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The differences between auditors and compliance auditors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a compliance auditor has an average salary of $64,606, which is higher than the $54,853 average annual salary of an auditor.
The top three skills for an auditor include audit reports, customer service and financial statements. The most important skills for a compliance auditor are audit findings, compliance audits, and audit reports.
| Auditor | Compliance Auditor | |
| Yearly salary | $54,853 | $64,606 |
| Hourly rate | $26.37 | $31.06 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 20,325 | 33,704 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An auditor is responsible for reviewing financial statements and making sure that the reports align with the accounting principles and legislative standards. Some of the important duties of an auditor are verifying the company's account statements, ensuring that the business is free from fraud and other unusual activities, providing recommendations to boost operations' performance, and creating financial reports for the board. An auditor should have excellent analytical and decision-making skills to spot inaccuracies of financial statements and resolve financial issues immediately.
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.
Auditors and compliance auditors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Auditor | Compliance Auditor | |
| Average salary | $54,853 | $64,606 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $84,000 | Between $45,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | PayPal |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Finance |
There are a few differences between an auditor and a compliance auditor in terms of educational background:
| Auditor | Compliance Auditor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between auditors' and compliance auditors' demographics:
| Auditor | Compliance Auditor | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1% | Male, 38.9% Female, 61.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 12.2% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |