[Kelly_W]

Hi all,

This may be off-topic but I was hoping you could help.

I have an interview with the manager of internal audit at an oil & gas company and wanted to know what, if any, technical terms I should be familiar with.

Of course internal auditing is all about internal controls, but is there anything in particular you would look for, or expect a colleague to know, if someone was being added to your internal audit team?

Many thanks in advance.

[tough_kitty]

Wow, I know these posts are old but if someone has an interview for an Internal Auditor position and has NO idea why they prefer that position over public accounting, perhaps they should not be applying for that job at all…………..

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

Focus662: Like it was said before, make sure you know WHY you want the job! And WHY with that specific company.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

Focus662: Like it was said before, make sure you know WHY you want the job! And WHY with that specific company.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[LoveEventing]

As with any audit position, I like to see a skill for research and analysis. Show your ability to learn a large variety of things for companies in a large variety of industries. As a staff, I doubt you will be expected to be an expert in any area… but a willingness and ability to learn are key.

Assuming you are still talking about oil and gas, understand if the company you are looking at is regulated by the State, or if they are deregulated. That can make a difference in the culture of the company, the types of audits you will perform, etc. If they are regulated, understand the concept of a rate case and how rates are set and see if you can find any complaint filings with the State commission. Knowing what is currently going on with the company can lead to intelligent questions and conversations with the interviewer.

BEC - 68, 76
AUD - 90, 91
FAR - 63, 83
REG - 55, 79

FINALLY DONE!

[LoveEventing]

As with any audit position, I like to see a skill for research and analysis. Show your ability to learn a large variety of things for companies in a large variety of industries. As a staff, I doubt you will be expected to be an expert in any area… but a willingness and ability to learn are key.

Assuming you are still talking about oil and gas, understand if the company you are looking at is regulated by the State, or if they are deregulated. That can make a difference in the culture of the company, the types of audits you will perform, etc. If they are regulated, understand the concept of a rate case and how rates are set and see if you can find any complaint filings with the State commission. Knowing what is currently going on with the company can lead to intelligent questions and conversations with the interviewer.

BEC - 68, 76
AUD - 90, 91
FAR - 63, 83
REG - 55, 79

FINALLY DONE!

[tough_kitty]

LoveEventing: How do you show you have a skill for research? It's a legitimate question 🙂 I DO have research skillls but just wondering how do you convince the employer that you have those…..It probably comes up in a reply to the question you'd ask or something?

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

LoveEventing: How do you show you have a skill for research? It's a legitimate question 🙂 I DO have research skillls but just wondering how do you convince the employer that you have those…..It probably comes up in a reply to the question you'd ask or something?

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Mayo]

@Focus662, If it's a public company I think you should be aware of the PCAOB comments to the Big 4 firms on their auditing of ICFR. Although IA is not the same as public, the comments are important to understand what the PCAOB expects of ICFR audits.

Also, make sure you understand the multiple roles of IA:

-Operational audits: These are very important when a company has multiple locations and/or Lines of Business

-SOX/Internal Control audits; These can be especially important when there has been substantial acquisition activity, as aligning all these different companies under the same standards can be difficult. Many times a company is bought and will retain all or much of the old leadership. I've seen the old leadership sometimes resist changing the way they do things. So IA audits are an important tool to ensure the standards are consistent.

-Special Projects: This can include investigations of fraud brought by an employee, an area of interest by Management, or an area of interest by the Audit Committee. This will vary by company and industry. For example, I have a friend in IA at one of the top banks and he's complained before to me about pushback from everyone, politics, etc. However, I've seen that in Oil & Gas the IA role is much more appreciated as an asset instead of an encumbrance.

Hope that helps 🙂

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

@Focus662, If it's a public company I think you should be aware of the PCAOB comments to the Big 4 firms on their auditing of ICFR. Although IA is not the same as public, the comments are important to understand what the PCAOB expects of ICFR audits.

