Auditor
?Job overview
?Basically, auditors examine and audit the financial statements of an organisation to ensure that these reflect the true financial state of the business and that the procedures employed are correct; but nowadays there are a number of specialised aspects of auditing.
What do people do in this job?
?In practice a large part of auditors' time is still taken up by “classic” auditing, as described above, i.e. investigating the financial reports of a company or organisation and then reporting on the results of the investigation.
?Fields of specialisation apart from classic auditing include:-
?"Pure?" ?accounting work - the preparation of financial statements, the giving of advice with regard to accounting systems, budgets, cash flow and the improvement of profit margins.
?Tax specialists give advice on tax matters, such as the determination and legal saving of tax.
?Mercantile and company law give auditors the opportunity to handle the legal aspects of contracts, such as letting and hire purchase.
?Auditors specialise in the field of calculation of expenses and the implementation and development of cost-accounting measures.
?The development of programmes for electronic information- planning financial models and giving advice on hard- and software purchases.
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Planning at macro-? and micro level, long- and short-term forecasts, feasibility studies and the financial planning of new projects.
?Management also includes administration, secretarial, financial and various other facets of business management.
What kinds of people are suitable for this career?
?Successful auditors are people who can work creatively and think logically and have a strong analytical bent.
?They must be willing to work very hard.
?Qualified auditors can choose between different career paths, in the profession itself, the civil service, the academic field, commerce and industry etc.
There is a constant demand for persons with a CA Certificate.
?The nature of their training often enables auditors to hold prestigious positions, for example as managers, accountants, internal auditors or even financial executives of local and international undertakings.
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What qualifications are needed?
?Degrees in auditing itself, accountancy, commerce and related subjects are a good jumping off point, or diploma qualifications in the same areas, usually gained part-time by people already in employment.
