Internal Auditor interview questions and answers

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Internal Auditor Interview Questions

Internal auditing typically calls for a degree in accounting, finance or a related business discipline. For senior positions, you may want to hire someone who also holds a formal certification, such as CIA, CRMA etc. In general, they must have knowledge of risk management, compliance audit, corporate governance, control principles, and audit planning. 

Proven experience is vital. The candidate should have a solid background in accounting or operations roles, if not specifically in internal audit. During these interviews, use auditing interview questions to evaluate how thoroughly they understand auditing procedures or operations.

Internal auditors are organized and possess strong critical thinking skills. Businesses rely on them to effectively communicate their insights and give sound advice. It is also important for internal auditors to have negotiating skills since reporting discrepancies often call for a delicate approach. Delve into this by asking operational or situational questions. This will also help you determine important qualities such as ethics, thoroughness and attention to detail. When asking internal auditing interview questions, look for proof that the candidate understands the importance of the job and is able to do it ethically and effectively.

Operational and Situational questions

• Have you ever detected a case of fraud? What process did you follow?
• Imagine a situation where you suspect that a company is exposed to a major risk. What risk management procedures would you employ?
• Tell us about a serious operational issue you encountered in the past. How did you discover it and what solutions did you recommend?
• Imagine a situation where you have to deal with uncooperative colleagues. What would you do?
• Have you ever experienced conflict with senior management or within a team? What happened and how did you resolve it?
• Describe a time when you made a suggestion that was successfully implemented. What was the result?
• Have you ever had difficulty persuading others to implement your recommendations? What did you do?
• Imagine that someone asks you to do something unethical like covering up a fraud. What would you do?

Role-specific questions

• How has your experience/education prepared you to be an internal auditor?
• How do you develop an audit plan? What is important to consider?
• What do you do after you finish with an audit?
• What are important elements of internal control systems? What process would you follow to review them?
• Do you know any audit software or CAATs (computer assisted audit techniques)? Have you used them before?
• What do you know about information technology controls?
• Where and how do you gather important raw data? How do you analyze them?
• Are you familiar with IFRS?
• How do you keep up with changes in regulations and laws?
• How do you think internal auditing can add value to a company?
• Why are you interested in the audit field? What do you like most about this job?