External Auditors take responsibility for clients’ account book records. They focus on an opinion as to whether account statements are following the national accounting standards of recommended financial administrators, such as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Those who have external auditor jobs should showcase certain financial statements. These account statements should be free of material misstatement, even if it has fraud or miscalculations.
What is an external auditor’s job?
An external auditor mainly does audits, as they make financial plans as per the company needs, entity, other business institutions.
They work to store and manage several financial investors. It can be a government agency and even the general public. The external auditor department is heavily reliant on the external auditor to showcase a fair account statement.
What does an external auditor do?
An external auditor’s job is for those who love to do audits, reviews, and other work for their clients. An external auditor is in a firm position to make an unbiased assessment and financial systems of varying internal controls.
The resulting financial account department is reliant on members of the investment community members and financial bodies because they need an independent appraisal of the financial statements of their businesses or investments.
External auditor job has a certification from reputed bodies within our country. As per the certified accounts or public accounts, external auditor job responsibility is only managed by those with a certain extent of training and experience and relevant educational background.
External Auditor job duties include:
- Arrange regular maintenance of internal financial systems.
- Test and manage various risks.
- Must undertake performance audits for other departments of companies if the need arises.
- Make detailed reports on frauds, scams in the statements.
- Take responsibility for providing feedback based on audit reports.
Job brief for External Auditor
ABC company is looking for an external auditor, whose primary responsibility is to organize the financial statements and provide feedback. The other duties of the exterior auditor job include processing effective auditing processes and performing regular quality audits. They also need to make reports as well.
To be successful in the external auditor job, you should have a firm base and Experience in auditing principles. In addition, you should be analytical on all processes, and your communication skills should be excellent.
Overall, an external auditor should know their field of work. Aside from that, they should be able to make rational decisions and be attentive to details.
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Responsibilities of an External Auditor Job
- Analyze the annual financial reports and detect the accuracy and liabilities of compliance.
- See the internal systems regularly.
- Assess the risk-management techniques.
- Execute Audits for the final reports on an annual basis.
- Take note of reports regarding frauds and scams.
- Send feedback to employees based on the reports.
- Survey the customer sites and know about the feedback to see the company’s performance and what it lacks.
- Plan and execute, or create tailored audit techniques.
- Attend meetings and interviews with employees to create as much evidence as possible from employees.
- Assess financial records as regularly as possible.
- Analyze financial records to get information for scams, frauds, and other operational risks through software.
- Prepare a final audit report every year, with detailed recommendations for any system or operational changes.
- Inform and present the reports to clients based on audits.
Requirements for External Auditor job
- Must have a Bachelor’s degree in finance or a related field.
- Have a firm knowledge of CPA license.
- Must have prior field experience as External Auditor.
- Must have Experienced in financial reporting and auditing.
- Have Experience in creating and processing annual audits.
- Must have strong knowledge of all sorts of accounting norms.
- Superb communication and interpersonal skills to let the employees know what they lack.
- Must have the ability to make sound decisions and firm judgment.
- Must show proper attention to detail.
Average Salary for External Auditor job
The average salary for external auditors in Malaysia can vary based on experience, location, and specific employer.
General Salary Overview
- Entry-Level (0-2 years of experience): Approximately RM 36,000 - RM 60,000 per annum.
- Mid-Level (3-5 years of experience): Approximately RM 60,000 - RM 90,000 per annum.
- Senior-Level (5+ years of experience): Approximately RM 90,000 - RM 150,000 per annum.
Salary by City
| City | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Kuala Lumpur | RM 70,000 |
| Petaling Jaya | RM 65,000 |
| Johor Bahru | RM 60,000 |
| Penang | RM 55,000 |
| Kota Kinabalu | RM 50,000 |
Salary by Industry
| Industry | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Accounting Firms | RM 80,000 |
| Financial Services | RM 75,000 |
| Consulting | RM 70,000 |
| Corporate Sector | RM 65,000 |
Salary by Top Employers
| Company | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Deloitte | RM 150,000 |
| PwC | RM 140,000 |
| KPMG | RM 130,000 |
| Ernst & Young | RM 120,000 |
This overview indicates that external auditors in Malaysia can expect varying salaries based on their experience and the type of employer. The demand for skilled auditors is significant as organizations focus on compliance and financial integrity.
Key Skills
You can have a series of financial auditing skills, but some of the essential skills you need to help you grow your career, starting with an external auditor job. Below are some of them:
Know the details
It’s best to be very attentive while working as an external auditor. You must show that you have a keen focus when generating financial reports. In addition, it will ensure that you generate accurate reports because it’s your responsibility to answer superiors if errors show up.
Knowledge of the Audit Process
If you have a passion for financial services, you possess an excellent understanding of external auditor responsibilities. Build your knowledge to shine high in your career. And make sure you got these pointers covered.
- Have a solid understanding of the components of financial statements.
- You know how double-entry accounts function.
- You know how journal entries work.
- Have a solid understanding of accrual accounts.
- You know a lot about legal and financial compliances.
- Have a solid proficiency in computers and related software.
- You know many auditing tools and the proper usage of them.
Interpersonal Skills
Having an external auditor job means your day-to-day work will mainly consist of client interactions. You’ll have to contact various folks to convey the external audit statements directly to them.
Ensure your work reaches the standard as per client needs. Then your day will consist mainly of writing reports and analyses. So it’s important to know that you will have to share the messages and implications of your findings in a meeting with your seniors. That’s where communication skills will also help to get a reputation for having an external auditor job.
Why pursue a career as External Auditor?
Being an external auditor means there is greater exposure to a variety of industries. You’ll meet the clients and the diverse sectors of the business if you’re working for big companies like Deloitte, KPMG, EY, or PwC. It helps in clarifying how your performance is, your strengths and weaknesses.
The Big Four companies will give you a platform for a more organized and professional environment. You will also benefit from learning from the annual training programs to help you grow in the external auditor job.
Overall, this job gives you a healthy salary and other great benefits like house rent allowances and health insurance. In addition, you can even opt for foreign employment if you show performances.
How to become an External Auditor:
You got to start your career with an external auditor job by doing a bachelor’s degree from a reputed learning institution.
It’s best that you at least get two years of professional accounting experience. Nowadays, external auditors usually see that they begin their career as accounting clerks that maintain and manage financial records.
Once you have both a bachelor’s degree and professional experience, you can even opt for post-graduate courses that could make the faster promotion even more accessible. It’s also essential that you pass the exam to become a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), as you have to ensure the reports don’t include any fraud.
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Conclusion
The external auditor’s job needs you to perform consistently and as per standards of the accounting norms. Therefore, you can start your career with the proper education in finance and related fields and earn experience to reach a higher level of position.
In addition, you will also get to enjoy the job benefits. There are a lot of responsibilities and challenges for an external auditor job. Still, as long as you’ll learn and improve, it’s a very stable and reputable job which will give you a sense of satisfaction. Earn the skills and apply for as many opportunities as possible.
