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Inspector general vs auditor

The differences between inspectors general and auditors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an auditor has an average salary of $54,853, which is higher than the $48,026 average annual salary of an inspector general.

The top three skills for an inspector general include IG, OIG and DOD. The most important skills for an auditor are audit reports, customer service, and financial statements.

Inspector general vs auditor overview

Inspector GeneralAuditor
Yearly salary$48,026$54,853
Hourly rate$23.09$26.37
Growth rate-3%6%
Number of jobs58,20820,325
Job satisfaction-3
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4544
Years of experience--

What does an inspector general do?

An inspector general is responsible for doing audit reports and inspections to ensure that no possible fraud, misconduct, corruption, or power abuse in the government or private sector occurs. Their role is to monitor and inspect the agencies' effectiveness, assess possible mismanagement of a company, and improve the economy. Also, they usually conduct and review audit reports or investigations to ensure an agency's compliance to the policies and guidelines.

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.

Inspector general vs auditor salary

Inspectors general and auditors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Inspector GeneralAuditor
Average salary$48,026$54,853
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $74,000Between $35,000 And $84,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCWashington, DC
Highest paying stateConnecticutNew Jersey
Best paying companyMKP Capital ManagementMicrosoft
Best paying industryGovernmentProfessional

Differences between inspector general and auditor education

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

Inspector GeneralAuditor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorBusinessAccounting
Most common college-University of Pennsylvania

Inspector general vs auditor demographics

Here are the differences between inspectors general' and auditors' demographics:

Inspector GeneralAuditor
Average age4544
Gender ratioMale, 69.2% Female, 30.8%Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 13.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 8.3% White, 55.8% 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 Percentage4%7%

Differences between inspector general and auditor duties and responsibilities

Inspector general example responsibilities.

  • Identify the appropriate DoD organizations and project locations to accomplish assign project objectives.
  • Conduct complex functional inspections, focuse on logistics management of DoD activities.
  • Issue hundreds of subpoenas for production of records.
  • Conduct inquiries, investigations and respond to Hotline complaints.
  • Install overhead cranes, rail systems, trolley hoists.
  • Update the GIS system with new data as projects are complete.
  • 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

Inspector general vs auditor skills

Common inspector general skills
  • IG, 15%
  • OIG, 12%
  • DOD, 7%
  • Corrective Action, 6%
  • Audit Reports, 6%
  • Fraud Waste, 5%
Common auditor skills
  • Audit Reports, 18%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Financial Statements, 6%
  • Audit Findings, 5%
  • Audit Procedures, 5%
  • Payroll, 5%

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