First career moves in financial services - Internal Audit

Unsure about where your career in financial services can take you? BDO’s Binit Shah shares his career journey so far.

Find out what you like doing best, and get someone to pay you for doing it. That’s what I first thought when I passed my ACA exams and started my search for that vibrant and fulfilling opportunity. The problem was that whilst passing my exams was no mean feat, up until now, my path was quite clear - everything from my GCSEs to my professional accounting qualification was neatly mapped out for me. My next move was not as clear.

Newly qualified ACAs have a multitude of options open to them, and it can be confusing to try and work through the various paths available. When I was deciding what to do next I thought; I have the opportunity to use my ACA, and my International Business Management degree to a certain extent, to pursue a career in a finance function and eventually become a CFO. Or, wait, shall I be bold, chase the money, and become a fixed income trader? I myself was not sure of what to do, so I chose Internal Audit. 7 years later, I am still an Internal Auditor and I now say Internal Audit chose me.

Why Internal Audit, and what does a typical day look like?

A typical day for me does not exist. This is because every day is different in a professional services firm such as BDO. The clients we work with are all different i.e. banks, insurers and investment firms, the challenges they face are different, the technology they use are different, the individuals I interact with are different (ranging from CEOs and Non-Executive Directors to analysts), the way in which they interpret and approach new regulations are different and finally, the offices I visit on a daily basis are, you guessed it – different. Whilst most my clients are based in London they often have branches or ‘hubs’ all over Europe which means my job requires an element of travel. By understanding and appreciating these differences (including the cultural differences), my role as an Internal Auditor becomes fulfilling, exciting and most importantly rewarding.

Whether I am working on an outsourced internal audit contract (this is where we effectively act as the firms outsourced Internal Audit function) or on a co-sourced contract (where I am supporting a client’s in-house Internal Audit function) my clients expect me to improve their control environment. In order to do this, I need to share industry best practice and regulatory insights on a regular basis.

By working with a variety of clients, the exposure I gain enables me to learn new things. Through this limitless exposure, sharing industry insights becomes second nature – hence the more exposure I get, my job becomes that much easier.

So why have I stayed in audit? Well, I like the fact that this is the only role that enables you to see first-hand how a business operates end to end. Where there is a risk, there is usually an audit need and so there is always an opportunity to learn new skills whilst at the same time add value to the business.

OK, so Internal Audit sounds slightly exciting. What else do I need to know?

Internal Audit is no longer just about testing processes and controls. Here’s four things you need to know to excel in this career:  

• A key skill of internal auditors is to be able to ask the right questions and query the answers given.
• Internal Auditors should have a voice at the top table. You need to be confident in speaking to all levels of management, no matter the seniority in the organisation.
• It’s also important to note that Internal Auditors have a much wider remit and objective than External Auditors. We have unrestricted access to all business lines and should effectively have a view and an opinion on every area the business operates in and not just the finance function - now that is a wide remit.
• Finally, Internal Audit is no longer seen as a ‘policing’ function. Internal Auditors are seen as advisers of the business and are critical to protecting organisations as they grow.

Being an auditor is about keeping all employees, management and the Board at the top of their game! Are you game?

Contact details

Binit Shah (ACA), Senior Manager, Financial Services Advisory, binit.shah@bdo.co.uk