Internal Audit or Nothing?
I am currently debating taking an internal audit position that i was offered in a private construction company I have nothing else other than this offer. I was trying to get into Asset Management or investment banking but so far after a year of applying I have had no luck with any entry level positions. My resume has about 6 months of work experience on it that is relevant to the financial services industry. I am in a pickle and have no idea what to do as my parents want me to start supporting myself.
Also will an internal audit position give me the relevant experience i.e. read through financial statements to help me gain an edge to apply for IB or AM positions in the future say after 6 months of working with them
Audit is better than nothing.
Having a job beats not having a job. And in your case (having to support yourself + no luck in AM/IB) you probably should take it.
Full disclosure: I don’t not work in internal audit, but I have dealt with my company’s internal audit group many times before and have 2 friends in this role.
But will internal audit give you relevant skills for AM/IB? NO.
Why? Because in AM/IB you have to analyze data and make strategic decisions. In internal audit, your basically checking the work of the corporate finance and accounting department and making recommendations related to GAAP, SOX regulatory, and compliance guidelines. A quick summary of internal audit is to help investors keep an eye on management and report to the board if something fishy is going on. Internal audit also works closely with a company’s independent auditor to collect information and test controls which would otherwise be too expensive to outsource. You can learn a lot on the job, but if your serious about breaking out (and I highly recommend you break out to another role asap) you need to learn as much as you can, network, and create opportunities for yourself. Going from internal audit to any other role is a tough, uphill battle but you can do anything if you set your mind to it.
BTW here’s a real world example based on my experience. I work for an AM firm and our internal auditors look at our trading positions (amongst other things). They aren’t concerned about our trading strategies nor about how we make money nor how much money we hope to make. Rather they care about: 1. When you price your inventory, are you getting independent pricing. (if inventory includes physical assets, internal audit will count them example: will count # of computers, bull dozers, head count, etc) 2. If we receive/send cash for buys/sells is that cash being recorded in the G/L on a timely basis, is there a bank statement which shows the money moving?
3. What kinds of systems are you using to keep track of positions and pricing. What kinds of reports can be run from these systems. Can you explain variances between these reports and your reported financials 4. Is there a separation in roles between the people who trade vs. the people who do the accounting vs. the people who manage cash
I hope this helps. Sorry for making it so long. I can add more but I don’t want to put you to sleep. Just keep a positive outlook and don’t stop working hard. I highly recommend you try to find a better role after spending a few months here – just remember you’re going to have to work harder than most people to break into other roles from internal audit)
@thundercat thanks this actually really helps alot i was planning on only working for them for a few months till i find something better I graduated recently and figured might as well put some experience on the resume and not too long at all if anything more would be better just trying to get all the advice i can on what to do because i know it not going to be easy but it seems as though the job market is slowly improving so im hoping that in a couple of months i might get lucky and be able to land that entry level analyst position.
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