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Compliance officer vs auditor

The differences between compliance officers and auditors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a compliance officer has an average salary of $64,058, which is higher than the $54,853 average annual salary of an auditor.

The top three skills for a compliance officer include oversight, risk management and compliance program. The most important skills for an auditor are audit reports, customer service, and financial statements.

Compliance officer vs auditor overview

Compliance OfficerAuditor
Yearly salary$64,058$54,853
Hourly rate$30.80$26.37
Growth rate-6%
Number of jobs69,16120,325
Job satisfaction-3
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4644
Years of experience--

What does a compliance officer do?

A compliance officer is responsible for monitoring company operations, ensuring that all the processes and members are adhering to the regulatory and procedural policies set by the company. Compliance officers' duties also include proposing compliance programs, reviewing and updating existing company policies with management approval, taking immediate actions for policy violations, and mitigating risks. A compliance officer must have extensive knowledge of legal procedures and regulatory standards to manage and evaluate problems, providing meaningful solutions, and keep the company's positive reputation.

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.

Compliance officer vs auditor salary

Compliance officers and auditors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Compliance OfficerAuditor
Average salary$64,058$54,853
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $96,000Between $35,000 And $84,000
Highest paying CityWilmington, DEWashington, DC
Highest paying stateDelawareNew Jersey
Best paying companyMetaMicrosoft
Best paying industryFinanceProfessional

Differences between compliance officer and auditor education

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

Compliance OfficerAuditor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorBusinessAccounting
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Compliance officer vs auditor demographics

Here are the differences between compliance officers' and auditors' demographics:

Compliance OfficerAuditor
Average age4644
Gender ratioMale, 48.8% Female, 51.2%Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%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%
LGBT Percentage12%7%

Differences between compliance officer and auditor duties and responsibilities

Compliance officer example responsibilities.

  • Achieve millions of dollars in possible FDA fines and remediation costs by eliminating regulatory risk.
  • Lead a team to review new HCBS final rules settings as outlined by CMS for all contract provider agencies.
  • Participate in OCC exam preparation and review including research and presentation of documentation to achieve compliance with federal examiner requests.
  • Track and coordinate CAPA to ensure effectiveness in root cause remediation.
  • Support senior compliance staff and legal counsel in all phases of investigation and litigation.
  • Use the Internet, Lexis Nexis and Accuity as necessary to perform EDD QA processes.
  • Show more

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

Compliance officer vs auditor skills

Common compliance officer skills
  • Oversight, 7%
  • Risk Management, 7%
  • Compliance Program, 6%
  • Compliance Issues, 5%
  • Risk Assessments, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
Common auditor skills
  • Audit Reports, 18%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Financial Statements, 6%
  • Audit Findings, 5%
  • Audit Procedures, 5%
  • Payroll, 5%

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