Internal auditor CV

Internal auditors give an organisation independent assurance that its risks are managed and its controls work. Unlike external audit, which focuses on the financial statements, internal audit can cover anything: finance, operations, IT, compliance, culture. Your CV needs to show that you plan and deliver audits well, find issues that matter, and get management to act on them.

What employers look for

• Risk-based auditing. Planning audits around the risks that matter most.
• End-to-end delivery. Scoping, fieldwork, testing, reporting and follow-up.
• Quality findings. Issues with real impact, written clearly, with agreed actions.
• Stakeholder skills. Challenging senior managers constructively, and reporting to audit committees.
• Breadth. Financial, operational, IT, regulatory or fraud audits. Many roles want a mix.
• Qualifications. IIA qualifications (CIA or CMIIA) are the specialist route; ACA, ACCA and CIMA are also common. CISA is valued for IT audit.

Many internal auditors move in from external audit. If that's you, translate your experience into internal audit language.

Keywords from internal audit adverts

• Internal audit, risk-based audit plan, assurance
• Risk management, internal controls, control testing, control frameworks
• Audit planning, fieldwork, sampling, testing, audit reports
• Findings, recommendations, management actions, follow-up
• Audit committee reporting
• Operational audit, financial audit, IT audit, compliance audit
• Fraud investigation, governance, regulatory compliance
• COSO, IIA standards, SOX (US-listed groups)
• Data analytics in audit, IDEA, ACL, Power BI

A typical advert, decoded

A paraphrased example of what internal auditor adverts usually say, and what each line is really asking for.

The advert says	What it really means
"Deliver the risk-based audit plan"	You'll run audits from scope to report. Say how many a year.
"Financial and operational audits"	Not only finance. Show breadth across the business.
"Report to the audit committee"	Senior exposure. Mention any presenting you've done.
"Data analytics"	They want whole-population testing. Name your tools.
"Track management actions"	Actions are overdue. Show how you've driven them to closure.

Example CV profile

CMIIA-qualified internal auditor in a FTSE 250 retail group, delivering around 15 risk-based audits a year across finance, supply chain and stores. I lead audits from scoping to reporting, present findings to divisional directors and contribute to the quarterly audit committee report. My stock-loss audit led to new receiving controls that cut unexplained shrinkage by £1.5m a year.

Example achievements

Replace with your own figures.

• Led around 15 risk-based audits a year across finance, supply chain and retail operations.
• Found weaknesses in goods-receiving controls; the agreed actions reduced unexplained stock loss by £1.5m a year.
• Introduced data analytics into payables audits, testing 100% of transactions instead of samples and identifying £200k of duplicate payments.
• Reduced overdue audit actions from 45 to 8 by introducing monthly follow-up with action owners.
• Investigated a suspected expense fraud, producing the evidence pack used in a disciplinary hearing.
• Moved from external audit and adapted to a risk-based internal audit approach within six months.

Common mistakes

• Listing audits without impact. What did you find, and what changed because of it?
• External audit language only. If you're moving from external audit, describe risk and controls work, not just substantive testing.
• Leaving out stakeholder level. Presenting to directors or the audit committee shows seniority.
• Not naming the audit types. Financial, operational, IT and fraud audits are often filter terms.

Interview questions to prepare for

• Talk me through how you'd plan an audit of our procure-to-pay process.
• Tell me about your most significant audit finding. How did management respond?
• How do you handle a manager who disagrees with your finding?

See all 12 internal auditor interview questions, with why interviewers ask each one and what a strong answer covers.