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What is as Auditor?
It’s easy to understand what is an auditor even though it seems like a complicated term. According to Investopedia, an auditor is a professional who is qualified at the state level and whose job it is to verify the accuracy of an organization or company’s financial records. They are sometimes referred to as comptrollers, and they ensure that financial records and statements are honest and correct by evaluating the reliability and validity of all business transactions of an organization. He or she investigates and ensures that a business is run efficiently, taxes are paid promptly and financial records are kept accurately.
Independent, Internal and Consultant Auditors
An auditor can be an independent official that an organization or firm can temporarily hire to have an assessment done of their records. They will be hired to give an opinion of the organization’s business procedures, and to check for fraud and errors in the financial statements that could be harming the business.
A company or organization can also have a full time auditor working for them, and these auditors are known as internal auditors. A government agency will permanently employ an official auditor to maintain the accuracy and clarity of all the financial transactions on a regular basis. Publicly traded companies and non-profit companies across all businesses may also permanently employ an auditor.
A consultant auditor is an external person that is hired by an organization to perform an audit following the organization’s auditing standards. A consultant auditor does not perform the audit following outside auditing standards, and this is what differentiates a consultant auditor from an independent auditor. A consultant auditor can work on his or her own, but in most cases, they will work alongside the audit team of the organization that has hired them.
Responsibilities of an Auditor
The auditor is responsible in making sure that an organization’s written records correspond with the actual actions taken by the organization. The auditor will verify that there has been no fraud, waste or misconduct in the way the organization is being run. At the end, he or she will write a report showing the level of accuracy and clarity of the data recorded by the organization. If all the actions are correctly reflected in the books, then the audit, or report, will show that there are no misstatements.
Along with giving an expert opinion on the conduct and record keeping of the business, an auditor is also required to give a recommendation on how to correct any negative situation that is harming the business.
Career Options for an Auditor
An auditor can work for a private organization, public company, government organization at the federal, state or local level, and in some cases, for private individuals. There are also auditors to monitor other areas in the work place. Health, safety standards and working conditions are some of other situations that a private company or government agency may hire an auditor to conduct an audit and make a report.
Related Resource: Actuary
Depending on the area of the business being audited, and whether it is an internal or external audit, the exact process can vary. However, what an auditor is and does throughout his or her career is an essential part of any commercial or private company.