Advancing your career in internal audit
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"Discover the key skills that set top auditors apart in today's fast-changing landscape. Learn how to advance your career in internal auditing."
Advancing your career as an internal auditor
What distinguishes a top auditor from the rest? For an auditor, what's the ideal path to take?
The answers to those questions were probably very different twenty years ago. Back then, knowing the ins and outs of internal auditing might propel you to the top of the career ladder. 2022 is likely to be less so.
The harsh reality is that auditing skills are no longer optional. The skills we learned in accounting school—planning, fieldwork, and reporting—don't truly set us apart. It's almost anticipated as part of the job.
With technology capable of automating 50% of present work duties, hard and soft skills will ultimately distinguish audit professionals in a very demanding and fast-changing world.
Do you want to advance your career as an auditor? Here are the top skills you should learn right now.
Hard Skills
Data Analytics
The nature of the audit work evolves as business becomes more and more reliant on technology. Auditor requests for mountains of paper and signature confirmations are no longer made. The digital data needed for the modern auditor's analysis is obtained via databases and ERP systems. Data digitization has increased sample sizes and the ability to cover entire populations, considerably strengthening audit confidence and value addition. Still, it has also created new difficulties for auditors who are not tech-savvy. One of the most critical abilities for the modern auditor to flourish and develop is having a firm grip on data analytics and its tools.
Emerging Technologies
To be competitive, businesses today use various technologies in their daily operations. Science fiction movies and novels are no longer the sole province of applications like virtual reality and augmented reality; they are now a common component of everyday business that is even less creative than they were a few years ago. The modern auditor who wants to advance their career must look into the systems and audit them from within rather than simply auditing around them as if they were a black box.
Cross Functional Training
Naturally, internal audit specialists are subject to many accounting, financial, and auditing rules. They must have at least a fundamental degree of legal and analytical understanding in order to do this.
Auditors must, in the words of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, "have an understanding of how laws and regulations affect an audit, not only in terms of the work the auditor is required to do, but also to appreciate the responsibilities of both management and the auditor where laws and regulations are concerned."
Similar to external auditors, internal auditors deal with a lot of financial data; thus, they must have the ability to interpret those figures. Data management abilities are a definite way to stand out in a crowded profession and job market, especially given that data science is one of the top 25 most in-demand skills for 2022, according to LinkedIn.
Soft Skills
Communication
Business communication is a prerequisite for all internal auditors seeking to improve their careers and is consistently recognized as the most crucial ability for an internal auditor.
Internal auditors invest a lot of time collecting data and information from other teams and sharing the findings of their audits with management and leadership. The ability to communicate verbally, in writing, and with others must be extraordinary for both tasks.
Gaining meaningful information from the appropriate sources at the correct times requires effective communication. Similar to this, corporate management wants internal auditors to deliver reports that are clear, succinct, and actionable.
Business acumen
For internal auditors who want to make a real difference and advance their careers, knowledge of the business environment, industry, and goals is a requirement.
Business acumen was listed as one of the most desired talents by CAEs in the 2018 North American Pulse of the Internal Audit Profession study by The IIA's Audit Executive Center.
Practitioners of today must understand not just the numbers but also their significance to the business and the function they play in it. It is carried out by internal auditors.
In summary, those with the most successful career trajectories not only perform their duties to the highest standards but also connect the dots to express the true business impact, which is the most important data to other stakeholders.
Critical Thinking
For a profession in internal auditing, critical thinking abilities are essential. Finding solutions through critical thinking involves applying logic. When reviewing a company's records, auditors can exercise critical thought to make the best recommendations to management. Understanding audit outcomes is a strength, but giving results that organizations can use is even better. These practical suggestions can assist companies in enhancing their policies and procedures, which will facilitate and lessen the burden of future audits.
Internal auditing is now about more than just being an investigator; these roles bring significant value to the organization. This is much easier to demonstrate if you enhance your technical skills with these in-demand soft skills.
This makes you a more well-rounded internal auditing expert and helps you understand that automation isn't something to be afraid of. Indeed, by automating the manual chores that divert your attention away from more value-added, proactive, and gratifying activities, you may become the strategic and insightful internal auditor your organization requires.
Categories: : Certified Internal Auditor - CIA