what do you do as an auditor? (2 Viewers)

[turtleface]

Isn't an auditor one who makes sure all financial records and statements are correct?

Yes and No, an auditor issues a professional opinion as to the accuracy and veracity of the financials with respect to the accounting standards. However this is not all as you can just get a lawyer to check that something complies with law. Most of the auditor's duties revolves around making sure that the financial statements are correct by analysing line items in the accounts, and assessing the appropriateness of reporting for those items, e.g. the values of provisions, derivatives etc.. They also assess internal controls and the organisation in general to offer support for their findings. This is why people say that auditors end up understanding a lot about their clients because they really have to get a feel for the business as a whole: its culture, how it operates, what risks it faces, its business environment etc.

The second key role of the auditor is something that is probably more closely related to being an "auditor". They have to inform ASIC of any breaches of the Corporations Act they come across in their audit work. (i.e. this is a more watchdog role)

 

[AppleXY]

hey, auditors need to be proficient in excel as many of you people said. Does the firm teach you how to operate their functions or wotever? (i only hav a mild excel skill).

 

[redruM]

hey, auditors need to be proficient in excel as many of you people said. Does the firm teach you how to operate their functions or wotever? (i only hav a mild excel skill).

Not really. It obviously depends on the training the firm provides, but often its learn as you go.

 

[roadcone]

they might send you to an excel course during induction, depends on the firm. as redrum said its mostly learn as you go. this isn't an issue because someone will always help you out if you need it.

 

[seremify007]

hey, auditors need to be proficient in excel as many of you people said. Does the firm teach you how to operate their functions or wotever? (i only hav a mild excel skill).

You need to have a decent understanding of it (ie. how to use formulas, how to read it, etc..) but even me, I thought I was pretty pro at it... but once you see the 'real pros' who use macros and formulae all the time, you'll eventually pick up a few tips/tricks on the job. Some firms also have proper training programs held which is a good way to learn some more things in a more classroom style environment.

 

[O2]

yeh, in audit, excel is a must!
However, i consider myself to be fairly moderate at it, but during my ca achiever work experience, i really saw what professional is like.

Everyone is supportive and encouraging, and plus being in a professional environment, when you ask how to do something that you see someone do, they usually tend to explain without a problem.

I think learning excel should be the least of your problems if you make it as far as completing uni and geting a position within an audit firm.

By the way, heres another question for those of you who know people or are in the audit division. Seeing that auditors travel so frequently, is it possible for an auditor to have the opportunity to purchase a car via salary sacrifice? How does salary sacrifice work, etc?

 

[turtleface]

I disagree a bit, I think Excel is only moderately important in Audit.

You have to be an excel expert for Investment Banking though. Hell, I reckon some bankers know excel better than many programmers lol.

 

[seremify007]

I disagree a bit, I think Excel is only moderately important in Audit.

I think it depends on the firm. Some firms use Excel alot more than others from what I've heard... for us, ALL our analytics, testing and mapping and most of our documentation (ie. anything except documentation which is just a paragraph) is done within Excel. Contrasting this, I know some of my friends from other firms who do very little work in Excel, and stick to using the paper folder systems for their audits.

 

[§eraphim]

I reckon some bankers know excel better than many programmers lol.

It's the quants who are the real pros as their whole job is to program, test and document VBA macros. Everyone else is just a newbie by comparison.

 

[O2]

heres another question for those of you who know people or are in the audit division. Seeing that auditors travel so frequently, is it possible for an auditor to have the opportunity to purchase a car via salary sacrifice? How does salary sacrifice work, etc?

 

[jase_]

Yeh, you usually can. I'm not sure how it works, other than the payments come out of your pre-tax salary rather than post-tax. Most people I worked with just caught a taxi, lol.

 

[Vagabond]

Not sure how it works but I know its possible... friend of mine in big4 has two cars from salary sacrifice...

 

[seremify007]

heres another question for those of you who know people or are in the audit division. Seeing that auditors travel so frequently, is it possible for an auditor to have the opportunity to purchase a car via salary sacrifice? How does salary sacrifice work, etc?

Pre-tax dollars go towards car payments.

