Internal auditor vs finance analyst

The differences between internal auditors and finance analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a finance analyst has an average salary of $69,887, which is higher than the $63,013 average annual salary of an internal auditor.

The top three skills for an internal auditor include CPA, risk management and SOX. The most important skills for a finance analyst are financial analysis, financial models, and financial data.

Internal auditor vs finance analyst overview

	Internal Auditor	Finance Analyst
Yearly salary	$63,013	$69,887
Hourly rate	$30.29	$33.60
Growth rate	6%	9%
Number of jobs	25,571	138,600
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	44	40
Years of experience	-	4

What does an internal auditor do?

An internal auditor is an individual who takes responsibility for crucial accounting functions in an organization. Internal auditors have trusted consultants who advise upper management on how to handle corporate goals and risks. They review the business operations and processes of organizations. They have to assess the efficacy of the company's risk management procedures. They are expected to have superb communication skills, IT knowledge, and math aptitude. Also, they help protect the organization from potential theft and fraud of its assets.

What does a finance analyst do?

A finance analyst is responsible for evaluating a company's financial data and historical reports to assess investment opportunities and provide accurate financial statements in support of business strategies and company performance prediction. A financial analyst's duties also include suggesting recommendations to boost operations efficiency and grow revenues, researching the current market performance and economic trends to adjust budget goals as needed, and managing client portfolios. Finance analysts must have excellent critical and analytical thinking skills to identify the best actions for the company's profitability.

Internal auditor vs finance analyst salary

Internal auditors and finance analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Internal Auditor	Finance Analyst
Average salary	$63,013	$69,887
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $86,000	Between $46,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	Connecticut
Best paying company	Meta	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Finance

Differences between internal auditor and finance analyst education

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

	Internal Auditor	Finance Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Internal auditor vs finance analyst demographics

Here are the differences between internal auditors' and finance analysts' demographics:

	Internal Auditor	Finance Analyst
Average age	44	40
Gender ratio	Male, 54.6% Female, 45.4%	Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 12.9% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 14.1% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between internal auditor and finance analyst duties and responsibilities

Internal auditor example responsibilities.

Manage and coordinate annual external business evaluation in conjunction with CPA consultants.
Work with department analyst to create measurement tools and methods for communicating results and managing QA analysis in compiling/reporting results.
Conduct complex performance audits, fraud investigations, special projects and routine follow-up reviews in accordance with IIA standards.
Perform tests of critical controls in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley legislation and report results utilizing company compliance tool to validate SOX checklist.
Develop company FDA policy & procedures for liquid oxygen small bulk delivery vessels.
Perform planning, compliance testing, substantive analysis and testing in accordance with GAAS.

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Finance analyst example responsibilities.

Manage company asset accounts, wire funds to clients and record and structure amounts into QuickBooks.
Manage the UAT team involve in the testing of an enterprise accounting and project management software.
Manage customer portfolio to department KPI's, target balance, aging metrics, cash recovery and write-off tolerance.
Manage contract database and SalesForce for historical research and financial reporting purposes.
Manage and maintain information in worldwide-military database which include exemptions, transfers, retirements, and payroll records.
Accomplish project accounting functions including project costing, time reporting, project accruals and proper capitalization of development costs.

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Internal auditor vs finance analyst skills

Common internal auditor skills

CPA, 8%
Risk Management, 5%
SOX, 5%
Audit Findings, 5%
Audit Procedures, 5%
Internal Audit Function, 5%

Common finance analyst skills

Financial Analysis, 9%
Financial Models, 5%
Financial Data, 5%
Strong Analytical, 4%
Variance Analysis, 4%
Hyperion, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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