External audit certifications are considered to be fairly difficult. However, a promising Career can be expected once you have qualifications and reasonable experience. Here is the list of certifications that can help to become an auditor.
However, it’s important to note that auditors can be of different types depending on their nature of work. For instance, an auditor may specialize in system audit, bank audit, internal audit, external audit, and other areas.
The mentioned certifications vary in cost, the number of examinations, and experience requirements. Let’s discuss detailed aspects of external audit certifications.
- Chartered Professional Accountant – CPA`
- Chartered Accountants – CA
- Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – ACCA
- Certified Internal Auditor – CIA
- Certified Information system Auditor – CISA
- Certified Bank Auditor – CBA
1-Charted Professional Accountant – (CPA)
CPA is a prestigious certification and authorizes individuals in the United States to engage in public accounting services. The designation of CPA is used by multiple countries including United States, Canada, Australia, etc.
To become a CPA, you need to pass a series of technical examinations and fulfill the criteria for the experience.
There are multiple benefits of becoming a CPA that open doors for a multiple finance career. It’s important to note that the work of CPA is not limited to the public accounting and audit but management, Fintech, internal audit, risk advisory, financial consultancy, and areas of financial intelligence and financial advisory, etc.
2-Chartered Accountants – (CA)
The term Chartered Accountants is used in different countries of the world to represent licensed professional accountants. These countries include the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, India etc.
Chartered Accountant is a prestigious and highly paid qualification. The examination and experience criteria are tough, and few manage to qualify as Chartered Accountants.
Here are some of the reliable sources to get customized information.
- Institute of Charted Accountants of England and Wales
- Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand
- Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
- South African institute of chartered accountants.
- Chartered accountants of Ireland
- Institute of chartered accountants of India.
- Institute of chartered accountants of Pakistan
3-Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – (ACCA)
ACCA is a global body of professional accountants. Their members are spread worldwide, making it a global body in the true sense. Further, their roots in the employers’ panel are strong globally.
To become an ACCA, one has to pass certain examinations and gain on-the-job experience. An entry route of ACCA is soft, and you can enter in the certification after O level, A level, and graduation. However, if you are entering after the A/O level, you need to pass additional examinations of Foundation in Accountancy. On the other hand, graduates directly get entry in the qualification.
There are thirteen papers in total, and nine of them assess your knowledge and skill at the fundamental level. On the other hand, you need to clear four out of six optional exams at the professional level.
In addition to these examinations, there is a requirement to undergo three years of training under a qualified Accountant.
4-Certified internal auditor – (CIA)
The professionals with CIA designation have a deep understanding to perform an internal audit. They are experts in risk assessment, understanding applied controls, and recommending how to enhance internal controls.
CIA’s are considered to be technically competent in the following areas.
- Governance and risk management.
- Internal controls
- Advance taxation
- Compliance and applicable regulations.
- Advanced financial reporting
- Operational risk assessment
- Payroll and processing
- Business processes
- Impressive value addition
- Operational monitoring
5-Certified Information system Auditor – (CISA)
CISA designation is a global qualification for the information system auditor. They are concerned about the risk in the information system. Its scope can be from internal frictions in the system to external hackers. For instance, IT auditors need to assess applied organizational controls like access controls, firewalls, anti-virus installations, and other applied protection from extrusion, etc.
6-Certified bank auditors-(CBA)
CBAs primarily assess bank records in terms of accuracy and completeness. They also assess if bank/financial intuition has complied with the applicable financial regulations. So, they acquire a sound understanding of the banking processes and implement changes to enhance overall banking function.
A degree in accounting is required to enter the certification. Further, technical competence and experience criteria need to be fulfilled for obtaining external audit certifications.
