Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Director of Auditing

🎯 Role Definition

The Director of Auditing is a senior audit leader responsible for shaping and executing the internal audit strategy, strengthening internal controls and compliance frameworks, and delivering high-quality, risk-focused assurance across the enterprise. This role partners with executive leadership, the audit committee, and business unit leaders to evaluate financial reporting, operational effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and enterprise risk management (ERM) programs. The Director of Auditing leads a team of professionals, leverages data analytics and audit technology, and drives continuous improvement in governance, risk and control environments.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Manager / Head of Internal Audit
Lead Internal Auditor or Audit Manager with enterprise-wide scope
Senior Risk Manager, Compliance Director, or external Big Four Senior Manager

Advancement To:

Chief Audit Executive (CAE)
Head of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
VP/Head of Finance, Compliance or Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)

Lateral Moves:

Director of Compliance or Regulatory Affairs
Director of Risk Management
Director of Financial Controls / SOX / Control Assurance

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, articulate and execute an enterprise-wide audit strategy and annual audit plan that aligns with organizational objectives, emerging risks, regulatory requirements and the audit committee’s expectations.
Lead and manage all aspects of the internal audit function, including resourcing, budgeting, performance management, career development, and recruitment to build a high-performing audit team.
Oversee complex operational, financial, IT and compliance audits, ensuring engagements are risk-based, data-driven, and focused on mitigating key business risks and improving control environments.
Design and implement a methodology for risk assessment and audit prioritization that integrates enterprise risk management (ERM), regulatory landscapes, and key stakeholder inputs.
Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and the audit committee by providing timely insights, independent assurance, and recommendations that strengthen governance and internal control frameworks.
Drive continuous improvement of internal audit processes by introducing audit technology, data analytics, continuous auditing techniques and automated testing to increase coverage and efficiency.
Plan and supervise Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and financial controls testing programs, including scoping, walkthroughs, control testing, remediation tracking and reporting for public and privately held entities.
Coordinate and manage external audit relationships and regulatory examinations to optimize scope, reduce duplication, and ensure transparency and consistency in reporting.
Evaluate the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls, policies and procedures across finance, operations, IT, procurement, treasury, and regulatory compliance functions.
Lead investigations of potential fraud, ethics violations or significant control breakdowns, working closely with legal, compliance, HR and external counsel as necessary to preserve evidence and ensure appropriate remediation.
Provide clear and actionable audit reports with prioritized findings, root-cause analysis, cost-effective recommendations and realistic remediation plans with accountable owners and timelines.
Monitor remediation progress and perform validation testing of remediation activities to ensure timely and sustainable closure of audit findings and control gaps.
Establish and maintain key performance indicators (KPIs) and quality assurance metrics to assess audit effectiveness, resource utilization, timeliness of reporting and stakeholder satisfaction.
Translate audit findings into business value by working with process owners to implement practical control improvements, operational efficiencies and risk mitigation strategies.
Ensure the internal audit function adheres to professional standards (IIA Standards), ethical requirements and best practices, administering a peer review or quality assurance program as required.
Provide specialized audit coverage for IT general controls (ITGC), application controls, cybersecurity, data privacy (GDPR/CCPA) and third-party/vendor risk management.
Support mergers, acquisitions and divestiture activities by performing due diligence, integration control assessments and post-close assurance services to mitigate transaction risks.
Oversee data governance and analytics initiatives within the audit function, leveraging SQL, data visualization and audit analytics tools to identify anomalies, trends and emerging risks.
Champion a risk-aware culture by collaborating with compliance, legal, finance and business leaders to embed internal controls and preventive measures across the organization.
Prepare and present audit results, risk trends and strategic recommendations to the audit committee and board of directors, ensuring transparency and alignment on enterprise risk exposures.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regulatory changes, industry trends and audit innovations to adapt audit coverage, identify new risk areas and provide proactive advice to management.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Mentor and coach audit staff to develop technical auditing skills, professional certifications (CIA, CPA) and leadership competencies.
Establish cross-functional working groups with IT, compliance and operational leaders to address systemic control issues and drive remediation.
Facilitate training and awareness programs for business partners on internal controls, fraud prevention, compliance obligations and risk management principles.
Maintain and enhance audit documentation repositories, workpaper standards and knowledge management to preserve institutional knowledge and accelerate onboarding.
Coordinate cross-audit initiatives such as control self-assessments (CSAs), process improvement reviews and compliance attestation campaigns.
Support budgeting and resource forecasting for the audit function, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and emerging risk coverage needs.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Internal audit leadership and strategy development with proven experience building and scaling audit programs.
Risk assessment and enterprise risk management (ERM) methodologies, including risk-based audit planning.
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance, internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) testing and remediation experience.
Familiarity with COSO framework, PCAOB standards, IFRS/GAAP financial reporting and regulatory compliance requirements.
Experience conducting IT audits, IT general controls (ITGC), application controls and cybersecurity control assessments.
Proficiency with audit management platforms and GRC tools (e.g., AuditBoard, TeamMate, Galvanize/HighBond, MetricStream).
Data analytics and continuous auditing skills, including SQL, Python/R basics, ACL/IDEA, Power BI, Tableau or other visualization tools.
Vendor and third-party risk assessment, due diligence and contract compliance testing.
Fraud detection, investigation techniques and collaboration with legal/forensic teams.
Strong reporting, documentation and audit workpaper standards with experience using electronic workpaper systems.
Financial acumen, budget oversight and experience coordinating with external auditors and regulators.
Familiarity with privacy and data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and controls for sensitive data.

Soft Skills

Strategic leadership with ability to set vision, influence up to the board level and translate strategy into operational execution.
Exceptional communication and presentation skills tailored to executive, audit committee and operational audiences.
Stakeholder management and relationship-building skills to partner effectively with cross-functional leaders.
Coaching and people development skills to mentor audit teams and foster career progression.
Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset with attention to detail and data-driven decision making.
High ethical standards, integrity and proven discretion handling sensitive issues and investigations.
Change management and process improvement mindset to lead control enhancements and cultural adoption.
Influencing and negotiation skills to gain buy-in for remediation plans and control implementations.
Time management and prioritization skills to balance competing audit demands and deadlines.
Adaptability and curiosity to stay current with evolving risks, regulations and audit technologies.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Business Administration or a closely related field.

Preferred Education:

MBA, Master's in Accounting, Information Systems or other advanced degree preferred.
Professional certifications such as CIA (Certified Internal Auditor), CPA, CISA, CFE or CRMA are highly preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Accounting and Finance
Information Systems and Cybersecurity
Business Administration / Management
Risk Management / Compliance

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 10–15+ years of progressively responsible experience in internal audit, risk management, compliance or external audit, including at least 5 years in a senior or management role leading teams.

Preferred:

Prior Director-level or Senior Manager experience in a complex, multi-national or heavily regulated organization.
Experience interacting with audit committees/boards and presenting risk-based insights to senior leadership.
Demonstrated track record of implementing audit analytics, automation and continuous control monitoring programs.
Experience with SOX program leadership and coordination with external auditors, regulators or rating agencies.