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What does a senior assurance do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
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Senior assurance responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior assurance resumes:

  • Lead internal control reviews for an internationally own agriculture manufacturing company focuse on the inventory and payroll areas.
  • Review internal controls and financial reporting to ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requirements.
  • Test design and operating effectiveness of internal controls for integrate audits under Sarbanes Oxley (SOX).
  • Test Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, including identification, documentation, and evaluation of the design and operational effectiveness of internal controls.
  • Prepare financial statements and the accompanying footnote disclosures in accordance with FASB pronouncements.

Senior assurance skills and personality traits

We calculated that 13% of Senior Assurances are proficient in Risk Assessments, Account Balances, and Audit Reports. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Senior Assurances that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Risk Assessments, 13%

    Completed risk assessments to determine depth of testing to complete audit work.

  • Account Balances, 12%

    Demonstrated critical mind-set, attention to detail and an emphasis on accuracy by analyzing and investigating various account balances and support.

  • Audit Reports, 11%

    Review workpapers and results of fieldwork including audit reports.

  • Internal Audit, 9%

    Collaborated with internal audit to streamline processes and eliminate duplicate and redundant control testing.

  • Staff Performance, 8%

    Directed fieldwork daily, informed supervisors of the engagement status, and managed staff performance.

  • Client Management, 8%

    Prepared and presented process control recommendations to improve operational efficiency and addressed areas of financial statement risk with client management.

Most senior assurances use their skills in "risk assessments," "account balances," and "audit reports" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior assurance responsibilities here:

Communication skills. Many senior assurance duties rely on communication skills. "accountants and auditors must be able to listen to and discuss facts and concerns from clients, managers, and other stakeholders," so a senior assurance will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior assurance responsibilities rely on communication skills: "managed sox audit testing on the largest division of a fortune 200 aerospace & defense company that develops secured communications. "

Detail oriented. This is an important skill for senior assurances to perform their duties. For an example of how senior assurance responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "accountants and auditors must pay attention to detail when compiling and examining documents." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior assurance: "performed detail substantive and analytic audit procedures over payroll, revenue, cash, investments, debt and equity accounts. ".

Math skills. senior assurance responsibilities often require "math skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "accountants and auditors must be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures." This resume example shows what senior assurances do with math skills on a typical day: "conducted detailed risk assessments through analysis of market trends, statistics, reports, and various documents. "

Organizational skills. A commonly-found skill in senior assurance job descriptions, "organizational skills" is essential to what senior assurances do. Senior assurance responsibilities rely on this skill because "strong organizational skills are important for accountants and auditors, who often work with a range of financial documents for a variety of clients." You can also see how senior assurance duties rely on organizational skills in this resume example: "lead integrated audit teams, of 2-5 financial and/or operational auditors, to execute audits of organizational and functional processes. "

Most common senior assurance skills

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Compare different senior assurances

Senior assurance vs. Audit internship

An audit intern is responsible for assisting the finance department in processing financial reports, analyzing account statements, releasing invoices, and conducting tax audits. Audit interns shadow tenured staff on the operation procedures to familiarize themselves with work processes. They are also tasked to do administrative and clerical duties under the supervision of a direct supervisor, such as writing reports, ensuring the accuracy of financial statements, responding to clients' inquiries and concerns, and escalating high-level complaints to the supervisor for immediate resolution.

If we compare the average senior assurance annual salary with that of an audit internship, we find that audit interns typically earn a $28,456 lower salary than senior assurances make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between senior assurances and audit interns are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like risk assessments, account balances, and audit reports.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior assurance are more likely to require skills like "internal audit," "staff performance," "client management," and "advisory services." On the other hand, a job as an audit internship requires skills like "cpa," "gaap," "audit intern," and "first hand." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Audit interns earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $58,466. On the other hand, senior assurances are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $71,682.The education levels that audit interns earn slightly differ from senior assurances. In particular, audit interns are 4.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a senior assurance. Additionally, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Senior assurance vs. Quality control auditor

A quality control auditor is in charge of auditing and evaluating quality control procedures to ensure operations adhere to company standards and budgets. Most quality control auditors work in manufacturing companies or warehouses where their responsibilities include conducting research and analysis to develop test structures for quality control, reviewing documentation and specifications, monitoring the performance of the workforce, performing risk assessments, and maintaining records. There are also times when a quality control auditor develops reports and presents them to managers, along with recommendations against vulnerable areas.

On average, quality control auditors earn a $40,963 lower salary than senior assurances a year.A few skills overlap for senior assurances and quality control auditors. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "audit reports," "internal audit," and "audit findings. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior assurance responsibilities requires skills like "risk assessments," "account balances," "staff performance," and "client management." But a quality control auditor might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "quality control audits," "quality checks," "fha," and "va."

Quality control auditors earn a lower average salary than senior assurances. But quality control auditors earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $37,238. Additionally, senior assurances earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $71,682 annually.In general, quality control auditors achieve lower levels of education than senior assurances. They're 15.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Senior assurance vs. Internal audit internship

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.

On average scale, internal audit interns bring in lower salaries than senior assurances. In fact, they earn a $46,505 lower salary per year.senior assurances and internal audit interns both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "risk assessments," "audit reports," and "internal audit," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior assurances are more likely to have skills like "account balances," "staff performance," "client management," and "audit planning." But a internal audit internship is more likely to have skills like "data analytics," "patients," "risk management," and "financial statements."

Internal audit interns make a very good living in the energy industry with an average annual salary of $61,292. On the other hand, senior assurances are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $71,682.Most internal audit interns achieve a lower degree level compared to senior assurances. For example, they're 8.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 9.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Senior assurance vs. Audit specialist

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.

Audit specialists typically earn lower pay than senior assurances. On average, audit specialists earn a $18,478 lower salary per year.While both senior assurances and audit specialists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like risk assessments, audit reports, and internal audit, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between senior assurances and audit specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a senior assurance might have more use for skills like "account balances," "staff performance," "client management," and "audit planning." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of audit specialists require skills like "patients," "customer service," "process improvement," and "corrective action. "

Audit specialists enjoy the best pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $72,330. For comparison, senior assurances earn the highest salary in the professional industry.In general, audit specialists hold lower degree levels compared to senior assurances. Audit specialists are 12.3% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of senior assurance

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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