Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Audit Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Audit Manager is a senior audit professional responsible for planning, executing, and overseeing enterprise-wide internal audit engagements that assess risk, controls, compliance, and operational effectiveness. This role manages audit teams, liaises with business and finance leadership and the audit committee, drives remediation and continuous improvement, and applies data analytics and technology to optimize audit coverage and insights. The ideal candidate combines technical audit expertise (SOX, GAAP/IFRS, internal controls), leadership and stakeholder management, and hands-on experience with audit tools and ERP systems.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Internal Auditor (Corporate or Shared Services)
External Audit Senior / Manager (Big Four or regional firms)
Risk & Compliance Analyst with audit exposure

Advancement To:

Senior Audit Manager / Regional Audit Manager
Director of Internal Audit
Head of Risk & Compliance
Chief Audit Executive (CAE)

Lateral Moves:

Compliance Manager
Risk Manager / Enterprise Risk Management Lead
Financial Controller or Finance Operations Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the development and execution of a risk-based annual internal audit plan aligned to the organization's strategic objectives, performing risk assessments, prioritizing audit areas, and ensuring appropriate coverage of financial, operational, IT and compliance risks.
Manage end-to-end audit engagements—from scoping, planning, testing, issues identification and root-cause analysis, through to reporting, remediation tracking and closure—ensuring all work is documented, timely, and compliant with professional standards.
Supervise, mentor and develop audit staff and seniors, including assigning work, reviewing audit documentation and deliverables, providing career coaching, managing performance, and building a high-performing, collaborative team culture.
Design and implement robust audit programs and testing procedures (including SOX testing when applicable) that validate the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting and operational processes.
Evaluate internal control frameworks and business processes, recommend practical control enhancements and process improvements, and track remediation activities to ensure effective and timely resolution of audit findings.
Serve as a trusted advisor to business unit leaders and stakeholders by communicating audit results, risk exposures and control gaps clearly and constructively, facilitating consensus on remediation plans and providing actionable recommendations.
Prepare clear, concise and influential audit reports and executive summaries for senior management and the Audit Committee, highlighting key risks, impact, risk ratings, root causes and recommended actions.
Coordinate and manage relationships with external auditors and regulators during external audit and regulatory examinations to ensure alignment of scope, minimize duplication of effort and facilitate timely delivery of information.
Integrate data analytics and continuous auditing techniques into audit programs to identify trends, anomalies and control exceptions; leverage tools such as ACL/IDEA, Power BI/Tableau, SQL or Python scripts to increase audit efficiency and insight.
Manage audit budgets, resource allocation and engagement timelines to deliver high-quality audit results within scope, budget and deadlines, escalating resourcing or scope risks proactively.
Drive compliance with relevant laws, regulations and internal policies (including SOX, industry-specific regulations), ensuring audit work supports the organization’s regulatory posture and governance obligations.
Lead fraud risk assessments and participate in investigations where internal control breaches or suspected fraud are identified, coordinating with legal, HR and compliance as appropriate.
Assess the design and operating effectiveness of IT general controls (ITGC), application controls and change management processes, coordinating with IT security and application teams to address control gaps.
Provide assurance over financial reporting processes including close cycle, reconciliations, account analysis and journal entries, ensuring GAAP/IFRS accounting policies are followed and documented.
Monitor emerging risks and industry developments (regulatory changes, cybersecurity threats, automation and fintech) and adapt audit methodologies and coverage to address evolving enterprise risk.
Implement and maintain audit quality and methodology standards (IIA standards or equivalent), ensuring proper documentation, working paper quality and adherence to professional ethics and independence requirements.
Facilitate workshops and control self-assessment sessions with process owners to build stronger control ownership and to embed a culture of risk awareness and continuous improvement across functions.
Drive root cause remediation tracking and trend reporting, producing KPIs and dashboards that measure the status of control effectiveness, remediation progress and audit cycle time improvements.
Lead special projects and advisory engagements including post-merger/acquisition integration audits, carve-out reviews, contract compliance audits and internal control redesign initiatives.
Act as the primary liaison to the Audit Committee and senior leadership for selected audit topics, presenting findings, remediation status and risk trends and responding to follow-up queries and action plans.
Ensure proper documentation and filing of audit evidence, maintain version control and confidentiality, and comply with legal and record-retention requirements.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc board requests and executive-level risk assessments, providing rapid-turnaround assurance and insight on high-priority matters.
Partner with IT, cybersecurity and data privacy teams to map controls related to third-party/vendor risk, cloud adoption and data governance.
Contribute to the continuous improvement of the audit methodology by piloting advanced analytics, automation and technology-enabled testing techniques.
Coordinate training initiatives to upskill finance and operations teams on control design, SOX readiness and remediation best practices.
Participate in cross-functional projects as control advisor for new product launches, system implementations (ERP, CRM, payroll) and process transformations.
Provide input to enterprise risk management (ERM) processes, helping translate audit findings into enterprise risk mitigation and strategic planning conversations.
Assist in vendor and third-party audits or assessments as required to validate contractual or compliance obligations.
Support periodic internal control environment health checks and maturity assessments to inform long-term audit planning.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep knowledge of internal audit methodology and professional standards (IIA standards, IPPF) and hands-on experience executing full lifecycle audits.
Strong SOX 404 compliance experience, including scoping, walkthroughs, testing, deficiency identification and remediation oversight.
Thorough understanding of financial accounting principles (GAAP and/or IFRS) and experience auditing financial statements and related controls.
Risk assessment, control design and control testing proficiency for financial, operational, IT and compliance domains.
Experience with audit management and workpaper software (e.g., TeamMate, AuditBoard, Workiva) and analytic tools (ACL, IDEA, SQL, Power BI, Tableau).
Working knowledge of IT general controls (ITGC), application controls, change management, access controls and cybersecurity risk fundamentals.
Proficiency in advanced Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, macros) and ability to manipulate large data sets for analytics-driven audits.
Familiarity with ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) and ability to assess process and control impacts of ERP configurations.
Experience conducting fraud risk assessments and supporting investigations, including techniques for identifying potential indicators of fraud.
Strong report writing, documentation and presentation skills geared toward executive and Audit Committee audiences.
Project management and resource planning skills to manage multiple concurrent engagements and deadlines.
Knowledge of relevant regulatory frameworks (industry-specific regulations, privacy regulations, anti-money laundering where applicable).

