluating the entire structure of the organisation along with that of the processes, products and services that the organisation has to offer. A detailed study of the company's assets and the corresponding risk exposure of the same is the responsibility of auditors.

These people are the ones who make sure that there is no data manipulation by the employees and no theft of the assets of the organisation. The responsibility of ensuring that the checks are in place and the accuracy and reliability of all the monetary dealings that happen within the organisation and beyond are the responsibility of these people.

All the aforementioned auditing is carried out by means of statistical sampling on the data that is collected by the auditors.

  • Educational Qualification

A bachelor's degree in commerce is an absolute must for anyone who wants to take up auditing. Candidates need to have studied subjects like accounting, finance and accounting during their undergraduate days. Some firms prefer candidates with a master's degree in the same.

Well-established auditing firms prefer hiring auditors who have appropriate certifications. Certifications in this regard would include that of Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) amongst others.

One can opt to take up any of these certifications once they are done with their graduation.

  • Skill Set Required

As an auditor, one must possess a high ethical sense and must have the gall to investigate procedures that they feel will reveal embarrassing details. These people must be easily accessible to everyone within the organisation and, for that, need to have good interpersonal skills.

Other than that, as is obvious from the nature of the job, one needs to have knowledge of mathematics. These days most of the auditing work is carried out in specialised software and one must be well versed with basic computer skills in order to effectively use the same.

Also, it is important for you to realise that auditors rarely function as individuals. Most of the work that these professionals do helps that of a larger team. Hence, it is important for an auditor to be able to cooperate and coordinate with others and work towards the larger goal of the team.

  • Salary

The salary in this field stands at a national average of INR 3,73,343 per year. The average value for freshers here is close to INR 1,75,000 and with experience, the salary is seen to increase steadily.

However, it is also seen that after a steady growth for over two decades, the salary attains stagnation (in some rare cases it even goes down) for people with more than 20 years of experience. This is a characteristic that is unique to this particular field of work.

  • Working Conditions

The working environment here is pretty office-like with minimal or no travelling involved. Most of the work is desk-based and employees do not really have to work in rotational shifts or on the weekends. In fact, some companies also allow their auditors the luxury of working from home (and having to report at the office once in a while).

It is important for us to realise that every company, irrespective of its size or domain, will require its own team of auditors and, considering the wide array of companies that are on offer, it is impossible for us to arrive at a definite working condition for this profession. The work environment will vary according to the company that the person is working for.

  • Career Growth

Understand that auditing projects range from that of small projects to multimillion dollar ones. When an auditor joins a firm or organisation, they are made to work as a part of a team that is under the supervision of other senior auditors. With due experience, they themselves move on to supervisory positions.

While doing so, choosing your field of specialisation (which may range from that of finance and accounting to that of information science and computer data systems) will put you on the right track of professional growth. After having established their stand in a particular organisation, many auditors choose to switch companies in order to accelerate their career growth and development.

Now that you are well versed with the finer nuances of this profession, chances are that you are intrigued by the number of jobs that are present in this profession. So go ahead and unleash the career potential in this field and make a successful living off this profession. Here's wishing you the very best of luck for the same.

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