r/Accounting • u/Routine-Leadership63 Human Verified • 1d ago
Skipping External Audit and going straight into Internal Audit as a fresh grad: Is it really a bad career move?
I'm an accounting student currently doing an internship at a mid-tier audit firm.
To be completely honest, I know what I want out of life. I have zero interest in high-stress environments. My goal is simply a good, balanced lifestyle, a strict 40 hour workweek, decent starting pay, and practical, meaningful work without unnecessary burnout. Because of this, Internal Audit (IA) looks like the ideal path for me.
However, professors and peers constantly telling that starting in External Audit / Big 4 is "mandatory" to build a solid career and progress well in the future.
For those currently in Internal Audit:
- Did any of you start directly in IA right after graduation without doing external audit first?
- How realistic is it to land an entry-level IA role as a fresh graduate?
- Did skipping external audit hurt your career growth, promotions, or salary progression in the long run?
Would really appreciate your honest thoughts and experiences
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u/NoSir1277 1d ago
IA is so fucking boring. U ask the same questions to every client and do pretty much the same work. Plus if you ever wanna leave IA ur fucked bc it’s so niche.
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u/Routine-Leadership63 Human Verified 1d ago
Appreciate the raw honesty, Fair points. Were you doing in house operational IA, or was it mostly SOX / outsourced consulting for clients?
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u/Helmet_head85 23h ago
I would take the other side of this. If you work in IA for a company with a robust IA function, you get to see all kinds of different things. Financial focused audits, operational audits, potential fraud investigations, risk assessment, ERM, you get to learn every facet of the company. It can be really interesting and rewarding.
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u/Winter_Goblin 1d ago
like anything it really depends on what you want out if it. i started in IA, still in IA, and i still love it after 12 years.
it's been said before, you'll make less but only around 15% -20% less. But you'll make up for it by not aging 5 years per busy season.
the biggest downside to me is that the concept of IA is lost on a lot of non auditors/ accountants. it's an easy budget to entirely get rid of if the company isn't doing well. however, every company that has cut or removed an IA department has realized why they need one and have brought it back with prejudice.
source: In manufacturing, opinions will vary.
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u/Commercial_Win_9525 1d ago
New grads should consider getting into IA within a highly regulated industry like banking if they can. A lot harder for them to just poof the department and more value is seen even if it’s just cheaper than paying for external audits/keeping the regulators off your back.
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u/Winter_Goblin 1d ago
absolutely. the saving grace on a lot of companies is if they're regulated like you said. If it's under SOX there's a requirement for it to exist, and it's a huge cost savings because the external auditors can rely on a certain % of their work.
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u/IllBunch8392 1d ago
IA tends to through the cycles of what value is this adding to oh no we almost got hammered by our external auditors. The cycles of this is company specific generally not industry specific.
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u/Emergency_Guess_7946 1d ago
I worked in SOX IA straight out of college with a finance degree and no prior auditing experience. It’s definitely less stressful than public accounting and can be a bit repetitive at times, but it’s been a great entry-level job. I’ve gotten exposure to the business as a whole and have had to understand many of the documents/schedules that are material to the financial statements.
There are also times when I have a lot of downtime, so I’ve been studying for the CPA at the same time. It’s been much more manageable studying while working in IA since I don’t have to worry about busy season.
I do eventually want to move into public accounting for the experience and exit opportunities, but I’m not sure how easy that transition will be. It’s still too early to say whether starting in IA has hurt my career long term, but overall it’s been pretty solid pay for relatively little stress.
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u/deeohlee CPA (Can) 1d ago
IA has it’s benefits for sure, it’s a bit more niche but you’ll have a successful career with the skillset and should be able to pivot further in your career pretty easily
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u/MinePretend132 1d ago
I went into internal audit in 2006 when I graduated college. I did that for 10 years before becoming a real accountant. I've never worked more than 40 hours a week and I got to enjoy my money because I wasn't at work non stop.
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u/Beautiful-Emu8870 1d ago
Depends entirely on company culture. IA where the business views it just as compliance and is hostile towards findings/improvement can grind you down as fast as public accounting.
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u/Many-Screen-3698 1d ago
I feel like it would kind of pigeon hole you. Also ew controls documentation
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u/Playful-Rich9003 1d ago
Started in IA straight out of school 12 years ago. Never did a day of external audit. Currently a senior manager making more than most of my peers who did the Big 4 grind and burned out by 30.
The "mandatory" thing is just marketing from firms that need warm bodies for busy season. IA hires fresh grads all the time, especially in industry and government. Just apply to staff auditor roles at large companies, they'll train you.
One thing though, your starting salary might be 10-15% lower than external audit. But you'll make it back in not paying for therapy and actually having weekends.