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Internal audit internship vs auditor

The differences between internal audit interns 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 $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 auditor are audit reports, customer service, and financial statements.

Internal audit internship vs auditor overview

Internal Audit InternshipAuditor
Yearly salary$30,264$54,853
Hourly rate$14.55$26.37
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs62,78020,325
Job satisfaction-3
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4444
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 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.

Internal audit internship vs auditor salary

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

Internal Audit InternshipAuditor
Average salary$30,264$54,853
Salary rangeBetween $12,000 And $71,000Between $35,000 And $84,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew Jersey
Best paying companyMDU ResourcesMicrosoft
Best paying industryEnergyProfessional

Differences between internal audit internship and auditor education

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

Internal Audit InternshipAuditor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Internal audit internship vs auditor demographics

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

Internal Audit InternshipAuditor
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 50.7% Female, 49.3%Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1%
Race ratioBlack 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, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between internal audit internship and auditor 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.
  • 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

Internal audit internship vs auditor skills

Common internal audit internship skills
  • Internal Audit, 22%
  • Data Analytics, 8%
  • SOX, 5%
  • Patients, 5%
  • Sarbanes-Oxley, 4%
  • Risk Management, 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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