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Compliance specialist vs compliance auditor

The differences between compliance specialists 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 $57,330 average annual salary of a compliance specialist.

The top three skills for a compliance specialist include patients, regulatory compliance and strong analytical. The most important skills for a compliance auditor are audit findings, compliance audits, and audit reports.

Compliance specialist vs compliance auditor overview

Compliance SpecialistCompliance Auditor
Yearly salary$57,330$64,606
Hourly rate$27.56$31.06
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs34,61033,704
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age4644
Years of experience--

What does a compliance specialist do?

The role of compliance specialists is to ensure that companies comply with relevant industry standards and regulations. Their duties may vary depending on the industry they work in, such as healthcare or banking. Tasks include reviewing their company's business practices to ensure they follow specific regulations, resolving compliance issues that may arise, and being up-to-date with regulatory changes. As a compliance specialist, you should have industry expertise, in-depth knowledge of regulations, and auditing skills.

What does a compliance auditor do?

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.

Compliance specialist vs compliance auditor salary

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

Compliance SpecialistCompliance Auditor
Average salary$57,330$64,606
Salary rangeBetween $38,000 And $85,000Between $45,000 And $92,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateDelawareNew Jersey
Best paying companyMetaPayPal
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalFinance

Differences between compliance specialist and compliance auditor education

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

Compliance SpecialistCompliance Auditor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Compliance specialist vs compliance auditor demographics

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

Compliance SpecialistCompliance Auditor
Average age4644
Gender ratioMale, 38.4% Female, 61.6%Male, 38.9% Female, 61.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%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 Percentage12%7%

Differences between compliance specialist and compliance auditor duties and responsibilities

Compliance specialist example responsibilities.

  • Lead bi-weekly Medicaid meetings to maintain effective communication with all staff regarding AHCA updates and notifications.
  • Manage and submit regulatory permit and notification applications to USDA to import, move and release regulate plant materials.
  • Participate in OCC exam preparation and review including research and presentation of documentation to achieve compliance with federal examiner requests.
  • Access the IDX system to obtain patient billing information in order to review Medicare and Medicaid payments.
  • Develop training materials to be used company-wide for regulatory mandate continuing education; create written policy manual for ethics and compliance.
  • Perform SOX control testing and validation.
  • Show more

Compliance auditor example responsibilities.

  • Work with department analyst to create measurement tools and methods for communicating results and managing QA analysis in compiling/reporting results.
  • Identify any issues that do not conform to CFR, ICH guidelines and corporate expectations.
  • Research HIPAA information from CMS website in order to determine correct revisions for policies and procedures and develop company-wide communications.
  • Coordinate team meetings, maintain calendars, support team with PowerPoint presentations.
  • Prepare and perform in-house presentations (both in person and using JoinMe) using PowerPoint.
  • Evaluate the level of compliance with company policy, GAAP, contract requirements and applicable rules and regulations.
  • Show more

Compliance specialist vs compliance auditor skills

Common compliance specialist skills
  • Patients, 9%
  • Regulatory Compliance, 7%
  • Strong Analytical, 5%
  • FDA, 5%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
Common compliance auditor skills
  • Audit Findings, 7%
  • Compliance Audits, 7%
  • Audit Reports, 6%
  • Audit Results, 4%
  • CPT, 4%
  • Compliance Program, 4%

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