Outreach to Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Reflection for Webinar
by Grace Sim Pei Sze, School of Business and Accountancy, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
The webinar has provided me with very valuable insights on what auditors do on a day-to-day basis. I also learnt that auditors do not only work in the office, they work for a few weeks at the companies they are auditing. I also gained a more in-depth knowledge on the process of auditing and learnt to appreciate their line of work more. Since I have a little work experience as an audit intern during the last semester break, this webinar has solidified my knowledge about audit and its industry as a whole.
Another thing that I like about this webinar is when Mr Stephen Ching shared his life experiences and explained how he ventured into the auditing industry. He advised us to ask ourselves a question before deciding if we want to do audit: “Do we enjoy meeting new people?”. I believe that this question is very relevant to deciding if we want to be an auditor in the future because meeting a lot of new people and clients is part of the job. While I generally enjoy doing work independently more than meeting new people, gaining insights on the auditing industry was an eye-opening experience. Despite still looking to be an accountant in the future, I now realise that I have a lot more career pathways that I can choose from in the business industry and that I’m not limited to just a few job roles.
I have also learnt that for someone interested to be an internal auditor in the future, you have to acquire the Internal Auditor Practitioner designation. I got to know about the programme such as the details of the course and exam, and how it serves as a route to become a Certified Internal Auditor.
IIA Reflection
by Belle Ng Yoke Teng, School of Business and Accountancy, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
From Mr Koh Yong Chuan’s sharing, I was able to gain a better understanding of the role as an internal auditor, where internal auditors are part of the line of defence in pointing out blind spots and potential pitfalls for the management to act on. Internal auditors add value to the business in terms of providing assurance and advisory services and highlighting recommendations which will help to better achieve business objectives.
From the sharing by Ms Katherine Ang and Ms Natalie Goh, I got to know the differences between the routines of a corporate auditor and a big 4 auditor. As a corporate auditor, there is more time to complete audits for each client and plenty of opportunities to meet new clients. As an auditor of a big 4 firm, the work life is much more fast paced, with more learning opportunities to understand cultural norms and differences, while gaining exposure to a variety of industries.
I was happy to take away a key learning point from Mr Stephen Ching’s sharing and that is to understand my own strengths and weaknesses and build up on them. This will guide me to pursue a career path that I will enjoy rather than work in a job merely to avail myself to certain advantages or benefits which the company provides. He reminded us all to start thinking about our career options seeing our phase will shift soon to the working world.
Last but not least, I was exposed to the skill set and qualifications required to be an internal auditor, where communication, listening, analytical and writing skills are key. I find it interesting that analytical skills are required seeing as I originally thought auditors require more of writing and communication skills. So, finding out the importance of data analytical skills and the benefits it brings about is actually interesting and enlightening for me.
Overall, I find this talk insightful as it opened my eyes to the world of internal audit. I am looking forward to AUDIT1 and AUDIT2, where I hope explore deeper the realm of audit.
