◆ Accounting

What an internal auditor
really does.

20 tasks, each one witnessed by the sources that watched the job — and behind every one, a prompt you can use tonight.

20evidenced tasks
67,830in the US (2025)
$94,160median pay / year
9systems it runs on
See the 20 tasks ↓Open in the atlasThe full career map →
This is what one task looks like here
Evaluate the risk level of loans
Assess the portfolio of 320 commercial and consumer loans, score each …3 sources agree

The shape of the day

tap a movement to see its tasks

Which one is you, right now?

Pick the moment · no score, no sign-up
Which moment is you right now?
Whichever you pick, the task behind it opens below.

The work, task by task

20 tasks
Hands on the work13
Evaluate the risk level of loans+
Assess the portfolio of 320 commercial and consumer loans, score each for credit, concentration and covenant risk, flag the 25 highest-risk loans for deep review, and deliver a one-page risk summary to the audit manager by Thursday noon.
escojdonet3 agree
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
Ensure compliance with laws and regulations+
Review the past 24 months of transactions, identify any breaches of lending, AML or tax rules, map noncompliant items to the specific statute or regulation, and prepare a findings memo for Legal and the CFO before the regulator call on Friday.
jdonet2 agree
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
Gather information through meetings with management+
Schedule and run a 60-minute evidence-gathering meeting with the head of Loans, the credit operations lead and the tax manager next Tuesday, collect explanations for the three anomalous accounts, and update the working paper with verbatim notes and agreed next actions.
jdonet2 agree
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
Verify or authenticate financial records+
Trace and vouch balances for 40 sampled accounts to source invoices, bank statements and repayment schedules, mark any discrepancies over $2,500, and append verified evidence to each working paper for the audit manager’s sign-off by Monday.
escojd2 agree
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
Analyze new regulations and policies+
Review the draft regulation and the bank’s policy update, produce a short impact assessment showing required control changes, compliance deadlines and cost implications, and circulate to Risk, Compliance and the COO within three business days.
jdonet2 agree
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
Provide regulatory compliance training to employees.+
Prepare a 45-minute regulatory compliance session for all finance staff covering recent VAT, AML, and data protection changes, include two case studies from our accounts, attach a one-page checklist for managers, and schedule sessions for next Wednesday and Friday.
onet
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
Establish guidelines for procedures and policies+
Draft updated procedure guidelines for cash handling, vendor onboarding, and expense approvals, circulate the draft to finance, procurement, and legal for comments, incorporate feedback, and publish the final version on the policy library by end of month.
jd
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
Evaluate, consult and assist the source of the transaction if necessary+
Evaluate the disputed supplier payment from March, consult with procurement and the transaction owner to trace approvals, document whether controls failed or a coding error occurred, and if needed draft corrective steps and owner responsibilities by Tuesday.
esco
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
Watch and assess4
Grow the practice2
Work with people1

What the work runs on

named inside the evidenced tasks
12 tasksMicrosoft Excelrank loans, calculate scores and produce the one-page summaryOpen its task library → 7 tasksMicrosoft Worddraft the findings memo and cite statutes for Legal and the CFOOpen its task library →
5 tasksSAPextract ledger and transaction histories across modules to identify potential breaches
4 tasksMicrosoft Outlookbook the meeting with required attendees and track responses
3 tasksStructured query language SQLquery loan tables and aggregate credit and covenant fields for scoring
3 tasksMicrosoft Visiodiagram workflow changes and control points to share with Risk and Compliance
3 tasksMicrosoft PowerPointcreate the slide deck and exercises for the half-day training
2 tasksMicrosoft SharePointdistributes drafts and publishes the final policies to the organisation's policy library
Browse every evidenced software task →

The same task, four heights

this page is height one
ExecuteDo today's task, with fewer mistakesyou are here → ImproveMake it easy for the next person to acceptin the atlas → DecideWork out the right move when it is unclearin the atlas → BecomeLearn the pattern so it stops coming backin the atlas →

Can AI actually do this job?

the honest answer

It can

where it genuinely helps
  • Explain the theory behind the work
  • Draft, tidy and structure your writing
  • Rehearse a hard conversation before you have it
  • Build a study plan that fits your gaps

It cannot

where it stops, completely
  • Be in the room where an internal auditor actually works
  • Carry the responsibility when the call is wrong — that weight stays yours
  • Notice what no one wrote down: the hesitation, the thing left unsaid
  • Live with the outcome
M · R6 of R7This job sits on auditing — real theory, real diagnosis, but reality still holds the grading pen.

