The term financial auditor is often used interchangeably with an accountant, but the two careers have notable differences. A financial auditor ensures that a company’s financial statements are in good order and in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Financial auditors and accountants perform similar tasks in terms of the review of financial data, but auditors are more focused on discovering fraud or error in corporate financial documents.
A financial auditor reviews a company’s financial statements, documents, data, and accounting entries. Financial auditors gather information from a company’s financial reporting systems, account balances, cash flow statements, income statements, balance sheets, tax returns, and internal control systems. The information is then reviewed and used to present all financial data relating to a specific organization in an accurate, fair manner, ensuring that no fraud or gross errors are present in the company.
Financial auditors speak with multiple departments, including low- and high-level management teams, accounting and finance personnel, and company executives in their pursuit of analytical data. These discussions focus on gaining an understanding of the company’s purpose, operations, financial reporting systems, and known or perceived errors in its organizational systems. Financial auditors conduct interviews of key personnel to comprehend what accounting and finance tasks are taking place, and which tasks, policies, or procedures may need to be established or implemented more efficiently.
Financial Auditor Duties:
- Oversee all financial and accounting activities for the organization, including managing and overseeing financial processes and activities
- Develop, manage, and maintain organizational financial records
- Maintain internal accounting records, ensuring that all records are complete and accurately communicated to all levels of staff
- Conduct detailed financial audits of company records and transactions to ensure compliance with procedures and policies
- Develop financial models to analyze financial trends, performance, and projections
- Focus on optimizing financial processes and internal controls
- Develop financial controls and budgets
- Track and analyze financial data
- Organize and simplify financial records
- Perform reconciliation on bank statements
- Establish, implement, and maintain effective internal controls
- Prepare reports related to finance and accounting
- Set-up and maintain budgets
- Maintain fixed assets
- Monitor cash flow and working capital
- Develop, implement, and maintain financial policies,
Financial Auditor Responsibilities:
- Independently perform comprehensive audits and assess controls, procedures, and efficiency of firms’ accounting systems
- Maintain cost-to-collect and store-to-pay records
- Implement financial controls; analyze performance results and suggest improvement measures
- Conduct mock audits to check the accuracy of financial processes
- Assist in tax returns preparation and audit
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