Lynnel is our new CIA exam blogger from the Philippines. She writes every Friday.
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Lynnel’s First Internal Audit Job
The life begins when you reach the day after your graduation.
Starting my journey of my career is like learning to walk as a baby. It’s the same as I take the step to find a job. Every time I fall down, I stand up on my feet until I learn how to walk. This represents perseverance in establishing my career.
As a fresh graduate, I set my three criteria when looking for a job. First, the organization’s learning and training opportunities. Second is location and lastly, the salary.
It took two months for me to get a job offer after submitting a lot of curriculum vitae on job sites and different companies. I was employed in a medium sized company with a great culture and an adequate amount of benefits.
Being an internal audit graduate sets high expectations on the part of the employer. First, we are expected to be proficient in internal auditing theories, and second, be knowledgeable in the types of services conducted by auditors.
I have learned so much from my previous job through the guide of my supervisors and colleagues. In fact, I was able to enhance my auditing skills and cope up with the environment immediately.
One of the functions as an auditor on my previous work was to perform non-audit functions. Wherein, auditors are part of the operations and independence may be impaired. I believe the reasons non-audit functions were performed may be due to, it was ordered by management, the risk involved on the engagement, and also because of the lack of information about internal audit.
Being new to the industry gives me the urge to perform at my best. In order to do that, I utilized a few techniques. These include:
- Jotting down notes during the training and reviewing it at home;
- Researching on communication skills, constructing reports and conducting engagements to strengthen my interaction skills and report writing.
The only challenge I encountered was experiencing inappropriate behavior of audit clients, but proper approach really gives the best outcome.
Note from Stephanie
Thanks for your sharing on your first job in internal audit. It’s nice to see the similarities regardless of where we live. The internal audit is truly a global profession.
It’s also interesting how you point out the non-audit function that you were asked to do. I’ve seen that in the smaller companies here as well. As you pointed out, employers are sometimes confused by what an internal audit can do (or should do). I can also see how tempting it is to ask you to run a few analyses given you are well trained in that area 😉
I also wonder what you mean by the “inappropriate behavior” of your clients? I’ve had some very uncooperative business units refusing to release info…
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About the Author Lynnel
Lynnel is a recent graduate, with a BSBA Major in Internal Auditing in the Philippines. Lynnel passed Part 1 and 2 on the same day, and Part 3 on her first attempt.
