What does an audit manager do?
An audit manager is responsible for the complete audit process of finances in an organization. They work for banks and report directly to the audit committee. Based on findings gathered, a financial institution can gain vision into their variance and overall performance. They are also responsible for scheduling audits, initiating departmental audits, consolidation, and analysis of audit reports, and reviewing accounting procedures. Moreover, part of their tasks is to create audit finding presentations to be presented to the audit committee. It requires a high amount of accountability to be an effective audit manager.
Audit manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real audit manager resumes:
- Manage a review for a large insurance company to ensure compliance with HIPAA law.
- Manage audits in all divisions and ensure all accounting transactions are perform in accordance with GAAP.
- Lead ERM development, implementation, risk assessment reviews, reporting, improvement/remediation, & continuous monitoring.
- Manage quarterly reviews (10-Q) and annual audit (10-K) of two public companies as per PCAOB standards.
- Manage audits of monthly closings, bank reports, cash flow, operations analysis, revenue accounting, and IPO documents.
- Manage two staff accountants and Hyperion assistant/analyst.
- Review monthly results in Hyperion and promote the data.
- Serve diverse range of clients including manufacturing, service and not-for-profit.
- Support in an IFRS consulting project by quantifying the effect from IFRS transition.
- Develop new business by cross-selling consulting and tax services to audit and prospective clients.
- Deliver addresses at IPO conferences in Chicago and Minneapolis attend by CEOs and CFOs.
- Ensure audits are performed in compliance with IFRS, PCAOB, and AICPA auditing standards.
- Ensure financial statement GAAP compliance relating to revenue recognition, expense matching, and asset capitalization.
- Enhance the quality control system and training system to ensure conformance with IIA and GAGAS standards.
- Provide GAAP and GAAS monthly in-house training for a team of 2 seniors and 4 staff auditors.
Audit manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Audit Managers are proficient in CPA, Internal Audit, and Audit Reports. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Audit Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CPA, 14%
Worked two years in public accounting as an Audit Manager in the real estate department for a national CPA firm.
- Internal Audit, 6%
Developed and implemented an Internal Auditing Department, along with complete internal control documentation for all financial and general/cost accounting systems.
- Audit Reports, 6%
Managed multiple business process review projects simultaneously and created audit reports comprised of process improvements, agreed actions and completion dates.
- Audit Engagements, 5%
Provided administrative oversight of team members and operational management on all assigned audit engagements or special projects.
- Financial Services, 5%
Managed professional and support staff while providing professional audit and business advisory services to clients in financial services and government/not-for-profit industries.
- Risk Management, 5%
Monitor and analyze business operations for vulnerabilities and gap areas in an effort to provide appropriate Risk Management for Hamburg Gaming.
Common skills that an audit manager uses to do their job include "cpa," "internal audit," and "audit reports." You can find details on the most important audit manager responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an audit manager to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." Audit managers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "develop and analyze audit issues based on risk level and impact to the business and prudential as a whole. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform audit manager duties is communication skills. Audit managers responsibilities require that "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." Audit managers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "coordinated planning and communications between us and international offices and supervised the consolidation of multinational audit engagements. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of audit managers is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday audit manager duties, as "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "directed all audit activity with focus on ensuring quality performance of staff and organizational efficiency and accuracy for audit engagements. "
Detail oriented. For certain audit manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "detail oriented." The day-to-day duties of an audit manager rely on this skill, as "in preparing and analyzing reports, such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what audit managers do: "prepared audit status reports for management detailing open audit issues and the solutions for closing those issues. "
Math skills. A commonly-found skill in audit manager job descriptions, "math skills" is essential to what audit managers do. Audit manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." You can also see how audit manager duties rely on math skills in this resume example: "developed and executed annual audit plan based on a quantitative and qualitative risk assessment of the region. "
The three companies that hire the most audit managers are:
- Pwc648 audit managers jobs
- Deloitte446 audit managers jobs
- KPMG LLP305 audit managers jobs
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Compare different audit managers
Audit manager vs. Manager finance planning and analysis
A manager finance planning and analysis oversees the daily operations of a company's financial planning department. They typically have administrative duties such as setting goals and guidelines, establishing timelines and budgets, delegating tasks among teams and staff, and reviewing financial reports regularly. They also perform research and assessments, gather and analyze financial data from different departments, coordinate staff, and solve issues and concerns when any arise. Additionally, as a manager, they must lead and empower staff to reach goals while implementing company policies and regulations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an audit manager are more likely to require skills like "cpa," "internal audit," "audit reports," and "audit engagements." On the other hand, a job as a manager finance planning and analysis requires skills like "financial performance," "financial planning analysis," "financial analysis," and "financial models." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Managers finance planning and analysis tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $109,735. In contrast, audit managers make the biggest average salary, $122,875, in the manufacturing industry.managers finance planning and analysis tend to reach higher levels of education than audit managers. In fact, managers finance planning and analysis are 7.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Audit manager vs. Finance and insurance manager
A finance and insurance manager is an individual who is responsible for selling new and used car buyers with financing and insurance programs. Finance and insurance managers are required to provide a thorough explanation of aftermarket products and extended warranties to customers as well as a complete explanation of manufacturer and dealership service procedures and policies. They must seek new lending institutions and maintain a good relationship with them to secure competitive interest rates and financing programs. Finance and insurance managers should also train the sales team and provide information on finance and lease programs.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, audit manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "cpa," "internal audit," "audit reports," and "audit engagements." Meanwhile, a finance and insurance manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "insurance products," "customer satisfaction," "dmv," and "life insurance." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Finance and insurance managers may earn a lower salary than audit managers, but finance and insurance managers earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $90,551. On the other hand, audit managers receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $122,875.finance and insurance managers earn lower levels of education than audit managers in general. They're 11.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for audit managers in the next 3-5 years?
Alicja Foksińska
Lead IT Auditor at Protective Life, and ISACA Birmingham Chapter President
For example, company culture is not easily quantifiable as its scope is wide and divided among many different segments comprising of employee benefits and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, and continuous learning opportunities for the employees. With more companies allowing their employees to permanently work from home, auditors will be asked to answer questions ranging from employee productivity, burnout, to employee identity with the company.
It will be the job of auditors to look at the data landscape of the company and see what data points could help tell the story of the “intangibles,” thus unveiling new knowledge for the company.
Audit manager vs. Credit and collection manager
A credit and collection manager is responsible for evaluating credit services and supervising the credit and collection team in reaching out to clients with outstanding debts and credit applications. Credit and collection managers oversee the cash flow systems and identify opportunities to minimize excessive loss and resolve credit disputes. They also determine a customer's eligibility for credit options by analyzing documents and financial status. A credit collection manager must have excellent communication and analytical skills to process receivables and perform credit reconciliations accurately and efficiently.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, audit managers are more likely to have skills like "cpa," "internal audit," "audit reports," and "audit engagements." But a credit and collection manager is more likely to have skills like "credit limits," "dso," "customer accounts," and "delinquent accounts."
Credit and collection managers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $77,448. On the other hand, audit managers are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $122,875.Most credit and collection managers achieve a lower degree level compared to audit managers. For example, they're 8.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Audit manager vs. Administrative & finance manager
An administrative and finance manager handles a company's expenditures, requests, invoices, and other financial documentation. Their primary duty is to oversee a finance team's daily work. Additionally, they must coordinate financial staff, ensure that orders from management are carried out, complete the company's financial statements, and provide tax data for the legal department.
Types of audit manager
Updated January 8, 2025
