Staff internal auditor vs lead auditor

The differences between staff internal 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 $57,430 average annual salary of a staff internal auditor.

The top three skills for a staff internal auditor include SOX, audit findings and sarbanes-oxley. The most important skills for a lead auditor are ISO, medicare, and management system.

Staff internal auditor vs lead auditor overview

	Staff Internal Auditor	Lead Auditor
Yearly salary	$57,430	$85,352
Hourly rate	$27.61	$41.03
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	92,259	20,504
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 82%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	-

What does a staff internal auditor do?

An internal staff auditor is an individual who conducts internal audits of an organization, including reviewing internal controls, verifying account balances, and examining procedures for efficiency. Staff internal auditors should support senior auditors to present recommendations for regulatory compliance and operating efficiency. They must assist with the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance program that involves documenting, testing, and evaluating internal controls. Staff internal auditors must also supervise and train internal audit interns as well as review their SOX audit work papers for completeness and accuracy.

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 internal auditor vs lead auditor salary

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

	Staff Internal Auditor	Lead Auditor
Average salary	$57,430	$85,352
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $83,000	Between $62,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City	Atlantic City, NJ	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	ORIX USA	Meta
Best paying industry	Insurance	Professional

Differences between staff internal auditor and lead auditor education

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

	Staff Internal Auditor	Lead Auditor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 82%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Staff internal auditor vs lead auditor demographics

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

	Staff Internal Auditor	Lead Auditor
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 57.8% Female, 42.2%	Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 13.1% White, 62.6% 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 Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between staff internal auditor and lead auditor duties and responsibilities

Staff internal auditor example responsibilities.

Manage and coordinate annual external business evaluation in conjunction with CPA consultants.
Perform annual SOX testing of business unit controls, global share service controls, and process controls to assist external auditors.
Evaluate and communicate findings from the investigations or financial and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance audits to management through formal audit reports.
Review and test the adequacy and effectiveness of establish management and SOX controls.
Assist in documentation of Sarbanes-Oxley controls and establishment of audit test plans for a business unit after acquisition.
Evaluate and identify medication problems to formulate clinical solutions and provide care for patients in a medical intensive care unit setting.

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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.

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Staff internal auditor vs lead auditor skills

Common staff internal auditor skills

SOX, 8%
Audit Findings, 8%
Sarbanes-Oxley, 5%
Acls, 5%
Compliance Audits, 5%
Risk Management, 5%

Common lead auditor skills

ISO, 16%
Medicare, 10%
Management System, 6%
Audit Reports, 5%
Corrective Action, 5%
Internal Controls, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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