The Internal Auditor must be accurate in determining the details for his service. You must not accept information that is vague or incomplete, or that cannot be proven.
In addition to the technical and basic preparation, mentioned above, you must keep “up to date” with the corresponding legislation, or at least know where and with whom you will be able to obtain the necessary details for your service.
A “sense of proportion” is essential, that is, being able to judge whether the cost of the review requires more or less details in proportion to your own salary. It does not pay to count pins, for example.
Over the years, in the exercise of his profession, a good Internal Auditor must be curious enough to know everything about the entity in which he collaborates, about the internal control systems and their operation, and even know more about the company than the managers themselves. .
Must be persistent in following, with the areas reviewed, the solution or settlement of anomalies found. This follow up should be a constant, respecting enough time for the necessary corrections.
An Internal Auditor receives, when integrated in the company, information (not always correct) about failures or slips. You must then know how to separate those that concern your work from those that are of lesser importance.
A sense of proportion or personal judgment will prevail, always avoiding taking sides in any situation.
In its performance, it must maintain a spirit of independence, not allowing itself to be influenced by the areas under its review, but investigating verifiable and truthful facts.
Specific Features of the Internal Auditor
We cannot fail to keep in mind that, at the time of admission, what we actually do is try to visualize the candidate’s potential, and in these terms, for some qualities that are indeed important for the Auditor.
However, it is certain that the person in charge of evaluating the candidate, should be concerned with observing if they are present in the candidate, qualities that will be particularly required of the future Auditor. Brink, Cashin and Witt, when commenting on the Internal Auditor’s personal qualifications, in chapter 7 of the important work “Modern Internal Auditing at Operational Aproach”, list the following characteristics of the Internal Auditor:
– Curiosity
– Critical Attitude
– Attention (in the sense of considering all possible sources of information and all interrelationships)
– Persistence
– Energy
– Self confidence
– Courage
– Ability to judge correctly
– Integrity (qualities that make others trust the Auditor’s information and conclusions)
The same authors, seeking to verify which characteristics contribute the most to the Internal Auditor to obtain respect and cooperation, suggest the following:
– Honesty and Integrity
– Dedication to the company’s interests
– Reasonable humility
– Professional size
– Empathy
– Consistent image conduct
The set of test and interview results will indicate to the Audit Manager, the best among the candidate, who must be admitted.
This done, the Manager still has three very important tasks to perform: promoting the integration of the new member in the Department, studying with dedication the way to explore his potential, demanding his effective contribution to the work, and finally, planning his career.
