What does an audit internship do?
An audit intern is responsible for assisting the finance department in processing financial reports, analyzing account statements, releasing invoices, and conducting tax audits. Audit interns shadow tenured staff on the operation procedures to familiarize themselves with work processes. They are also tasked to do administrative and clerical duties under the supervision of a direct supervisor, such as writing reports, ensuring the accuracy of financial statements, responding to clients' inquiries and concerns, and escalating high-level complaints to the supervisor for immediate resolution.
Audit internship responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real audit internship resumes:
- Manage audit finalization, SOX audit and internal audit of multinational companies
- Manage accounting operations, accounting close, account reporting and reconciliations for internal corporate and bank transactions.
- Conduct FDA submission projects including projects.
- Assist the senior manager to make PowerPoint presentation.
- Work with senior management to prepare PowerPoint presentations for clients.
- Have currently effective BLS and ACLS certificates, confidently run codes.
- Perform day-to-day audit work for all audit phases in accordance with GAAS.
- Collaborate in a successful FDA inspection resulting in no findings or comments.
- Audit the accounting cycles of order to cash, treasury, and procure to pay cycles
- Evaluate transactions, balances, and disclosures to comply with both GAAP and GAAS standards.
- Work as an intern in the Chicago office of one of the largest CPA firms in the world.
- Provide accounting, audit, asset evaluation, and taxation services for 2,000 clients, employing 100 staff members.
- Understand clients' needs and expectations, their business and industry, company values and industry-relate GAAP and GAAS issues.
- Work with audit teams to plan engagements, address risks, and issue opinion on GAAP and statutory financial statements.
- Assign portions of audit testing and program to complete under the direction of the CPA in charge of the audit project.
Audit internship skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Audit Interns are proficient in Audit Procedures, Risk Assessments, and CPA. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Integrity, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Audit Interns that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Audit Procedures, 18%
Followed audit procedures and regulations in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for accounts associated with income statement and balance sheet.
- Risk Assessments, 15%
Tested and documented business processes for domestic and international business units including risk assessments on U.S. and England manufacturing facilities.
- CPA, 11%
Assigned portions of audit testing and program to complete under the direction of the CPA in charge of the audit project.
- GAAP, 9%
Performed audit in accordance with US GAAP and financial statement analyses of US financial services and manufacturing companies' Mexican subsidiaries.
- Audit Intern, 7%
Audit internship assisting in audits of financial statements and agreed upon procedures.
- First Hand, 5%
Gained first hand experience and knowledge in the field of accounting.
Most audit interns use their skills in "audit procedures," "risk assessments," and "cpa" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential audit internship responsibilities here:
Detail oriented. audit interns are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to audit internship responsibilities, because "accountants and auditors must pay attention to detail when compiling and examining documents." An audit internship resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "prepared detailed working papers supporting work performed, results obtained and audit issues generated. "
Math skills. audit internship responsibilities often require "math skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "accountants and auditors must be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures." This resume example shows what audit interns do with math skills on a typical day: "performed complex quantitative analysis on current and historical financial data to verify accuracy of clients records 3. "
Communication skills. Lastly, "communication skills" is an important element of what an audit internship does. Audit internship responsibilities require this skill because "accountants and auditors must be able to listen to and discuss facts and concerns from clients, managers, and other stakeholders." This resume example highlights how audit internship duties rely on this skill: "assisted with substantive audit procedures to ensure financial statement reliability sharpened client service skills through communication with manager-level and higher personnel"
The three companies that hire the most audit internships are:
- Deloitte377 audit interns jobs
- Ernst & Young137 audit interns jobs
- KPMG LLP119 audit interns jobs
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Compare different audit interns
Audit internship vs. Tax professional
A tax professional is responsible for conducting tax procedures, ensuring that all tax documents are filed timely and accurately. Tax professionals review financial statements, verify adjustments, and resolve account discrepancies. They also handle financial reports and collate related account documents. A tax professional should be highly-communicative and analytical, especially on solving tax complexities, as well as preventing financial risks and excessive loss. A tax professional may also file for dispute on a case-to-case basis for any inaccuracies on tax statements.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, audit internship responsibilities require skills like "audit procedures," "risk assessments," "cpa," and "gaap." Meanwhile a typical tax professional has skills in areas such as "strong customer service," "customer service," "irs," and "taxable income." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Tax professionals earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $73,335. On the other hand, audit interns are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $58,466.The education levels that tax professionals earn slightly differ from audit interns. In particular, tax professionals are 7.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an audit internship. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Audit internship vs. Tax analyst
A tax analyst specializes in managing and filing tax forms and tax returns, all while devising strategies to reduce tax payments legally. A tax analyst may work as a member of a company or independently. Moreover, in a company setting, the responsibilities of a tax analyst revolve around coordinating with different departments to obtain all necessary documentation and financial information, maintaining accurate and extensive records of all transactions, and resolving any issues or concerns. Furthermore, it is essential to remain updated with all the tax laws, all while adhering to the policies and regulations of the company.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, audit internship responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "audit procedures," "risk assessments," "cpa," and "audit intern." Meanwhile, a tax analyst has duties that require skills in areas such as "tax audits," "reconciliations," "tax compliance," and "tax payments." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Tax analysts earn a higher average salary than audit interns. But tax analysts earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $79,702. Additionally, audit interns earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $58,466 annually.In general, tax analysts achieve similar levels of education than audit interns. They're 2.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Audit internship vs. Tax associate
Tax associates are responsible for helping businesses and individuals with state and federal income tax preparation and compliance. These professionals often work for accounting firms and financial services companies. They perform varied tasks that include reviewing income statements, financial records, and expenditures, interviewing clients about income and expenses, and minimizing their clients' tax liability. Tax associates also conduct research on tax issues and assist with tax audits, advise clients on compensation and tax information, and maintain accurate and current client records.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from audit internship resumes include skills like "audit procedures," "risk assessments," "audit intern," and "first hand," whereas a tax associate is more likely to list skills in "strong customer service," "strong computer," "tax planning," and "tax research. "
Tax associates make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $72,775. On the other hand, audit interns are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $58,466.Most tax associates achieve a similar degree level compared to audit interns. For example, they're 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Audit internship vs. Corporate accountant
A corporate accountant is an individual who prepares financial statements and maintains financial records of an organization to ensure that they comply with laws, regulations, and the organization's policies. Corporate accountants are required to analyze financial statements to help executives make financial decisions for the organization. They must collect ledgers and financial reports from divisional offices and prepare corporate financial statements for executives. Corporate accountants must also prepare budgets to allocate funds for spending for each department.
Types of audit internship
Updated January 8, 2025
