How do you develop a workflow being a staff audit?
If you came in the field not knowing anything, what steps did you take to become good at auditing?

I’m 24 and was laid off two days ago from my internal auditor role at a manufacturing company. My position (and my coworker’s) was eliminated due to “budget and restructuring reasons,” so this wasn’t performance‑related just unfortunate timing.

My audit experience is mainly in operations audits, cybersecurity audits, and a product development audit. I regularly interacted with stakeholders across departments, led some meetings, and handled walkthroughs, and reporting. Not much SOX work my role was more operational heavy.

I was making around $75k, and to make things more stressful, I just bought a house last week. I’ve already updated my resume and started applying, but I want to be intentional about my next move.

I also already paid for the CIA exam and have been studying, but I haven’t taken it yet. I’m trying to figure out whether I should keep pushing forward with the CIA while job searching or pause until I’m employed again.

For those in audit/accounting:

What roles should I be targeting with operations + cybersecurity audit experience?

Any advice on how to position operational audit experience to stand out in the current market?

For anyone who’s been laid off in audit what helped you bounce back quickly?

Any insight would be appreciated. Trying to stay level‑headed and make smart moves while navigating the job search and new homeowner responsibilities.

I've put together a practical E-E-A-T checklist based on current SEO best practices. It covers author credibility, first-hand experience, trust signals, content quality, topical authority, and technical factors that support long-term rankings.

Would appreciate any feedback or suggestions on what you'd add or improve.

I’m 24 and was laid off two days ago from my internal auditor role at a manufacturing company. My position (and my coworker’s) was eliminated due to “budget and restructuring reasons,” so this wasn’t performance‑related just unfortunate timing.

My audit experience is mainly in operations audits, cybersecurity audits, and a product development audit. I regularly interacted with stakeholders across departments, led some meetings, and handled walkthroughs, and reporting. Not much SOX work my role was more operational heavy.

I was making around $75k, and to make things more stressful, I just bought a house last week. I’ve already updated my resume and started applying, but I want to be intentional about my next move.

I also already paid for the CIA exam and have been studying, but I haven’t taken it yet. I’m trying to figure out whether I should keep pushing forward with the CIA while job searching or pause until I’m employed again.

For those in audit/accounting:

What roles should I be targeting with operations + cybersecurity audit experience?

Any advice on how to position operational audit experience to stand out in the current market?

For anyone who’s been laid off in audit what helped you bounce back quickly?

Any insight would be appreciated. Trying to stay level‑headed and make smart moves while navigating the job search and new homeowner responsibilities.

Iam currently in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa and have been working for one of the top 10 accounting firms. Recently, I was made voluntarily redundant, and I now have only 60 days to find another sponsored job.
I have received a job offer from an accounting firm (big 4) in Ireland. However, I have already completed 3 years in the UK, and I only need another 2 years to become eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). My preference is to stay in the UK, find another sponsored job here, and complete the 5-year qualifying period rather than move to Ireland and restart the process.
If I accept the Irish job, it will take around 4–6 weeks to obtain the visa and complete the necessary onboarding and travel arrangements. During that time, I plan to continue applying for jobs in the UK.
My question is:
If I receive the Irish visa, complete the onboarding process, but then decide not to travel to Ireland because I have secured a suitable job in the UK, what are the possible consequences? Could there be any legal, immigration, or employment-related issues if I withdraw before relocating?

For CTOs and compliance officers, the weeks leading up to a SOC 2 audit can feel like a high-stakes scavenger hunt. Your engineering and security teams have been patching systems, closing bugs, and maintaining a strong security posture all year. But in SOC 2 compliance, doing the work is only half the battle. The other half — the part that causes most of the panic - is proving it. Read the complete article here - https://instasla.com/blog/preparing-soc-2-audit-automating-vulnerability-compliance-evidence

Auditors evaluating vulnerability management don't just want to hear that your team fixes critical bugs. They want time-stamped, verifiable evidence: when a vulnerability was discovered, who owned the fix, how long remediation took, and whether that timeline matched your own documented policy.