Soft Skills

Proven leadership and people-management skills with the ability to develop, motivate and retain high-performing audit teams.
Exceptional verbal and written communication; ability to translate complex audit findings into clear, actionable recommendations for business leaders and committees.
Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills; able to build credibility and trusted relationships with senior management and process owners.
Analytical thinker with excellent problem-solving and root-cause analysis capabilities.
High ethical standards, professional skepticism and the ability to maintain independence and objectivity in all audit activities.
Time management and prioritization skills; effective at managing competing deadlines and shifting priorities.
Coaching and mentoring aptitude, committed to staff development and creating a learning environment.
Adaptability and resilience in a fast-paced, change-oriented environment.
Initiative and continuous improvement mindset, with a focus on process efficiency and audit innovation.
Attention to detail combined with a strategic view of enterprise risk implications.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Information Systems, Economics, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Accounting, Finance, MBA or related advanced degree.
Professional certifications (preferred): CPA, CIA, CISA, CRMA or equivalent.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Accounting
Finance
Business Administration
Information Systems / IT Audit
Economics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–10 years of progressive audit experience (combination of external audit and internal audit preferred), including 2–4 years in a supervisory or lead role.

Preferred:

7+ years of audit experience with demonstrated experience leading teams and complex engagements.
Experience in public accounting (Big Four or regional firms) and/or industry-specific internal audit experience.
Proven track record in SOX implementation/testing, ERP-related audits, data analytics-driven audits and interfacing with Audit Committees and regulators.