The functions of an auditor require numerous skills in both accounting and analysis. This complex and stimulating job allows you to work on different issues depending on the specificities of the company commissioning the audit.
What is an external auditor?
A financial auditor is a person whose function is to express an opinion on the fairness of the accounts and the overall situation of a company. To establish this judgment, he is in charge of an in-depth analysis of the company's accounts. He is a real investigator in the field, capable of taking note of, analyzing and establishing relationships between numerous elements.
In order to carry out their mission, the auditor or team of auditors relies on the analysis of information and supporting documents provided by the company, but also calls upon their knowledge of the activity and the particularities of the sector in which the company operates. The auditor is also required to conduct interviews with the company's various personnel and customers.
Unlike the internal auditor, the external auditor is not employed by a company but by an audit firm. They work for different companies and may therefore be required to travel regularly. The study conducted by the external auditor is essential for the stakeholders of the company, he also intervenes in the framework of acquisitions and restructurings, ensuring the reality of the financial health of the audited entities.
Within the framework of his functions, the external auditor is in charge of various missions:
- Meeting with the company's key players,
- Verify the accounting documents: invoices, bundles, bank statements,
- Analyze the company's capital,
- Write summaries,
- Formulate recommendations, if necessary, criticisms and recommendations.
Qualities and skills of the external auditor
In addition to obvious accounting skills, the auditor also has a great sense of analysis and a capacity for synthesis that allows him to link the different elements processed, whether they are figures or structural information and trends.
It is also essential that he/she is :
- Adaptable: because the internal auditor works for different types of companies (sector, size, activities) for which he/she must as quickly as possible grasp and understand the functioning;
- With excellent interpersonal skills: he/she is required to meet a wide variety of people, both clients and employees, and must be able to establish good relations with each one in order to carry out his/her mission in the best possible conditions, i.e. with access to the information necessary for his/her research;
- Rigorous, stress-resistant and able to handle a heavy workload, these qualities being common to most professions in business management and finance.
Which degrees are required to become an external auditor?
The access to the function of Financial Auditor, is done after a bac +5 specialized in the fields of accounting, finance, management and auditing. This training is accessible through several types of establishments and different diploma titles.
- At the University: Master in Accounting, Controlling and Auditing or Master in Management Control and Organizational Audit,
- In a business school: Specialized Masters in Accounting, Consulting and Auditing, Corporate Finance or Management and Management Control.
In France, these two courses are generally completed by obtaining an accounting diploma such as the Diplôme Supérieur de Comptabilité et de Gestion (DSCG).
Salary and career prospects
External auditing is one of the most important jobs in the field of figures and management. There is no shortage of assignments for auditing firms, which provide guarantees without which the company cannot evolve, whether it is a question of legal obligations to audit accounts or specific studies ordered by the company, for or by potential clients or partners, or in the context of a financial operation.
The external auditor will start his or her career within a team, moving from a junior to a senior profile, it will be possible for him or her to reach a higher grade, working on more complex files or being in charge of the management of the team. These functions naturally lead to positions of responsibility such as CFO (Chief Financial Officer), or to merger and acquisition or investment departments.
Salaries for the position of External Auditor in France start at around 2,500 to 5,000. The level of remuneration depends of course on the profile of the collaborator but also on the size of the company which employs him.
