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Staff auditor vs lead auditor

The differences between staff auditors and lead auditors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead auditor has an average salary of $85,352, which is higher than the $55,431 average annual salary of a staff auditor.

The top three skills for a staff auditor include audit procedures, CPA and internal audit. The most important skills for a lead auditor are ISO, medicare, and management system.

Staff auditor vs lead auditor overview

Staff AuditorLead Auditor
Yearly salary$55,431$85,352
Hourly rate$26.65$41.03
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs91,26820,504
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age4444
Years of experience--

What does a staff auditor do?

The duties of a staff auditor depend on their line of work or place of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting financial audits and operational analysis to determine efficiency and compliance to regulations, coordinating with different departments to gather data, reach out to clients through calls or correspondence, and arrange appointments when necessary. A staff auditor may also perform clerical tasks such as produce progress reports, create presentations, respond to inquiries and concerns, and maintain extensive records and data.

What does a lead auditor do?

Lead auditors are professionals who are responsible for providing leadership and coordinating work schedules to a team of audit experts within an organization. These lead auditors are required to prepare audit plans and conduct team meetings before conducting internal or external audits at the end of the quarter or year. They must conduct audits to provide reviews to the management about the effectiveness of the overall quality system. Lead auditors must also develop action plans to improve the financial reporting systems of the organization.

Staff auditor vs lead auditor salary

Staff auditors and lead auditors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Staff AuditorLead Auditor
Average salary$55,431$85,352
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $70,000Between $62,000 And $115,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCNew York, NY
Highest paying stateAlaskaNew York
Best paying companySignature BankMeta
Best paying industryProfessionalProfessional

Differences between staff auditor and lead auditor education

There are a few differences between a staff auditor and a lead auditor in terms of educational background:

Staff AuditorLead Auditor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common majorAccountingBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Staff auditor vs lead auditor demographics

Here are the differences between staff auditors' and lead auditors' demographics:

Staff AuditorLead Auditor
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 59.3% Female, 40.7%Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 13.3% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 12.2% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between staff auditor and lead auditor duties and responsibilities

Staff auditor example responsibilities.

  • Manage accounting operations, accounting close, account reporting and reconciliations for internal corporate and bank transactions.
  • Review consolidated GAAP financial statements, inter-company eliminations and fluctuations between budget verses actual results.
  • Ensure engagements are in compliance with generally accept accounting principles (GAAP) and generally accept auditing standards (GAAS).
  • Conduct financial audits in accordance with GAAS to establish compliance with policies and procedures and to determine effectiveness of internal controls.
  • Collaborate closely with clients by educating them on new opportunities and conduct tax research and planning; train clients on QuickBooks.
  • Collaborate with the quality department in authoring ISO procedures for manufacturing engineering; key contributor on quality and ISO auditing teams.
  • Show more

Lead auditor example responsibilities.

  • Manage the SOX business process implementation, execution and improvement initiatives.
  • Work with department analyst to create measurement tools and methods for communicating results and managing QA analysis in compiling/reporting results.
  • Enhance Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) audit templates to provide standardization and structure that reflect current best practices while maximizing productivity.
  • Work the RMEI/RMAU reports regularly for various Medicare account types.
  • Develop exact specifications to determine why claims are not paid in accordance with specific DME Medicare guidelines.
  • Conduct surveillance and assessment of manufacturing firms, industries and companies to ensure that these systems comply with ISO standards.
  • Show more

Staff auditor vs lead auditor skills

Common staff auditor skills
  • Audit Procedures, 12%
  • CPA, 12%
  • Internal Audit, 7%
  • Audit Reports, 5%
  • Audit Findings, 5%
  • Compliance Audits, 4%
Common lead auditor skills
  • ISO, 16%
  • Medicare, 10%
  • Management System, 6%
  • Audit Reports, 5%
  • Corrective Action, 5%
  • Internal Controls, 4%

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