What does an audit specialist do?

An audit specialist is responsible for evaluating the reports by a professional auditor that will assist in improving the growth of the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. Audit specialists aid in the development of the company by using a systematic approach to reach the goals set by the company. Primary responsibilities include operating complex and difficult audit projects and conducting audits of control, financial, and other operating records. Also, they develop, implement distinct audit strategies, programs, and procedures for intricate assignments.
Audit specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real audit specialist resumes:
- Manage vendor billing disputes for southwestern region from initiation to documentation of resolution while ensuring compliance with SOX guidelines.
- Work with department analyst to create measurement tools and methods for communicating results and managing QA analysis in compiling/reporting results.
- Review and verify the submitted documentation for completeness to verify the company is in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX).
- Coordinate delivery of mortgage back securities with internal and external stakeholders.
- Monitor and maintain automated report generation and distribution via Cognos NoticeCast.
- Prepare monthly incentive payment and quarterly incentive bonus data for payroll department.
- Perform detailed reconciliations of portfolios for investment managers hire by BNY Mellon clients.
- Improve cash management projection process and provide oversight for investment and borrowing portfolio.
- Participate in maintaining accurate contact database; assist in development of yearly client payroll reporting schedules.
- Create and document process for establishing new fix income securities on system in an extremely accurate manner.
- Provide monthly performance numbers for variety of mutual funds both internally for portfolio management, marketing and external reporting agencies.
- Project manager for derivative processing on the accounting platform including creating a steam line process and validating tickets for accuracy.
- Create EPM user accounts and enterprise resource accounts and perform ERP to verify assignments and availability per enterprise resource.
- Create and optimize diverse SQL queries.
- Apply SQL to audit sampling, get significant and representative samples for campus database.
Audit specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Audit Specialists are proficient in Audit Reports, Patients, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Organizational skills, Detail oriented, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Audit Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Audit Reports, 11%
Produce clear concise audit reports and any follow up process necessary to implement recommendations.
- Patients, 8%
Worked with support staff to insure correct insurance/benefit verification for patients and services.
- Customer Service, 7%
Acted as an internal business consultant who used customer service protocol expertise to identify opportunities for service enhancement.
- Internal Audit, 6%
Assisted the hospital's internal auditor with auditing patient hospital statements for errors in billing and performed other related administrative duties.
- Audit Findings, 5%
Formulated detailed audit plans, obtaining and analyzing data and information, and providing correct audit findings and recommendations to management.
- Process Improvement, 4%
Conduct process improvement assessments of revenue cycle operations in clinical areas with focus on accuracy and timeliness of charge capture.
Common skills that an audit specialist uses to do their job include "audit reports," "patients," and "customer service." You can find details on the most important audit specialist responsibilities below.
Organizational skills. The most essential soft skill for an audit specialist to carry out their responsibilities is organizational skills. This skill is important for the role because "strong organizational skills are important for accountants and auditors, who often work with a range of financial documents for a variety of clients." Additionally, an audit specialist resume shows how their duties depend on organizational skills: "present audit findings to key organizational stakeholders. "
Detail oriented. Another essential skill to perform audit specialist duties is detail oriented. Audit specialists responsibilities require that "accountants and auditors must pay attention to detail when compiling and examining documents." Audit specialists also use detail oriented in their role according to a real resume snippet: "created audit results documentation including provider detail, screenshots, and recommendations for improvement using microsoft word. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of audit specialists is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday audit specialist duties, as "accountants and auditors must be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "evaluate audit results for data, grammatical, mathematical and formatting accuracy. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for audit specialist responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of audit specialists all the time, as "accountants and auditors must be able to listen to and discuss facts and concerns from clients, managers, and other stakeholders." An excerpt from a real audit specialist resume shows how this skill is central to what an audit specialist does: "ensured cip and bsa requirements were implemented by customer service representatives encouraged open communication with branch staff developed and implemented auditing procedures"
The three companies that hire the most audit specialists are:
- Deloitte139 audit specialists jobs
- KPMG LLP59 audit specialists jobs
- RMS Management
13 audit specialists jobs
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Audit specialist vs. Quality assurance auditor
Quality assurance (QA) analysts are responsible for testing company products and processes. Through testing, QA analysts ensure that the product or process is ready for production. They check whether the process meets company standards and guidelines, as well as any standards related to the industry they are in. QA analysts are in charge of determining the root cause of any problems that they may encounter. They also try to solve these as soon as possible. They also ensure that the company's products meet user expectations as well as the company's brand promise.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, audit specialist responsibilities require skills like "customer service," "data entry," "audit procedures," and "risk assessments." Meanwhile a typical quality assurance auditor has skills in areas such as "clinical trials," "quality assurance audits," "gmp," and "quality standards." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Quality assurance auditors earn the highest salaries when working in the pharmaceutical industry, with an average yearly salary of $87,841. On the other hand, audit specialists are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $72,330.quality assurance auditors tend to reach similar levels of education than audit specialists. In fact, quality assurance auditors are 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Audit specialist vs. Senior internal auditor
A Senior Internal Auditor performs the planning and execution of regulatory, financial, and operational audits. They supervise auditors work and make recommendations through giving them review notes.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, audit specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "customer service," "data entry," and "internal controls." Meanwhile, a senior internal auditor has duties that require skills in areas such as "risk management," "professional standards," "acls," and "coso." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Senior internal auditors earn a higher average salary than audit specialists. But senior internal auditors earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $92,225. Additionally, audit specialists earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $72,330 annually.In general, senior internal auditors achieve higher levels of education than audit specialists. They're 8.4% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Audit specialist vs. Quality control auditor
A quality control auditor is in charge of auditing and evaluating quality control procedures to ensure operations adhere to company standards and budgets. Most quality control auditors work in manufacturing companies or warehouses where their responsibilities include conducting research and analysis to develop test structures for quality control, reviewing documentation and specifications, monitoring the performance of the workforce, performing risk assessments, and maintaining records. There are also times when a quality control auditor develops reports and presents them to managers, along with recommendations against vulnerable areas.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an audit specialist is likely to be skilled in "patients," "customer service," "data entry," and "powerpoint," while a typical quality control auditor is skilled in "quality control audits," "quality checks," "va," and "usda."
Quality control auditors earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $37,238. Comparatively, audit specialists have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $72,330.Most quality control auditors achieve a similar degree level compared to audit specialists. For example, they're 3.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Audit specialist vs. Compliance auditor
A compliance auditor is responsible for reviewing the company's policies and procedures, ensuring the organization's adherence to state and federal regulations. Compliance auditors inspect the operations of each department, adjusting internal guidelines as needed. They also inspect the condition of all facilities, including tools and equipment, network systems, and business operations. A compliance auditor mitigates risks by analyzing the operational processes and conducting a risk assessment study to prevent compliance issues that may pose a negative effect on the company's performance and stability.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between audit specialists and compliance auditors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an audit specialist might have more use for skills like "data entry," "powerpoint," "excellent interpersonal," and "regulatory standards." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of compliance auditors require skills like "compliance program," "icd-10," "state regulations," and "hcpcs. "
Compliance auditors enjoy the best pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $70,894. For comparison, audit specialists earn the highest salary in the professional industry.In general, compliance auditors hold similar degree levels compared to audit specialists. Compliance auditors are 2.4% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of audit specialist
Updated January 8, 2025











