Auditing Careers Involve Ethical Decision Making   by john mce

in Finance / Accounting    (submitted 2010-03-03)

Thanks to recent guidelines laid out across the world, many firms have looked to fill internal audit jobs. Auditors seem to be in relatively high demand, but they are not necessarily motivated purely by money, as many embark on a career in auditing to help big businesses take ethics into account.
Those who have auditing jobs, whether they be part of a business or working in an external capacity, have to ensure that a company operates observing high ethical standards. Auditors see the inner workings of a firm, the books and policies, and it is their job to identify risks, inaccuracies and dangers, as well as putting them right. The mainstream perception of auditors might simply be maths people, but in fact they review whether the records of the company are a truthful representation of the company's business.
Auditors have the unenviable task of reviewing an employer's policies and plans, challenging elements and correcting the documentation. They are expected to communicate the potential risks to their employers of any actions, weighing up all the functions of the business. Auditors must concentrate on bottom line profitability as well as public and political opinion.
As well as these tasks, it can also be an auditors job to look for ways for savings to be made. Examining expenditures and accounts and attempting to maximise the financial benefits, finding ethical ways to reduce expenditure for their employers. Auditors can greatly improve a company or organisation, in terms of ethical working practises and overall profitability.
If you're thinking about embarking on a career in auditing, then consider wisely that there is a conflict in this role. Balancing profitability with behaving ethically is tricky, and for most it will depend on your personal convictions whether you to do everything you can to make your employer as rich as possible, or the organisation to be as upstanding and ethically-minded as possible.
Many people find auditing careers hugely rewarding, and they represent a unique opportunity to understand how big businesses work, top to bottom. As an external auditor you could be working at a different business every few months, getting to know how the business works and highlighting improvements which can be made to increase profitability or make the business more ethically sound. Internal auditors can come to be worth a lot to a big company, since they know so much about how the business works and how it can be improved.