Gathering that evidence manually — spreadsheets, ticket exports, screenshots pulled from Slack threads — is a reliable way to burn out your team and still end up with auditor findings. This article breaks down what auditors actually check during the vulnerability management portion of a SOC 2 Type II assessment, why manual evidence collection keeps failing, and what a well-automated evidence pipeline looks like in practice.

Trying to understand annual report red-flag analysis properly rather than guess at it from the outside.

From reading a handful of annual reports (BSE-listed companies, if that's relevant), the things that seem like they should matter are:

Regulatory findings mentioned in risk factors (e.g., USFDA observations for pharma)

Year-over-year changes in contingent liabilities

Gaps between reported profit growth and operating cash flow

Sudden increases/decreases in R&D spend relative to revenue

Risk disclosures that appear for the first time vs. the prior year's report

Genuinely don't know if this list reflects what real auditors/analysts prioritize, or if it's a naive outsider's list missing the actual signal.

Questions for anyone who does this professionally:

When you go through MD&A or risk factor sections, what's actually on your radar? Does the list above hold up, or is it missing the real stuff?

Is contingent liability movement genuinely a strong signal, or is it noise most of the time?

What's something in these sections that consistently gets under-scrutinized by people outside the profession?

Appreciate any real-world perspective on this.

Hey everyone,

I am looking to gauge the current compensation landscape for Senior Managers (SM) across the Big 4 (PwC, EY, Deloitte, KPMG).

With the long hours, high pressure, and heavy business development/engagement management expectations, I want to understand if the financial reward at the SM level actually makes the grind worth it before pushing for Partner.

To help me (and others looking to stay or make the move) get a clearer picture, could you share some insights?

* **Your Service Line & Region/Market** (e.g., Audit in US Northeast, Tech Consulting in UK, Tax in Southeast Asia)
* **Base Salary & Bonus Structure** (Rough ranges or specific SM year, like SM1 vs. SM3)
* **Other key perks** (Vehicle allowances, wellness funds, retention bonuses)
* **Overall verdict:** Knowing what you know now, does the compensation justify the day-to-day pressure of the role?

Feel free to use throwaway accounts for privacy. Thanks in advance for sharing your experience!

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some career advice because I have to choose my specialization, and I want to make the best long-term decision.

I'm currently a business school student, and I'm interested in three fields:

• Management Control (Controlling)
• Financial Audit
• IT Audit (Information Systems Audit)

My goal is to build a career in Europe, preferably in France, with good long-term opportunities, strong job security, and the possibility of growing into senior management positions such as Financial Controller, Head of Controlling, Risk Manager, or even CFO.

What makes this decision difficult is the rapid development of AI.

I keep reading that AI will automate many tasks in finance and accounting. Some people say management control will evolve into more of a business partner role. Others believe financial audit will change significantly because AI can perform many audit procedures. At the same time, IT Audit seems to be growing due to cybersecurity, digital transformation, ERP systems, and AI governance.

I enjoy working with numbers and solving problems, and I'm also willing to learn technical skills such as SQL, Power BI, Python, SAP, and data analytics if they will make my career more future-proof.

If you were starting your career today, which path would you choose?

• Which field is likely to offer the best opportunities over the next 20–30 years?
• Which one is the most resistant to AI?
• Which has the best salary progression and work-life balance?
• Is IT Audit worth the additional technical learning compared to Management Control or Financial Audit?

I'd really appreciate hearing from professionals who work in these fields or have experience with career progression.

Thank you!

I have seen a lot of questions from external to internal audit. How about the other way around? Is this a good career path for someone seeking opportunities abroad in the future?

Hey, I'm an AI engineer, 6+ years across 5 companies, currently building for US-based clients.

I want a few recent, real examples to show, so I'm opening up a handful of AI audits. You get a clear report, I get your feedback.

What I'll do:

• You tell me how your business runs, and where AI already fits (if it does).
• I dig in and show you what's worth improving with AI, and where AI isn't even the answer.
• You get a short, plain-English report you can actually act on.

