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have a sense of fulfillment when your suggestion is useful for your client.
Strict timelines
a. type of products/services.
b. age of company
9. Any questions?
b. How do they see your role progressing within the first 12 months?
10. http://www.careersinaudit.com/article/internal-audit-interview-questions/
Note that in answering this question you are also demonstrating what you will bring to
their organisation in your competence as an internal auditor and enthusiasm for the role.
Use this question as an opportunity to show how you specifically can provide effective
risk mitigation, profit increase, cost reduction and attention to detail in reviewing the
organisation’s key statements. The energy you bring to the role because of your
passion for internal audit is what sets you apart from the rest.
Edwards admits that he often receives feedback that candidates indicated their sights
were already set on their next move beyond Internal Audit and didn’t give good enough
reasons as to why they wanted to do the job they were interviewing for. “It’s important to
strike the right balance between the immediate future and showing your ambition,” he
says.
How do you see your career progressing after 3-4 years in Internal Audit?
This question according to Edwards is again about striking the right balance. He says,
“If a ‘rotation scheme’ is in place, candidates should show clear ambition, whilst
demonstrating an open-mindedness to different career directions.” He further explains,
“If you typecast yourself into one narrow career path, there’s a chance you’re talking
yourself out of the job if the company is any less than 100% sure they can deliver on
your ambitions.”
When it comes to conflict, what your interviewer is looking for is an internal auditor who
can show a willingness to listen to and understand his or her colleagues’ and
employers’ perspectives in order to work out a solution that is mutually agreeable. The
key here is collaboration leading to resolution.
What do you expect to be different moving from External Audit to Internal Audit?
“My advice,” says Edwards in answering this question, “be confident with what you
know, and show humility towards what you don’t. For example, a strong Financial
Auditor may need to adjust their mind-set towards Operational Audits. It’s a completely
different way of thinking and approaching a project and this can take time and shouldn’t
be underestimated.” When it comes to making the move between external audit and
internal audit, Edwards asserts that while companies are not expecting to hire someone
with the full spectrum of expertise, what they are looking for is “someone who has a
strong basis, is eager to learn and can adapt quickly.”
Can you give an example of a suggestion you made that was implemented?
Have an example ready that hones in most importantly on the implementation of an idea
you put forward, and one that was hopefully successful.
Below are 10 possible questions to ask at your next audit job interview:
1. Ask about the biggest challenge that the company or the audit department has gone
through. Then, ask how they were able to overcome it or the things that they’re doing to
resolve the issue. By asking this question, you show that you want to know the challenges
that can keep the audit department from realizing their goals. If possible, you can share
your expertise or experience on how they can overcome these challenges.
2. Ask questions about the company’s culture.Ask your interviewer questions that will
help you show your interest in the audit position that you’re applying for and the
company as a whole. Consider asking the interviewer about their personal experiences
while working for the company or you can even ask them to describe the company
culture in general. Also, ask about your direct supervision and the things that you can
expect should you get hired.
3. Ask about the person who previously had the job that you’re applying for. Is it a
newly created role? Did the previous auditor get promoted? Did they resign? If they did,
would the interviewer know the reason? This question will help you figure out if the
company offer good career advancement opportunities to its employees (if the previous
auditor was promoted) or if there are issues when it comes to expectations.
4. Ask about the employer’s expectations. Ask what they want you to accomplish in the
first three, six, and twelve months in the position. This will not only help you get their
attention very quickly as a forward thinker, but will also give you an idea if you can live
up to those expectations. If you’re confident that you can deliver what they expect to get
from you, be sure to tell them that.
5. Ask about the strengths of the auditing team.This is one of the rarely asked questions
during interviews but worth asking anyway. This will help you get a better picture of the
dynamics of the current team that you may work with should you get hired. Knowing
their strengths can help you figure out ahead of time the things that you can do to
compliment your future colleagues.
6. Inquire about the history of the position. It can be helpful to understand the history of
the position that you are applying for. What are the roles and responsibilities that come
with it? What were the accomplishments of the previous auditor? What did the last
auditor do to contribute to the success of the company? Also, inquire about growth so
you’ll see if there’s a future for you in this company. How long did it take to promote the
last auditor?
7. Ask about the interviewer’s experience with the company. Ask how many years he or
she had been working for the company. What makes the company great to work for?
