External Audit Job Description Guidelines & Checklist

An external audit involves qualified accountants conducting a review of client accounting records to provide reasonable assurance that statements compiled from them accurately depict their financial position and results of operations.

A company must carefully consider several aspects when selecting an external audit firm, including their industry reputation as determined through past auditing experience.

Qualifications
As an external auditor, your duties will include performing independent examinations of financial records, statements and operations. Your duties will include providing investors with impartial assessments of information reliability; minimizing fraud risk by scrutinizing statements accurately; as well as increasing accountability and transparency within business operations.

As part of an audit’s planning stage, you must use your problem-solving skills to identify potential fraud indicators and your analytical and technical accounting expertise to assess internal controls and other audit procedures for effectiveness.

Bachelor or master’s degrees are necessary for this role and you must hold either a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license. Many auditing firms provide training and support in helping you earn your Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential – this boosts career opportunities especially if working at an anti-fraud organization. In addition, strong written and verbal communication skills will be needed when creating reports, interviewing stakeholders, examining data or creating reports.

Experience
As an External Auditor, it’s essential that you possess strong expertise and experience in financial analysis, along with excellent communication skills that allow you to effectively relay audit results back to employees.

Strong attention to detail is also key. You must be able to detect errors in financial reports and ensure compliance with accounting standards, while being able to spot potential risk factors within financial statements.

An auditor job description’s Experience section should focus on past duties rather than current responsibilities, providing clear and succinct descriptions of your past experiences that highlight those most pertinent to the role and any accomplishments you’ve accomplished within it.

An impressive experience section will draw in top candidates while simultaneously selling your company as an appealing place to work. At the conclusion of each experience section, encourage applicants to apply for your positions with a call-to-action that encourages applicants to submit applications.

Education
An external auditor assesses a business’s records and statements in order to ensure financial transparency and accountability. Auditors play an invaluable role in any organization, helping reduce information risk by providing impartial assurance of stakeholders.

Due to this reason, it is crucial that external audit job description candidates possess at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting which typically takes four years of full-time study to attain.

External audit job candidates should possess experience across industries and business sizes. Different industries possess their own set of nuances that make it more challenging for auditors to provide effective services to clients in certain fields. A diverse portfolio will enable external auditors to assess accounting standards that might impact each industry as they prepare audit risk assessments; with such knowledge at their fingertips they will become more efficient at performing their roles, while effectively addressing all crucial risks for their clients.

Skills
Individuals seeking to become external auditors require several skills for effective performance of this role, including analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities, strong attention to detail and possessing an in-depth knowledge of financial accounting and reporting processes.

An external auditor may go beyond auditing financial information to give businesses and investors an accurate picture of a company’s performance. This type of auditing, known as assurance services, may include reviewing operational procedures, assessing fraud risks or measuring performance against sustainability or equality and diversity goals.

This section should highlight what makes your workplace unique and desirable for prospective candidates, such as its emphasis on professional development or flexible working arrangements, or commitment to equal opportunities for all employees. This provides a great opportunity to show candidates why they would make good fits for the role.