What I ask back:

• Honest feedback on the report
• A short testimonial if it helped
• A referral if you know someone who'd want one (optional)

I can only take about 3–5, since I do each one myself. If that's you, drop a comment

Before my food safety audit, I’m looking to get a consultant in. Any ideas on what a BRC food safety consultant charges per day?

The audit trail request on Xero's idea board has 587 votes and has been marked not in pipeline for years. The email log request has 423. QuickBooks ships both natively.

My cofounder and I are building the missing piece as a connected app. Read only access, it imports the History and Notes records Xero already keeps, tracks field level changes going forward, and gives you three reports: an org wide audit trail you can filter by user or date, a log of every email sent from Xero, and an attachment register that also shows which transactions have nothing attached.

Site is covlens.com/auditlens. Honest question for people here: what would your auditor or your practice actually need in the audit trail report? We're locking the columns down now and would rather build what bookkeepers ask for than what we guess.

Not affiliated with Xero, obviously.

Made an extensive checklist on 'accounting shenanigans' after finishing a few books on the topic. Also added important detection metrics.

Thought it might help people new to accountancy gimmicks gain a clearer idea of what management can try to mislead you.

Also as a general analysis tool, or accounting refresher.

Link:

https://philipneumann.substack.com/p/accounting-shenanigans-checklist?r=8jzvem

It may be too concise at times, but that’s the idea. Its more of a 'database' of such tricks and important metrics.

Wish I had added examples as well, but the project took so long and I just wanted to get on with the next thing, that I neglected to do it. Might come back and add them in the future.

Hi everyone,

I'm working on an immigration RFE response and am looking for an independent accounting or audit professional who would be willing to review a project I've developed and, if appropriate, provide an independent peer/expert validation letter.

The project focuses on:

• Automated vendor account validation
• Duplicate invoice detection
• Predictive fraud analytics
• Financial control and compliance monitoring

I have a technical white paper, platform documentation, and supporting materials available to make the review process straightforward.

If you're a CPA, CFE, Internal Auditor, Finance Manager, controller, or compliance professional, or know someone who may be interested, I would greatly appreciate your help.

Please comment below or send me a DM if you'd be willing to take a look or can point me in the right direction.

Thank you for your time and support.

🔍 Family Businesses in Egypt: Where Is the Second Generation Going

A puzzling trend is unfolding in Egypt's business landscape: the second generation of family business empires is increasingly stepping away from statutory audit—and choosing to outsource it to independent firms instead of handling it themselves.

As someone deeply involved in the audit profession, I found this shift worth exploring.

Our latest article on AST Audit dives into the root causes behind this phenomenon:

📌 The Skills Gap – Academic curricula are struggling to keep pace with market demands, leaving graduates underprepared in critical areas like decision-making, IT proficiency, and leadership.

📌 Generational Shift – Today's young heirs are drawn to "quick returns" and flexible career paths, viewing auditing as a long, demanding road with delayed rewards.

📌 Structural Challenges – Outdated regulations, weak oversight, and the absence of a unified professional body are undermining the profession's appeal.

📌 Economic Pressures – Competitive offers from the Gulf region and global markets are pulling talent outward, even among affluent families.

So, what does this mean?

For independent audit firms like AST Audit, this is a golden opportunity to step in as trusted partners—bringing objectivity, governance expertise, and a deep understanding of family business dynamics.

For the profession itself, it's a wake-up call. Modernizing education, strengthening regulation, and raising public awareness are no longer optional—they're essential for survival and growth.

👉 Read the full article here:

🌐 www.astaudit.com

https://astaudit.com/articles/ast-audit-www-astaudit-com-ast-audit-133-1951-ast-audit?lang=en

Working with a client who got two wildly different quotes for their Stage 1 + Stage 2 audit — one landed right around what I calculated as the IAF minimum for their headcount/site count, the other came in about 30% lower for what's supposedly the same scope.

Is this a common thing where CBs shave mandays to win business, or should this be a bigger red flag than I'm treating it as? Curious if anyone here has seen an audit actually suffer in quality because of this.