Auditor Interview Questions

Are you preparing for an important interview for an auditor job position?

Working as an auditor requires a lot of attention to detail and the ability to multitask. Therefore, it is important to present your skills in the best possible way during the interview.

An auditor interview is likely to consist of a series of both practical and behavioral questions. The interviewer needs to determine that you have the necessary skills to do the job and will also be the right fit.

So, let’s take a look at some of the most common auditor interview questions and the best ways to answer them successfully.

What Interview Questions Will They Ask?

Why are You Interested in This Job?

This is one of the standard auditor interview questions and is usually asked close to or at the start to break the ice. You should begin your answer by explaining why you chose to apply to that particular company. You should also highlight the specific skills and experience that will make you the right fit for the organization.

Before the interview, do extensive research into the company’s history and values. Try to highlight any particular values that make the company stand out and align with your own values. This will guide you to the aspects that need to be emphasized when answering this and the following interview questions.

Describe Your Audit Experience

This question is designed to reveal your personal experience as an auditor. While answering the question, you need to highlight the specific skills that you use to do your job. Provide a brief outline of your career experience and education, as well as a couple of examples of particular successes.

Describe the Main Roles of an Auditor

This question is designed to reveal your understanding of the job and the aspects that you value most. You should start this question by outlining the main tasks that an auditor performs regularly. Make sure you stick to the most crucial and significant duties of the role.

With questions of this type, you always want to make sure that you put yourself into the answer. This allows you to showcase your skills and helps the interviewer to picture you doing the job. Make sure you walk the interviewer through the tasks you perform and show how you do them successfully.

What Professional Qualities Does an Auditor Need to Have?

Give a brief yet clear description of the main qualities and skills that a professional auditor needs to have. These can be leadership skills, tenacity, attention to detail, computer skills, and strong communication skills. Give an example that demonstrates that you have the required qualities to do the job well.

How Do You Conduct an Internal Audit?

To answer this question, walk the interviewer through your typical process. Try to keep the explanation brief while including all of the most important steps. Your answer should also highlight the specific skills you utilize to do your job well.

What is Needed to Perform an Internal Audit?

This operational question reveals to the interviewer that you are familiar with the job requirements. You should explain all of the elements you have to assemble before you can start the internal audit. These will include bank statements, deposit slips, any canceled checks, the yearly treasury report, and expense vouchers complete with bill receipts.

You should proceed with the question by explaining the steps you take to obtain all of the necessary documents. This will include liaising with the treasurer and other members of the accounting team. Your answer should highlight your strong communication skills and attention to detail.

What Do You Do After an Internal Audit?

When answering this question, begin by providing a brief outline of what you do after an internal audit. You should then explain the key actions in detail and highlight why they are particularly important. Try to provide a direct example of how and why you personally do those things.

How Do You Process Vouchers and Checks in an Internal Audit?

This is another operational question that reveals your knowledge of the job and your skill. You need to briefly outline all the details that are involved in processing vouchers and checks. You then need to highlight the importance of these details and the steps you take to perform them well.

What are Substantive Tests?

You should begin answering this operational question by providing a brief explanation of substantive tests. Outline why these tests are used and why they are so important. Reveal how the tests apply to the auditing process and your success in using them well.

What are the Purposes of INTOSAI and ISA 610 Standards?

Again, you should provide a clear and concise explanation of the standards and why they are important. This will demonstrate your knowledge of the standards and how they apply to your job. Try to conclude with a working example of a time when you have followed the standards to good effect.

What are the Differences between a Regulatory or Statutory Audit and a Performance Audit?

This question is designed to test your knowledge and your ability to explain what you do to good effect. Your answer to this question will demonstrate that you have the necessary skills in both types of audits. Provide an example that presents your key skills in the best possible way.

Explain the Difference Between an Internal Audit and an External Audit?

As an auditor, you should be very familiar with both internal and external audits. You should be able to explain the differences between the two types of audits as well as their similarities. You also need to include details of how you personally conduct both types of audits.

What is ISO 9001:2000?

This is an operational question that is asked to test your knowledge of ISO 9001: 2000. You should begin by providing a clear and concise explanation of ISO 9001: 2000. You should go on to explain why it is so important and how you personally use it in your job role as an auditor.

Describe Your Daily Routine as an Auditor

This question gives the interviewer an insight into how you do your job on a daily basis. When answering the question, you should highlight both your skills and your passion for the job. Explain the steps that you take to manage your daily tasks to ensure that each task is performed well.

How Do You Remain Motivated at Work?

This behavioral question is designed to reveal the ways in which you do your job. By the time you reach the behavioral questions, the interviewer is likely to be convinced that you have the necessary knowledge. It is now time to highlight your passion for the job and the soft skills that you use to do it well.

