Internal audit internship vs audit specialist

The differences between internal audit interns and audit specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an audit specialist has an average salary of $58,291, which is higher than the $30,264 average annual salary of an internal audit internship.

The top three skills for an internal audit internship include internal audit, data analytics and SOX. The most important skills for an audit specialist are audit reports, patients, and customer service.

Internal audit internship vs audit specialist overview

	Internal Audit Internship	Audit Specialist
Yearly salary	$30,264	$58,291
Hourly rate	$14.55	$28.02
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	62,780	40,071
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	-

What does an internal audit internship do?

An internal audit intern is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties as needed for the financial department under the supervision of tenured staff or a direct manager. Internal audit interns shadow staff on analyzing and preparing documents, familiarizing office operations, writing financial reports, verifying account statements, and escalating financial discrepancies to management for immediate resolution. An internal audit intern must be detail-oriented, as well as possess excellent analytical and organizational skills to handle tasks efficiently and spot audit inconsistencies.

What does an audit specialist do?

An audit specialist is responsible for evaluating the reports by a professional auditor that will assist in improving the growth of the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. Audit specialists aid in the development of the company by using a systematic approach to reach the goals set by the company. Primary responsibilities include operating complex and difficult audit projects and conducting audits of control, financial, and other operating records. Also, they develop, implement distinct audit strategies, programs, and procedures for intricate assignments.

Internal audit internship vs audit specialist salary

Internal audit interns and audit specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Internal Audit Internship	Audit Specialist
Average salary	$30,264	$58,291
Salary range	Between $12,000 And $71,000	Between $34,000 And $99,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	MDU Resources	SAP
Best paying industry	Energy	Professional

Differences between internal audit internship and audit specialist education

There are a few differences between an internal audit internship and an audit specialist in terms of educational background:

	Internal Audit Internship	Audit Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Internal audit internship vs audit specialist demographics

Here are the differences between internal audit interns' and audit specialists' demographics:

	Internal Audit Internship	Audit Specialist
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 50.7% Female, 49.3%	Male, 33.7% Female, 66.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 18.5% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between internal audit internship and audit specialist duties and responsibilities

Internal audit internship example responsibilities.

Test Sarbanes-Oxley controls for institutional billing, wholesaler incentive compensation, retail manage account revenue, and journal entry processing.
Review management's SOX testing, identify exceptions and communicate to management.
Perform basic bookkeeping, keeping accurate track of numerous transactions per GAAP standards.
Perform substantive testing of revenue, purchases, and payments in order to evaluate accuracy and compliance with GAAP.
Gather audit evidence/supporting documentation for the SOX compliance audit.
Document internal controls, conduct financial statement analysis, and perform daily tasks on Sarbanes-Oxley testing.

Audit specialist example responsibilities.

Manage vendor billing disputes for southwestern region from initiation to documentation of resolution while ensuring compliance with SOX guidelines.
Work with department analyst to create measurement tools and methods for communicating results and managing QA analysis in compiling/reporting results.
Review and verify the submitted documentation for completeness to verify the company is in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX).
Coordinate delivery of mortgage back securities with internal and external stakeholders.
Monitor and maintain automated report generation and distribution via Cognos NoticeCast.
Prepare monthly incentive payment and quarterly incentive bonus data for payroll department.

Internal audit internship vs audit specialist skills

Common internal audit internship skills

Internal Audit, 22%
Data Analytics, 8%
SOX, 5%
Patients, 5%
Sarbanes-Oxley, 4%
Risk Management, 4%

Common audit specialist skills

Audit Reports, 11%
Patients, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Internal Audit, 6%
Audit Findings, 5%
Process Improvement, 4%

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Internal Audit Internship
Internal Audit Internship vs Audit Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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