However, as an auditor.... if you need to drive around that much, you probably will be too busy to continuously find parking spots- especially if your clients are located in busy CBDs (eg. City, North Syd, Chats/Willoughby, etc)... also, the firm may not reimburse you sufficiently to cover your mileage (depending on policy).

In other words, just catch taxis. It's easier. And simpler to charge the firm.

 

[turtleface]

Yes from my experience taking a Taxi is actually cheaper than parking. You're doing the firm a favour!

 

[Minai]

Yeah driving to clients is really only beneficial if they are located outside major CBD ares. At EY the reimbursement is sufficient I think - 60c per km

 

[O2]

thats pretty interesting, i didnt know that you could charge taxi bill to the company, i knew about the parking one though.

When i was doing my CA Achiever at a mid tier, auditors generally went straight out to client offices in the morning, they didnt come into office.
However, when i spoke to someone who was doing their industry based learning study at PWC, they said that auditors at PWC come into office every morning to have a meeting before going out to clients. Is this something that happens in all big four and 2nd tier?

and bout the parking vs taxi, i agree, finding parking, even though you can charge to company, is still more of a hassle given the fact you have to SEARCH for parking. lol thats my 2cent worth..

 

[seremify007]

thats pretty interesting, i didnt know that you could charge taxi bill to the company, i knew about the parking one though.

Generally speaking, per company policy, if the money was spent in order to earn the audit revenue, it should be claimable... such as taxi, train, parking, mileage, and in some cases.. meals.

When i was doing my CA Achiever at a mid tier, auditors generally went straight out to client offices in the morning, they didnt come into office.
However, when i spoke to someone who was doing their industry based learning study at PWC, they said that auditors at PWC come into office every morning to have a meeting before going out to clients. Is this something that happens in all big four and 2nd tier?

Maybe the managers have meetings (nearly) everyday to keep track of how the audit is progressing, outstandings, etc... but the normal auditors definitely go straight to the client unless there's good reason to go into the office (eg. check mail? expense claims? etc..)

 

[jase_]

Maybe the managers have meetings (nearly) everyday to keep track of how the audit is progressing, outstandings, etc... but the normal auditors definitely go straight to the client unless there's good reason to go into the office (eg. check mail? expense claims? etc..)

I guess it really depends what type of auditing you are doing. I find this to be true for financial audit, but as for IT audit and internal audit, which is where I was working, we did things a bit differently. Depending on the manager and senior you worked for, for a typical 2 week engagement (outside CBD), I would spend the first few days at the client and gather the necessary evidence and do the interviews and then spend the rest of the time in the office writing everything up and getting it reviewed. If there was anything to chase up I'd call/email the client. I preferred working this way, rather than being at the client all the time which can get a bit boring (though with the new wireless cards it wasn't as bad...). For the city clients, we would just go there for meetings and stuff to gather evidence and gain understanding, and then just come back to the office, depending on exactly what kind of work we were doing.

 

[seremify007]

I guess it really depends what type of auditing you are doing. I find this to be true for financial audit, but as for IT audit and internal audit, which is where I was working, we did things a bit differently. Depending on the manager and senior you worked for, for a typical 2 week engagement (outside CBD), I would spend the first few days at the client and gather the necessary evidence and do the interviews and then spend the rest of the time in the office writing everything up and getting it reviewed. If there was anything to chase up I'd call/email the client. I preferred working this way, rather than being at the client all the time which can get a bit boring (though with the new wireless cards it wasn't as bad...). For the city clients, we would just go there for meetings and stuff to gather evidence and gain understanding, and then just come back to the office, depending on exactly what kind of work we were doing.

What you said is right- I was basing my opinion on External Financial Audit which is what I'd suspect is what alot of the grads/cadets would be working in or about to start.

I personally am quite used to spending time at the client rather than the office. It's nice to get out and about : ) Wireless cards.... a gift and a curse in one!

 

[MichaelJackson2]

auditors tick accounts with green pens and check excel spreadsheets.

that is so tru. during my ca achiever work placement i was happily (not) jumping between spreadsheet cells 60% of the time. as for the other fellas (yes all fellas, another reason not to do audit) on my team, they were at it 24/7. quite a spewful experience.