Also, make sure you understand the multiple roles of IA:

-Operational audits: These are very important when a company has multiple locations and/or Lines of Business

-SOX/Internal Control audits; These can be especially important when there has been substantial acquisition activity, as aligning all these different companies under the same standards can be difficult. Many times a company is bought and will retain all or much of the old leadership. I've seen the old leadership sometimes resist changing the way they do things. So IA audits are an important tool to ensure the standards are consistent.

-Special Projects: This can include investigations of fraud brought by an employee, an area of interest by Management, or an area of interest by the Audit Committee. This will vary by company and industry. For example, I have a friend in IA at one of the top banks and he's complained before to me about pushback from everyone, politics, etc. However, I've seen that in Oil & Gas the IA role is much more appreciated as an asset instead of an encumbrance.

Hope that helps 🙂

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[LoveEventing]

@tough_kitty: Every interviewer is going to be looking for different skills, so what I would do is know the job description really well. Before going into the interview, think of SITUATIONS where you applied each and every one of the skills they have listed on the job description.

If research and analysis is one of the skills they are looking for, you may or may not get a direct question asking about these skills. However, you will likely be asked to provide examples of situations you've been in or projects you have done at some point during the interview. This is your chance to highlight as many skills as possible, not just the ones you're specifically being asked about. For example, if they say “Give me an example of a time when you had to communicate something negative to a supervisor or management,” then you could demonstrate a lot of skills outside of just great communication skills. You might say something like, “During an audit, I had to communicate an audit finding to the Controller of the company. I performed extensive research using the Codification on the accounting regulation that was violated to prep for the meeting to make sure I was prepared for any questions the Controller had. As a result, the team had less pushback from the Controller, etc. etc.” This shows what you did, highlights your research AND communication skills, and also shows the results of your efforts.

If you are not asked to provide situations, try your hardest to answer questions with a situation anyway. It really shows your application of skills. For example, if they ask “Do you have experience with Excel?” it may be easy to give just a “Yes” or “No” response because of the way they asked the closed-ended question. Rather, you should say “Yes, I have used Excel in many projects such as when I ….”

BEC - 68, 76
AUD - 90, 91
FAR - 63, 83
REG - 55, 79

FINALLY DONE!

[LoveEventing]

@tough_kitty: Every interviewer is going to be looking for different skills, so what I would do is know the job description really well. Before going into the interview, think of SITUATIONS where you applied each and every one of the skills they have listed on the job description.

If research and analysis is one of the skills they are looking for, you may or may not get a direct question asking about these skills. However, you will likely be asked to provide examples of situations you've been in or projects you have done at some point during the interview. This is your chance to highlight as many skills as possible, not just the ones you're specifically being asked about. For example, if they say “Give me an example of a time when you had to communicate something negative to a supervisor or management,” then you could demonstrate a lot of skills outside of just great communication skills. You might say something like, “During an audit, I had to communicate an audit finding to the Controller of the company. I performed extensive research using the Codification on the accounting regulation that was violated to prep for the meeting to make sure I was prepared for any questions the Controller had. As a result, the team had less pushback from the Controller, etc. etc.” This shows what you did, highlights your research AND communication skills, and also shows the results of your efforts.

If you are not asked to provide situations, try your hardest to answer questions with a situation anyway. It really shows your application of skills. For example, if they ask “Do you have experience with Excel?” it may be easy to give just a “Yes” or “No” response because of the way they asked the closed-ended question. Rather, you should say “Yes, I have used Excel in many projects such as when I ….”

BEC - 68, 76
AUD - 90, 91
FAR - 63, 83
REG - 55, 79

FINALLY DONE!

[tough_kitty]

LoveEventing: These are really great tips! Thank you so much! I saved this info to my drafts in gmail 🙂

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

LoveEventing: These are really great tips! Thank you so much! I saved this info to my drafts in gmail 🙂

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Author]

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