Senior internal auditor vs internal audit director

The differences between senior internal auditors and internal audit directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an internal audit director has an average salary of $129,717, which is higher than the $80,920 average annual salary of a senior internal auditor.

The top three skills for a senior internal auditor include internal audit, process improvement and compliance audits. The most important skills for an internal audit director are CPA, internal controls, and risk management.

Senior internal auditor vs internal audit director overview

	Senior Internal Auditor	Internal Audit Director
Yearly salary	$80,920	$129,717
Hourly rate	$38.90	$62.36
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	24,545	25,537
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	-

What does a senior internal auditor do?

A Senior Internal Auditor performs the planning and execution of regulatory, financial, and operational audits. They supervise auditors work and make recommendations through giving them review notes.

What does an internal audit director do?

An internal audit director is in charge of spearheading and overseeing the auditing procedures in an organization, ensuring accuracy and efficiency. Among their responsibilities include setting goals and objectives, managing budgets and timelines, gathering and analyzing the organization's financial data, supervising staff, and developing strategies to optimize procedures. They may also liaise with internal and external agencies, perform audits, and address issues and concerns, investigating and resolving them promptly and efficiently. Moreover, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while enforcing the organization's policies and regulations.

Senior internal auditor vs internal audit director salary

Senior internal auditors and internal audit directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Internal Auditor	Internal Audit Director
Average salary	$80,920	$129,717
Salary range	Between $62,000 And $105,000	Between $83,000 And $200,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Albany, NY
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Netflix	Citi
Best paying industry	Finance	Retail

Differences between senior internal auditor and internal audit director education

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

	Senior Internal Auditor	Internal Audit Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior internal auditor vs internal audit director demographics

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

	Senior Internal Auditor	Internal Audit Director
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 61.4% Female, 38.6%	Male, 72.5% Female, 27.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 12.3% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between senior internal auditor and internal audit director duties and responsibilities

Senior internal auditor example responsibilities.

Schedule, plan, conduct fieldwork and report writing of audits using a COSO base audit methodology managing staff on audits.
Manage and coordinate annual external business evaluation in conjunction with CPA consultants.
Conduct audit reviews, document business processes, and evaluate internal controls base on Sarbanes-Oxley good governance standards and policies.
Execute or review Sarbanes-Oxley internal controls testing for various business processes and evaluate business systems to determine their efficiency and effectiveness
Enhance work paper standards according to IIA framework.
Confirm that internal controls are properly map to financial statement assertions to ensure that all COSO assertions are met.

Internal audit director example responsibilities.

Implement COSO framework to achieve objectives relate to financial reporting, regulatory compliance, and operational effectiveness and efficiency.
Manage Sarbanes-Oxley implementation and internal audit outsourcing and co-sourcing activities for clients in multiple industries including financial services and manufacturing companies.
Develop internal audit risk assessments base on COSO internal control framework.
Establish internal quality control standards which enable maximum SOX reliance strategy by external auditors resulting in reduce external audit fees.
Review detailed work papers and reports in accordance with the department and IIA standards.
Establish compliance program which include all internal company investigations and ethics training for all employees.

Senior internal auditor vs internal audit director skills

Common senior internal auditor skills

Internal Audit, 12%
Process Improvement, 8%
Compliance Audits, 7%
SOX, 5%
Audit Reports, 4%
Risk Management, 4%

Common internal audit director skills

CPA, 9%
Internal Controls, 8%
Risk Management, 7%
Audit Reports, 5%
SOX, 5%
Audit Committee, 4%

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Senior Internal Auditor vs Internal Audit Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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