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Auditor vs senior auditor

The differences between auditors and senior auditors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior auditor has an average salary of $74,382, 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 senior auditor are CPA, internal audit, and audit reports.

Auditor vs senior auditor overview

AuditorSenior Auditor
Yearly salary$54,853$74,382
Hourly rate$26.37$35.76
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs20,32523,025
Job satisfaction35
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4444
Years of experience--

What does an auditor do?

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.

What does a senior auditor do?

Senior auditors have a vital role to play in the financial auditing process. They hold more responsibilities compared to staff auditors and report to an auditing manager directly. They have varied duties and responsibilities, including assigning tasks to staff auditors, overseeing compliant and precise auditing processes, and performing control and risk assessments. Senior auditors also are responsible for presenting audit findings, coordinating periodical audits, and submitting reports to the manager. If you are looking to apply for this role, you need to have a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance, strong analytical and mathematical skills, and proficiency in MS Office.

Auditor vs senior auditor salary

Auditors and senior auditors have different pay scales, as shown below.

AuditorSenior Auditor
Average salary$54,853$74,382
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $84,000Between $54,000 And $101,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew York
Best paying companyMicrosoftMicrosoft
Best paying industryProfessionalTechnology

Differences between auditor and senior auditor education

There are a few differences between an auditor and a senior auditor in terms of educational background:

AuditorSenior Auditor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Auditor vs senior auditor demographics

Here are the differences between auditors' and senior auditors' demographics:

AuditorSenior Auditor
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 44.9% Female, 55.1%Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3%
Race ratioBlack 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, 8.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 14.2% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between auditor and senior auditor duties and responsibilities

Auditor example responsibilities.

  • Lead FDA readiness audits and participate in regulatory inspections.
  • Manage the collection, analysis and verification of managerial payroll information to detect fraud and/or unethical practices.
  • Work with department analyst to create measurement tools and methods for communicating results and managing QA analysis in compiling/reporting results.
  • Perform semi-annual financial audits w/ externally contract CPA to validate accounts payable and receivables.
  • Develop and facilitate training for SOX process owners and other stakeholders using Microsoft PowerPoint.
  • Work efficiently and effectively with various process owners to develop SOX specific business processes and mating documentation controls.
  • Show more

Senior auditor example responsibilities.

  • Conduct routine retrospective and prospective audits for ICD-10 CM/PCS, CPT and HCPCS for outpatient/inpatient facility and manage auditors.
  • Lead internal control reviews for an internationally own agriculture manufacturing company focuse on the inventory and payroll areas.
  • Create technology specific audit programs for SOX and operational audits ensuring that risks are clearly define and adequately test.
  • Enforce regulatory requirements and uphold Sarbanes-Oxley financial disclosure procedures to ensure accurate representation of internal and on-site audit assignments.
  • Guide clients with the compliance of the accounting standards (IFRS).
  • Prepare, and conduct all GxP (GMP, GLP, and GCP) in house and CMO training.
  • Show more

Auditor vs senior auditor skills

Common auditor skills
  • Audit Reports, 18%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Financial Statements, 6%
  • Audit Findings, 5%
  • Audit Procedures, 5%
  • Payroll, 5%
Common senior auditor skills
  • CPA, 13%
  • Internal Audit, 7%
  • Audit Reports, 6%
  • Audit Procedures, 5%
  • Audit Engagements, 5%
  • Risk Assessments, 4%

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