Audit Associate Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of an audit associate. Feel free to use our audit associate job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as an audit associate.
Who is an Audit Associate?
Audit associates are accounting professionals who support the in-house auditing team in their day-to-day functions. They prepare financial statements and budgets, manage financial audits, and verify financial information.
Audit associates play a crucial role in supporting senior auditors and managers with auditing and compliance activities. Audit associates are usually well-versed in auditing standards and procedures.
Audit associates are responsible for business analysis, preparation, and review of accounting, as well as documentation of audit evidence. They also ensure minimum firm standards following government laws and prepare budgets for future operations.
They may be responsible for gathering financial information and making expert suggestions to improve management.
Audit associates assist in financial activities and are also responsible for keeping track of clients’ taxation records, such as paying taxes on time.
External auditors may hire associates for the financial department, and the company may also hire them to support the audit manager.
Audit associates assist with compliance and auditing activities. While some associates work within the company, others may be employed by outside auditors to review companies and ensure compliance with accounting standards.
The job of an auditor associate is to collect documentation and research, regardless of whether they are working for an internal or external company. Information about a company’s practices and procedures can be gathered from a variety of sources. This information can be used to help auditors identify areas of concern during the review of financial records. Scheduling is also a part of the job. This includes creating a timeline and working with individuals to establish their schedules to maximize efficiency.
An audit associate must have a thorough understanding of GAAP and industry standards. They need to be able to identify the best ways to review financial records and what to look out for when reviewing company documentation. They can perform tests to verify that the company is maintaining accurate and relevant information. They can use mathematical formulas to compare with other documents and then review the results in light of the research that was done to support the audit.
An audit associate can also be responsible for communicating with the rest of the team. Auditors need to coordinate their efforts to give complete coverage and not influence each other. This will allow them to offer fair and impartial opinions. Double-checking work may be necessary to verify that two auditors are getting the same result. An audit associate might distribute manuals to ensure that everyone is familiarized with company standards. Members of the team may meet periodically to share information and ideas in support of the audit.
Document preparation is another job. Although the final auditing opinion may not be written by the associate, it is important to document the entire process. Associates can provide information and opinions on various aspects of the audit which may be used in the final report. Assisting auditors in the collection and use of supporting information for closing statements is another benefit.
Audit Associate Job Description
Below are the audit associate job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write an audit associate job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of an audit associate include the following:
- Planning and directing company financial audits.
- Implementing internal auditing systems, and ensuring that they are properly applied.
- Ensuring compliance with all applicable legislation and best practices.
- Verifying financial information.
- Assisting the auditing and accounting teams in their day-to-day tasks.
- Preparing audit statements and reports for review.
- Answering client queries quickly and efficiently
- Assisting the accounting/auditing team in their day-to-day functions
- Managing and preparing audit budgets.
- Verifying financial information.
- Managing and creating internal auditing systems.
- Preparing audit reports and statements to be presented to company managers.
- Resolving audit questions for clients
- Ensuring compliance with best practices of the state and company.
- Mentoring and training audit interns
- Assisting the accounting and auditing team and resolving their problems promptly.
- Identifying the issues in accounting and auditing and informing the partner, manager, or senior associate.
- Analyzing internal controls within an organization
- Making suggestions and recommendations to improve internal controls.
- Establishing a rapport with the client to ensure smooth communication between the client and the audit team.
- Ensuring that all business transactions comply with applicable regulations and government rules.
- Verifying the accuracy of your financial statements.
- Communicating with clients to solve their problems quickly.
- Performing accounting and auditing activities
- Audit associates play a crucial role in complex accounting and auditing activities.
Other important tasks are:
- Project Management:
An audit associate is responsible for mobilizing all resources within the company to complete the project on time. An experienced audit associate can manage multiple projects within a given time frame and with proficiency.
- Trust in the Clients
Typically, the audit associates are considered to be the representative of the firm. They play a key role in gaining the trust and confidence of clients through high-quality work.
An audit associate who is knowledgeable and able to make quick judgments about the client’s business is usually a good one.
- Document preparation
An audit associate plays a crucial role in the preparation and review of documents. Although the audit associate does not have to give an audit opinion on business accounts, they can document the entire process.
Sometimes, the external auditor may include suggestions and opinions of an audit associate in the final report. They assist with obtaining supporting documentation and information for the final statement.
Qualifications
- Must have a bachelor’s degree in economics or accounting
- Minimum of 3 years of experience working as an Audit Associate.
- Advanced knowledge of auditing and accounting procedures.
- Have knowledge of state financial laws.
- Strong communication skills.
- Detail-oriented.
- Have experience in using accounting and office software.
Essential Skills
- Strong communication skills
Some types of audits may not require frequent communication, as much of the work is done behind closed doors. For a high-quality audit, however, the auditor must interview financial staff and company leaders to discuss strategy, attitudes, and accuracy in a financial environment. For those who move quickly up the ladder of internal and external auditing, it is important to be able to read people and adapt to any situation.
- Emotional intelligence
It does not necessarily mean that clients and auditors are on the same page. Clients need an auditor who can keep their cool, despite being frustrated by disorganized financial records, or anxious about discovering fraud.
