Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between risk managers and audit managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a risk manager and an audit manager. Additionally, an audit manager has an average salary of $121,419, which is higher than the $116,072 average annual salary of a risk manager.
The top three skills for a risk manager include oversight, risk assessments and project management. The most important skills for an audit manager are CPA, internal audit, and audit reports.
| Risk Manager | Audit Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $116,072 | $121,419 |
| Hourly rate | $55.80 | $58.37 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 75,795 | 70,168 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
A risk manager is responsible for analyzing potential risks that may affect the organization's operations, reputation, and market credibility. Risk managers identify risk controls and discuss business contingency plans for unforeseen circumstances to prevent delays in operational services. They also develop compliance training and programs for all the employees to provide them the awareness of the safety and security regulations within the company premises. A risk manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially on handling and investigating cases that might compromise the business stability and financial status.
An audit manager is responsible for the complete audit process of finances in an organization. They work for banks and report directly to the audit committee. Based on findings gathered, a financial institution can gain vision into their variance and overall performance. They are also responsible for scheduling audits, initiating departmental audits, consolidation, and analysis of audit reports, and reviewing accounting procedures. Moreover, part of their tasks is to create audit finding presentations to be presented to the audit committee. It requires a high amount of accountability to be an effective audit manager.
Risk managers and audit managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Risk Manager | Audit Manager | |
| Average salary | $116,072 | $121,419 |
| Salary range | Between $84,000 And $160,000 | Between $82,000 And $178,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | California | Maine |
| Best paying company | Credit Karma | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a risk manager and an audit manager in terms of educational background:
| Risk Manager | Audit Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Business | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between risk managers' and audit managers' demographics:
| Risk Manager | Audit Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.3% Female, 40.7% | Male, 66.0% Female, 34.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 10.1% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 10.2% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |