INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR INTERNAL AUDIT POSITION

Question Interviewer Expected answer/ purpose of the

question
GENERAL QUESTIONS

Explain what ARO An independent and objective evaluations

is internal or examination of the company’s financial
audit? and operational business activities is
referred as internal audit.

Why internal SIA Some people are career auditors,” says

audit? Paul Edwards, Director of KPP Search,
“others view Internal Audit as their entry
point into a new business before
progressing elsewhere after some time.
Whichever you are, make sure you are able
to clearly articulate why you are
interviewing for this job.”

Note that in answering this question you

are also demonstrating what you will bring
to their organisation in your competence as
an internal auditor and enthusiasm for the
role. Use this question as an opportunity to
show how you specifically can provide
effective risk mitigation, profit increase,
cost reduction and attention to detail in
reviewing the organisation’s key
statements. The energy you bring to the
role because of your passion for internal
audit is what sets you apart from the rest.

Edwards admits that he often receives

feedback that candidates indicated their
sights were already set on their next move
beyond Internal Audit and didn’t give good
enough reasons as to why they wanted to
do the job they were interviewing for. “It’s
important to strike the right balance
between the immediate future and showing
your ambition,” he says.

Why do you IT Manager This question is all about testing your

want to preparation skills pre-interview. Your
work with employer wants to know how motivated
us? you are to work for his or her company,
thus how well you’ve researched the
company culture. Use this question to
identify which of their core values you
share, your respect for their business ethos
and how you intend to uphold the vision
 they have created for their organisation.
Why should ARO A typical job interview question and one
we hire you? which gives you the opportunity to mention
any achievements or qualifications you
have that add value to your role as internal
auditor. Now is the moment to talk about
your skills, your experience and how you
will be an asset to their business. Make
sure to give examples of everything you
discuss, for example, don’t just say “I’m a
good team player”, prove it. A handy tip in
this instance is also to make sure you have
memorised the job description so you can
keep referring back to it as you make your
case for why they should hire you.
How do you IT Manager This question according to Edwards is again
see your about striking the right balance. He says,
career “If a ‘rotation scheme’ is in place,
progressing candidates should show clear ambition,
after 3-4 whilst demonstrating an open-mindedness
years in to different career directions.” He further
Internal explains, “If you typecast yourself into one
Audit? narrow career path, there’s a chance you’re
talking yourself out of the job if the
company is any less than 100% sure they
can deliver on your ambitions.”

TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
Why are SIA Interviewers ask this question because they
internal audits want to make sure you understand the
necessary? benefits of internal audits and exactly how
they can help businesses. An internal audit
helps management plan, organize, direct
and control their operations. By doing so,
companies can make the changes needed
to comply with laws and regulations,
increase their profits and achieve their
goals faster.

Example: “An internal audit lets you know

which parts of your company are successful
and which ones need some improvements.
It can help you reduce costs, increase
profits and make your business more
appealing to investors. It also makes
creating monitoring procedures,
streamlining business processes and
following laws easier.”
Explain the ARO Interviewers will often ask this question to
steps to make sure you understand all aspects of
prepare for the internal auditing process. A skilled
and perform internal auditor should also make sure the
an internal authority of the audit team is well-
audit. established to improve cooperation from
 those being audited. Auditors should decide
which departments will need internal audits
and how often. They should prepare and
distribute a yearly audit schedule and make
sure the audit complies with government
regulations, quality standards and internal
procedures and systems.

Before starting an internal audit, the

treasurer of the business must give all
financial records to the auditor. These
include check registers, bank statements,
deposit slips, cancelled checks, bills,
receipts, expense vouchers, tax returns
and the treasurer’s reports. Auditors should
also organize a meeting to identify risks
and discuss the plan, scope and purpose of
the audit. Finally, they should review all
documents and develop a report that will
drive action.

Example: “I always get to know my team

members and department leaders well so
we can work together smoothly during the
audit. I also prepare a yearly audit schedule
to give management plenty of time to get
ready for each audit. Then, I discuss the
purpose and scope of each audit with the
relevant departments. After I receive the
financial records I need from the treasurer,
I work with my team to identify the areas
that need improvement. Finally, I compose
a concise report with recommendations for
improvements.”
What are the IT Manager Employers will likely ask this question to
differences make sure you have a wide range of skills
between and can complete different types of internal
regulatory or audits based on the company’s needs. A
statutory regulatory or statutory audit looks at the
audits and financial reporting or budget reporting of
performance the audited business, and it contains the
audits? auditor’s opinion about what changes the
company should make.

A performance audit examines programs or

projects along with their functions and their
daily operations. It can also look at the
management systems and procedures of
government or non-profit entities to make
sure the organization is using resources
efficiently and effectively. It contains a
statement of assurance about the items
tested for compliance instead of the
auditor’s opinion.
 Example: “A regulatory or statutory audit
should focus on financial reporting. My
regulatory or statutory audit would include
my thoroughly researched opinions about
the changes your company should make to
increase its efficiency and profitability. In
contrast, a performance audit is more
about daily operations and individual
programs or projects. Instead of an expert
opinion, it should contain a detailed
statement of assurance with all the facts
that managers need. That way, they can
form their own opinions about which
improvements are best.”
Explain what IT Manager Hold an auditors meeting with auditees
you should do involved with the audit, discuss the non-
after the conformances and what part is missed
internal audit? Issue the audit report in a timely manner
Encourage auditees to take corrective
actions again flaws
Help and guide those responsible for
completing the corrective actions with
setting reasonable deadlines
Take the feed-back of the auditees and how
your audit team were perceived
SCENARIO BASED QUESTIONS
Problem solving SIA Question: The company CEO has requested
the services of internal audit, asking for
assurance that Sales Clerks are correctly
paid for the commissions earned. The Audit
and Risk Manager has assigned you to the
project. The assignment requires you to
determine if commissions are properly paid
for all sales of timber made by the sales
clerk.(i.e., deceased clerks and terminated
clerks should be removed from the
systems; occurrence of the wrong clerk
being paid should be reviewed;
etc.). The assignment requires you to
search through approximately two hundred
thousand electronic records. What steps
will you take to complete this assignment?

Solution
Interviewer’s want to determine if the
interviewee can implement the audit
process thus PRAC and solve the
situation –Planning the assignment,
performing risk assessment , field
work and conclusion and reporting

Ability to apply knowledge Question: You are an experienced internal

auditor with extensive knowledge of ATZ’s
ARO systems, an expert user of ACL software
(audit software package used to analyze
large amounts of data), and an expert user
of Microsoft Excel and Access. While
completing an audit of Msasa retail store’s
inventory, the branch manager expressed
concerns over the goods received (timber)
from Erin Estate. The branch manager feels
his inventory shortage in the department is
related to this Estate. What steps would
you take to determine if there is a problem
with
The receipts or despatches of timber from
Erin Estate?
Solution
The Interviewee should be able to
plan by showing the type of
information he or she is going to
request for the analysis utilising the
data audit software. What information
he or she going to compare with so as
to determine if there was any
anomaly.

Professional Growth
Ability to learn on the job You are a field auditor with ATZ. The audits
performed are risk based audits. Every six
IT Manager months the audit is revised. In the most
recent revision, you notice there is a new
section in the PPDA Act on the audit of
procurement processes. The ARO has
instructed every field auditor to start
performing audits on
Procurement processes due to Board’s and
Senior Managements concerns. How will
you go about learning this new area in
addition to completing your normal audit
tasks?

Solution

The auditor needs to prioritise and review

the impact of the new change if it has a
major impact on the audit process by
performing a risk assessment to determine
if the scope of the audit should be changed
or identify if there is need to look at the
area whilst performing his normal tasks.
Communication Skills
Ability to listen While reviewing the cash controls of Msasa
ARO retail branch, the cashier mentioned that it
was about time for the human resource
manager to pick up the cash for the service
desk area to replenish the refund register
 funds. Most branches handle this by having
two people, one being a member of
management; take the cash to the
Service desk. You have already completed
the review of the service desk operations
and noted only minor deficiencies.
However, you did recall that the refund
register had large cash shortages from your
review of the register transactions and till
balancing. How would you handle this
situation?

Solution
Interviewing the relevant personnel
and understanding the cash control
process being implemented by the
branch against ATZ cash control SOP
and identifying the personnel
responsible for implementing the
control and the adequacy as this is a
finance Function rather than human
resources.
Taking initiative The internal Auditing software package ACL training of
audit department just this software is scheduled in four weeks for
received a new automated audit staff. No one has any knowledge of
how to use it but the software provides
ARO many features that will make documenting
easier. The software provides help menus
to assist
In every function. The ARO has mentioned
it would be helpful if everyone could spend
some time making himself or Herself
familiar with the software. You have just
been assigned a new audit project that
requires a tremendous amount of
documenting and the audit will take
approximately six months to complete.
Explain how you would go about handling
this audit?
Would you complete the audit the old
method or attempt to use the software?

Solution

Is to utilise the software package in

the next audit so as to avoid budget
runs and providing the stack holder
with improper conclusions or
assurance levels as it will be a
learning process on implementing the
software.