8. Ask about the factors that are considered for promotion. Aside from being
professional and delivering quality work at all times, what do they expect you to do
before you can climb up the corporate ladder? Do they expect you to participate in
continuing programs that will allow you to broaden your knowledge in the field of
auditing? Will on-going training be provided?
9. Ask for examples of projects that you’ll be working on. This will give you a good
picture of what you’re going to do on a day-to-day basis should you get hired.
10. Ask the interviewer how the current position can contribute to the overall success of
the company. Asking this question can help you to figure out how the audit team is
integrated with the rest of the company. Does it sound like the audit department is seen as
a vital part of the overall company strategy? Just something they need to have to meet
government regulations? A necessary evil?
Below are our top 10 interview tips to ensure you land the job you want.
8. Avoid Rushing
Whether you are using public transport or driving it’s almost inevitable you’ll get held up
at some point, so leave plenty of time, expect the unexpected and you’ll be there with
time to spare.
Integrity
Internal auditors should be honest in their job as well as being responsible and diligent in their
audit work. Similarly they should follow the law and make any relevant disclosures which are
required by the law. While most people working in internal auditing would follow these
guidelines as a matter of principle, it is sometimes worth reminding ourselves of their
importance. The professional bodies also advise that their members should avoid knowingly
partaking in any illegal activity or anything which would discredit internal auditing as a
profession or the company you are working for.
Objectivity
In order to maintain some objective distance, it’s important you don’t get involved in any activity
or relationship which may affect or be construed as affecting your ability to carry out an audit in
a professional and unbiased manner. While it’s important to avoid conflicts of interest in every
type of job it’s particularly relevant to those working as internal auditors. Accepting gifts or
payments which might alter your ability to carry out the audit professionally should be refused.
Even if you feel that accepting gifts would not impair your impartiality it can often been seen
that way by others so should be avoided. Full disclosure is also encouraged as often a lack of
openness can result in a distortion of any reporting and lead to the audit being biased or
inaccurate.
Confidentiality
Being prudent with information is extremely important for internal auditors. They shouldn’t
disclose any knowledge that they have acquired within the course of their duties for personal
gain nor in any way that may be viewed as such. This kind of non-disclosure of important
commercial information isn’t unusual in many firms; however the knowledge that can be gained
in the course of a role as an internal auditor can be extremely valuable outside of the company.
Competency
The professional bodies recommend that as an internal auditor you should only accept roles
which you believe you have the knowledge, experience and skills to carry out professionally.
They also ask those in internal audit jobs to continually improve their skills and effectiveness
over time.
The basic functions in an internal audit job can be broken down in the following ways:
Dealing with Risk – in every company there are undesirable situations and outcomes. Those
working in internal audit jobs have a responsibility to help companies identify and understand
the risk. Through their research of the company and market as a whole, they are able to analyse
trends and understand whether the current processes can deal with the risk. Both the experience
of the auditor and their objective distance from the departments they are assessing enables them
to see risk and opportunities that may have been missed by those closer to the situation.
Reporting on the Operations of the Company -Internal audits often have the objective of
reporting on the processes and operations of a company. Internal auditors are often experts in
knowing how companies can be run more efficiently and effectively. With their overall view of
the company, they are able to identify duplication of work and responsibility, as well as
highlighting needlessly difficult procedures. In their reports an internal auditor would present
their findings to help the business or organisation work better.
Uncovering Fraud and Malpractice – most companies would hope their employees are neither
carrying out fraud nor acting unprofessionally. However the investigations of an internal audit
can often discover such behaviour. Employing an auditor can act as a safety net for the
organisation, helping them to root out such behaviour before it potentially damages the company.
Identifying and Preventing the Worst Case Scenario – similar to the way they identify
risk, internal auditors can help with crisis and emergency planning, whether it’s dealing with
catastrophic data loss in an Accounts firm or identifying a poor pricing process to deal with
rising costs in a manufacturingfirm; they can help identify and prevent situations which would
have a significant negative effect on a business.
Creating and Ensuring Appropriate Controls are in Place – most efficient companies have
effective business controls in place, such as cheques requiring sign off by a suitably senior
member of staff. An internal audit can explore these controls and assess whether they are
suitable. They will recommend when the controls are seen as too stringent or too lax.
Making Recommendations for the Future – the most significant responsibility for an internal
auditor is to make suggestions for future strategy. It is these recommendations where the
employer gets the greatest value from the person working in internal audit.