As an Audit Trainee, I am increasingly discovering that the auditing profession is inexhaustibly similar to the subject matter of alpha and gamma degrees. Unfortunately, few graduates know of the existence of auditing as a career choice. This is despite the fact that promising alpha and gamma graduates are hungry to enter a field in which they are intellectually and morally challenged and can use their knowledge gained from college. The auditing profession is ideally suited for this. So why is it that the word "audit" rarely, if ever, comes up in lecture halls? And why would it be good if it did? I'd love to tell you more about how I came to the auditing profession and why I hope more graduates learn about it.
"What are you looking for?" "Something with."
Congratulations!!! You have just graduated. You feel like you're caught between a rock and a hard place. All your friends and family say you'll find a job, but when will you get the chance to have a proper interview to prove that to an employer?
So much haunted my mind when someone asked me what kind of job I was looking for. My answer looked like this:
"Something about government and governance."
"Something about research."
"Something about trading."
"Something social."
"Something where you can use your brain."
And so I watched the smile on the questioner's face slowly melt away....
Then when you have taken the step of applying for "something you have a thing for," you turn out to be far from the only one. A few months ago, for example, I applied for a traineeship at a municipality. They liked my letter and video, so I was allowed to go to the speed dates! During the selection day you hear that 70 other candidates are also speed-dated for a handful of spots.
One unsurprising rejection richer, I dreamed of hitting a niche in the job market that involved research, nuance, analysis of processes, collaboration, strategic thinking, tact, diplomacy and communication. But where do I find that ideal dream job where everything comes together?
The Audit Traineeship.
That dream job happened to come to me by email. I received an invitation from AuditPeople to apply for their audit traineeship. The first thing I thought was, "Audit, what is that?" As I delved into it, I found the mix between research and practice very interesting. The whole "Something to do with" list occurs within the audit profession.
During the first two weeks of the traineeship, you take a crash course in Auditing. After that, you will be placed with an organization to gain practical experience as an audit trainee. As I write this, I've been a trainee at DNB for two months and I'm having a great time. As a junior trainee, you can get a taste of whether the profession suits you. After the traineeship, you can also consider whether you want to follow the master's program to become an Operational Auditor (or IT auditor). The traineeship offers many opportunities to immerse yourself in the organization where you have ended up. You will also work a lot on your personal development: after all, you are just starting out on the job market and a lot can happen to you. Fortunately, the traineeship offers coaching so that you can get the best out of yourself and the traineeship.
So what do you actually do, as an auditor?
I would like to explain in my own words what being a junior auditor means: You are a curious and committed researcher who likes to offer an overview to help the organization function better. Internal audit happens from the inside out: the board of an organization is curious whether the organization's goals and strategy are being achieved and therefore asks you to look at a few organizational units. You set up a study within the audit team and conduct interviews and surveys, for example, to offer insights about the processes.
It is a challenging position, where you perform process analysis on behalf of an organizational board. It differs from consulting, where outside advice is provided based on certain case histories. An auditor delivers an independent opinion based on research, allowing the board to govern with greater certainty. As an internal auditor, you are as much a part of the organization as anyone else. Because of the knowledge the auditor gains, advancement to management positions is often very natural.
Audit: A challenging route.
Co-owner of Audit People and supervisor of trainees Sander van Oosten tells me that the professional association of Internal Auditors is emphatically calling for more attention to the profession. There is a scarcity in the market for experienced auditors. Also, the intake into the auditing profession is too low to meet the current demand for auditors.
With the high competition for trainee positions within the European Union, the state and municipalities, and in business, it is highly recommended that higher education advocate for more knowledge about auditing within the educational curriculum. After all, it is a job with many scientific leads and social intersections. But not only that: too many students have never heard of the profession of auditing, causing a mismatch between supply and demand in the job market. Are you a promising starter in the job market? Be strategic and choose an original and challenging route: become an auditor.
Farah Nikijuluw is an audit trainee at ARC People