- Problem-solving and risk analysis
To ensure integrity in the auditing process, risk management jobs require precise thinking, precise reporting, and statistical analysis. Risk analysis, at its most basic, is the auditor asking the question, “Can the company continue to approach finances in this way or would another approach provide more security?” A highly skilled auditor must also have business acumen, and be able to make sound judgments about the next steps for the company once the audit is complete.
Willingness to learn
Whatever your job in auditing is, you should always be willing to learn about your company, its culture, key players, and competitive environment. You will be different from other professionals in auditing or risk compliance if you are driven to improve.
- Innovation
Each organization is unique and requires creativity to be a successful auditor. Combining innovation with your current business processes will yield outstanding results. You can solve problems in your organization by using audit software and continuing to up-skill yourself with the most cutting-edge audit techniques.
- Healthy skepticism
Audit associates must be able to move beyond a traditional backward-focused approach and embrace a proactive approach.
“Skepticism” is a mentality that involves questioning the validity and sufficiency of audit evidence.
- Critical thinking
An audit career requires critical thinking skills. This type of reasoning requires them to think outside their own biases and judgments for them to evaluate all perspectives and come up with a conclusion.
- Initiative
Employers want to see employees who are interested in learning and developing in any field. Employers value those who are willing to go beyond the norm to improve their skills and knowledge.
Audit associates must be able to take responsibility for their success and be willing to take initiative. They are passionate about pursuing professional certifications and continuing professional education (CPE). This shows that they aren’t content to sit back and be satisfied with their achievements, but are keen to learn and grow along with the profession.
- Empathy
Audits can be nerve-wracking for those who are on the receiving end. Skilled internal auditors need to be able to empathize and understand the emotions of clients and stakeholders, while also maintaining their calm and being prudent.
This competency not only sets internal auditors apart, it allows them to present their findings in the best way possible. It also results in higher quality audits.
- Business acumen
According to the IIA’s Audit Executive Center 2018, business acumen was rated as one of the most desired skills in the 2018 North American Pulse on the Internal Audit Profession survey.
Audit associates today need to be able to understand not just the numbers but also their roles and what they mean for the business.
Professionals with strong career paths are not only skilled in their job, but they also can connect the dots and communicate the true business impact, which is the information that is most important to other stakeholders.
- Executive presence
Executive presence is more than a buzzword. Audit associates need to have a positive professional image. What is executive presence? Simply put, executive presence refers to a person’s ability to inspire confidence.
A release from a Big 4 firm states that “internal auditor leaders must inform and educate stakeholders as well as gain their trust.”
PwC recently conducted a study that found 9 out of 10 highly effective internal auditors excel at demonstrating executive presence.
- Curiosity
The most successful audit associates don’t accept the status quo. They are constantly looking for ways to improve the process and help the profession grow in a changing business environment. The best audit associates can improve their skills and also understand, adapt, and use emerging technologies.
Even if the organization doesn’t have a formal or structured learning program, audit associates should attend workshops and courses to expand their knowledge.
These audit associates are also curious and will ruthlessly investigate problems to find a solution. Instead of being discouraged by a mystery, they are excited about it.
Audit associates should be open-minded and have a healthy dose of skepticism to ensure a successful career in audit. However, they must also maintain a sense of fairness and impartiality to make informed decisions.
- Cross-functional training
Audit associates must adhere to a variety of financial, accounting, and auditing regulations. They must have at least basic legal and analytical knowledge to be able to comply with these regulations.
They also deal with large amounts of financial data. The best way to be successful in a competitive industry and the labor market is to be able to handle data.
How to Become an Audit Associate
You will need a high school diploma to become an associate auditor. The next step is to get an associate’s or bachelors in accounting or another related field.
To become an audit associate, you must first earn a high school diploma. You will need this certification to enroll in most colleges and universities. Audit associates are often involved in the manipulation of numbers so it is worth taking multiple mathematics courses. Foreign languages, accounting, and communication are all courses you may consider taking if they are available at your school.
After you have completed your high school education, it is necessary to enroll in college programs to earn at least an associate’s degree in accounting or another related field. Employers prefer to hire graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher. It might be a smart decision to pursue a bachelor’s or higher degree to become an audit associate. An accounting program may offer courses in bookkeeping, financial accounting, and auditing.
Audit associates may be employed in many industries. Your duties could vary depending on the employer. For example, if you choose to work at a public accounting company, you might be required to do financial audits of different companies in a particular industry every year. Audit associates working for a government agency may be required to audit taxes and other financial government matters.
Audit associates are required to work full-time in an office environment. Some associates can work remotely due to technological advances. An audit is normally performed at the company’s business location. This may mean that some travel may be necessary.
After you have gained at least two to three years of experience as an audit associate, you might be eligible for promotion to become a senior or junior level associate. Audit associates can improve their chances of advancement by obtaining certifications in public accounting or internal auditing. These exams have different requirements depending on where you live.
Where to Work
Audit associates usually work in offices where they can speak to clients and help accountants and auditors with their financial reviews. They can also travel to clients’ offices for audits or meetings.
Audit Associate Salary Scale
The average salary that an audit associate earns in the United States is $63,238.