What the work pays

two countries, two different measures

United States

this exact occupation · BLS 2025
  • $94,160 a year — the middle: half earn more, half earn less
  • The lowest tenth earn near $56,230; the top tenth near $174,200
  • 67,830 people employed in this occupation

Where the evidence lives

open any of it yourself
O*NETThe US Department of Labor's own record of this job8 of these tasks ESCOThe European skills and occupations register12 of these tasks Job descriptionsReal postings, in the wild7 of these tasks US Bureau of Labor StatisticsPay and employment, by occupation2025 figures UK NOS FSPRMFS13Monitor and review the risk management process for a financial servicenational standard UK NOS FSPRMFS5Assess risks for a financial services organisationnational standard

Close to this work

12 nearby
AccountingFinancial Reporting Analyst26 evidenced tasks AccountingInvestment Analyst25 evidenced tasks AccountingAccountant23 evidenced tasks AccountingChartered Accountant23 evidenced tasks AccountingAuditor23 evidenced tasks AccountingGst Practitioner23 evidenced tasks AccountingBookkeeper23 evidenced tasks AccountingCorporate Accountant23 evidenced tasks

Questions people actually ask

You usually split time between reviewing records and meeting people. Mornings often mean opening SQL queries or Excel files to check transactions, balances, or exception reports.

Afternoons are for meetings with managers, writing or reviewing audit reports in Word, and planning follow‑up actions. You might also train staff or supervise a small team, and end the day sending status updates in Outlook or SharePoint.

Start with Microsoft Excel and Word — auditors use Excel for data analysis and Word for audit reports. Learn PivotTables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and basic macros.

Next learn SQL for querying databases and SAP if your employer uses it for accounting. Familiarity with Outlook, SharePoint and PowerPoint helps for communication and presentations; Visio or Project helps when you map processes or lead audits.

SQL pulls raw transaction or ledger data directly from the database: accounts, dates, amounts, and user IDs. You write queries to filter by date range, branch, or transaction type.

Then load that output into Excel to clean data, run pivot tables, test ratios, and produce charts for the audit report. Excel is for analysis and visualization; SQL is for getting accurate, complete data.

AI can help draft report text, suggest test steps, or explain accounting rules fast. But never let AI replace your checks: auditors must verify facts, cite source documents, and keep evidence.

Do not paste confidential client data into public AI tools. Use AI for ideas, then run queries in SQL/SAP and confirm numbers in Excel and source records before you write or sign anything.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for 2025, 67,830 internal auditors were employed with a median annual wage of $94,160. The lowest 10% earned about $56,230 and the top 10% earned about $174,200.

Your pay varies by industry, location, certifications (like CIA or CPA), and seniority: staff auditor, senior, manager, then director or chief audit executive.

Internal auditors work inside the company, checking internal controls, compliance, and processes on an ongoing basis. They report to management or the audit committee and help improve operations.

External auditors are independent firms hired to issue an opinion on financial statements for outsiders and regulators. Accountants prepare the books; auditors verify and test them. Internal work is more operational and continuous.

Analytical thinking tied to practical tools: being able to read financial statements and then turn that into tests in SQL or Excel. That means spotting anomalies, building queries, and proving whether a control failed.

Technical skill matters — knowing how to extract data from SAP or a database and validate it in Excel — but you must also explain findings clearly in Word and present them in PowerPoint so managers act on them.

km/h RPM

How far can AI take you?

one question
Be honest — how far can a language model take you on auditing?
There is a real answer, and it is not the flattering one.