When answering this question, make it clear that your work interests and inspires you. You can give examples of aspects of the job that you particularly enjoy and look forward to. Highlighting the importance of teamwork in staying motivated will demonstrate that you can work well with your colleagues.

Describe a Time When You Failed in Your Job

How you answer this question will reveal a lot about your personality and passion for the job. No matter how skilled and talented you are, nobody is successful all of the time. However, the way in which you handle failure and learn from it demonstrates your value as an employee.

It is important to answer this question honestly without giving excuses. Give a direct example from early on in your career and identify the specific reason why you were not successful. You should then explain what you learned from the failure and how you ensured that it did not happen again.

What is the Biggest Challenge of This Job?

It is important to acknowledge that not all aspects of the job are a walk in the park. You should be able to highlight a particular area of the job that can be challenging at times. Your answer should go on to reveal the strategy that you utilize for dealing with the challenge.

This question allows you to highlight your problem-solving skills to the best possible effect. When choosing a challenging aspect of the job, make sure it is something that is relatable. Provide at least two methods of tackling the challenge to make sure that it does not interfere with your work.

What Major Challenges Did You Overcome During Your Last Job?

This question is also designed to discover how you handle challenges in the workplace. You can start by identifying at least two significant challenges that you have faced at work. Explain why these situations or aspects of the job were particularly challenging.

It is not time to show how you rose above those challenges and tackled them in the best way possible. This shows that you are able to deal with tricky situations at work without crumbling under the pressure. Highlight the special skills that allow you to take even the most difficult situations in your stride.

Do You Prefer Working Alone or as Part of a Team?

This question is asked in order to determine whether you will be the right fit for the company. Auditors need to do much of their work alone and need to be able to motivate themselves and remain focused. However, it is often necessary to share office space with other workers and collaborate with different work colleagues.

When giving your answer, you should stress the importance of both working styles and your ability to excel in both. Your strong communication skills make it easy for you to collaborate with different employees when necessary. However, you are also able to remain focused on your work when there is nobody else around.

How Experienced are You at Resolving Conflicts in the Workplace?

Sharing the same working space with a group of other people can be stressful and frustrating at times. Certain colleagues may have bad habits that can make it difficult to focus on work. When conflict arises, it is important to be able to rise above it and even help resolve it if necessary.

You should begin this question by explaining the importance of harmony in the office. Explain the steps you take to help ensure that conflicts are less likely to arise. You should also highlight the skills you use to resolve conflicts when they do arise.

Are You Comfortable Holding Meetings?

This question is designed to discover if you have strong leadership skills. From time to time, it may be necessary for auditors to hold meetings with managers and clients. It is important to make sure that the auditor will be able to do this successfully without nerves getting in the way.

If possible, talk about a couple of occasions when you have had to lead meetings in the past. Highlight the types of communication and organizational skills you utilized when holding the meeting. Ideally, you should also be able to explain the positive results that were gained from the meetings.

Need More Interview Info And Advice?

That’s what we’re here for! I’ve put together some helpful resume writing guides such as the Most Important Skills To Put On A Resume, good Job Titles On Resume, what Achievements To List On Your Resume, Hobbies Interests To Put On Resume, my Motivation Letter Writing Guide, How To List Education On A Resume, and lastly, How To List References On A Resume in 2023.

Interviews are stressful so take a look at our advice on answering your questions like How Would You Describe Yourself, How Do You Handle Stress, What Are Your Career Goals, how to Answer Why Best Candidate Position, What Are You Most Proud Of, as well as how to answer Why We Should Hire You?

We’ve found some cool T-shirts and merchandise for you awesome auditors out there. Just check out the Auditor Never Wrong T-shirt, the Funny Super Cool Auditor Tshirt Gift, the Auditor Definition T-shirt Funny, the Catch Fraud Not Feelings Funny T-Shirt, the Eat Sleep Audit Repeat Auditor Funny T-Shirt, and the Auditor In God We Trust All Others We Audit T-Shirt.

Or how about a cool MYOSPARK Auditor Graduation keyring or some humorous mugs such as the Retreez Funny Mug – Be Audit You Can Be and the Funny Accountant Coffee Mug all available online today.

Final Thoughts

In the end, the interviewer is likely to ask if you have any questions. It is best to prepare at least three or four questions about the job and company that you want the answer to. However, unless you are specifically invited to, you should avoid talking about the salary at this point.

Conducting solid research into the company will guide you towards the questions that you need to ask. Your questions will reveal to the interviewer that you are truly interested in both the job and the company.

Take the time to practice your auditor interview questions and answers before the interview, and take your time when answering tricky questions.

All the very best with your Interview!