Audit tips to help you in your auditing career
- Be intentional. Being an auditor is a significant responsibility and an opportunity to serve the public by giving them the assurance they need to make important decisions. It is therefore important to be intentional about the impact you want to have as an auditor, and to reflect on what the role of an auditor means to you as an individual.
- Use your strengths. To be an effective auditor, it is essential to know your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Providing the best service to the public requires you to deliberately use your strengths while managing your weaknesses. Focusing your energy on using your strengths to serve will ensure that you are productive and efficient.
- Be healthy. One of the most important aspects of being an effective auditor is taking care of your health. Our mental health is crucial, because we are exposed to a lot of information and work with different people. Looking after your health enables you to remain objective.
- Be objective. Being an auditor comes with many threats to your personal objectivity and independence. It is important to be vigilant every day and understand what could threaten them. Threats can start small but have a significant impact on your future as an auditor. It is essential to apply your professional judgement in your daily work.
- Embrace change. Change is inevitable: Our profession has many standards updates and changes in the environment we work in. So, we need to become comfortable with change. We need to be proactive and willing to be forward-thinking professionals.
- Be self-aware. The work we do as auditors puts us in a position of trust. This trust calls for an auditor who is self-aware. I advise you to invest in your personal development: Take your © Copyright MGI RAS 2023 Page 2 of 2 personal learning journey and align it with your vision and your role as an auditor. This means that studying and improving yourself will become a holistic approach and a lifelong exercise.
- Keep learning. I, personally, have adopted a 3Ls approach (Life–Long–Learning), where I use learning as a tool for development and growth, in both my professional and my personal space. I think of it in the short, medium and long term.
- Differentiate yourself. Ask yourself what type of auditor you want to differentiate yourself as. The value you want to add will be determined by your learning and development journey.
- Specialise in good governance. As auditors, we are the custodians of good governance. Good governance comes from an understanding of business, controls, culture, IT, risk management, and strategy. So choose an area of focus and pursue it as a specialist while understanding the rest of the pillars of good governance.
- Have an outside life. It is also essential to have an area of interest that keeps you sane. Yes, good governance is important, but you also need to be relatable with matters that affect you socially. Your passion and interest also feed your productivity.
- Love your work. Overall, you need to love what you do as an auditor, and do it with knowledge, diligence, and above all, become a servant for the public as you proudly add value to all the stakeholders involved
By Millycent Mashele
