At the most basic level, the role of an internal auditor is one which advises organizations as to how to perform more efficiently and how to attain their goals while still respecting laws and industry strictures. Essentially, the auditor will be looking at the way that a company takes care of things and what mistakes that they are making, and then advises them of these problems and recommends a solution. With this in mind, the auditor may be discussing things like the way that the business is run, or how it is organized or even how the different departments work with each other. This is not a role that requires the auditor to be able to jump in and fix everything; instead, the auditor will only have the power to advise the body in charge of the investigation as to what might be done. The auditor may be an independent contractor who has been brought on for a short term project, or in the case of a larger company, may be part of an internal auditing department.
Areas Addressed by an Internal Auditor
To truly make the most out of their work, internal auditors will find that they are required to present the governing body who has ordered the work with a clear idea of what is going on, and typically this is done through the quantitative measurement of the area under scrutiny. Some important measures that will be called upon to judge if such criteria are being met include plan completion, where the auditor will judge the degree to which planned projects were finished, as well as the report issuance, which refers to the time that elapses between testing and the final audit report. The auditor will also be asked to quantify the issue of closure where any deficiencies are addressed as well as staff qualifications and staffing level. The staff utilization rate is something else that auditors will need to speak about, where they will measure the time spent on the project versus time spent overseeing administrative measures.
Role Regarding Staff Retention
One of the most important things that an internal auditor might be called upon to examine is the rate at which employees leave. One of the major problems faced by many companies is that they spend a lot of time training employees only to have those employees leave. This means that not only do they lose the employee, they lose the training that they invested in the employee. An internal auditor will be evaluating the ability of the company to provide quality supervision as well as the opportunities to give out challenging and varied assignments The auditor may also be responsible for recommending outside training through seminars as well as improvements that need to be made to in-house training. The auditor will also need to think about the quality of quality assurance reviews and may be called up to help recruit and interview new employees.
When considering training to become an auditor, it is important that although the field itself is unregulated, there are ruling bodies that take it upon themselves to issue certifications of competence, and gaining a certification such as this will vastly improve one’s chances of entering into the field itself. The main body in question when considering this field will be the Institute of Internal Auditors, otherwise known as the IIA, which is an internationally recognized guidance-setting body for this profession. This body is considered the acknowledged leader as well as the prime educator for internal auditors. The main designation offered through the IIA is the title of Certified Internal Auditor, which requires a college degree, a professional reference, the completion of a four part exam, as well as two years of work in the profession itself. Other certifications offered by the IIA include Certification in Control Self-Assessment, Certified Financial Services Auditor, and Certified Government Auditing Professional.
Scope of Internal Auditing
If you have an interest in the field of internal auditing, you should be aware that you may be involved in a wide variety of activities. You will be called upon to evaluate the reliability of a systems reporting, the investigation of fraud, the efficiency of the operations, as well as how the company is dealing with the laws and regulations. With this in mind, you will also find that you are expected to act independently of management; unlike other people in the company, you will find yourself under a different form of supervision with a different department to report to.
Conclusion
The field of internal auditing is an interesting one that requires people who can take in an entire situation and who is not afraid to go ahead and make the reports that are necessary. This is the perfect field for people who are detail oriented and committed to the success of the people that they are working for.
