Is future of IT Auditors dark?? 1231



  • Hi,
    Just wondering, most of the auditors doing IT side of the Sox part and performing IT Auditing in the wake of lack of enough knowledge of IT operations possessed by the regular finance auditors(CPA etc), do not have finance as their backround. I know a bunch of auditors who initially were developers, but tentalising per hr rates offered to these IT Auditors forced them to jumped into fishing in the troubled water.
    I can foresee that in the time to come, the IT part of sox will be integrated with regular audit of finances and regular CPAs etc will be responsible for doing IT Auditing also. At that time, what will happen to these auditors??? I guess they will be forced to leave this field. I am concerned because my brother is one of them.
    What do you think??



  • Hi,
    I work in a big4 consulting firm. Many of the guys here are in the same position that you mentioned. But, I don’t agree with your view. Sarbanes Oxley and IT audit have together created a lot of opportunities. For techies who have got into IT auditing and having no exp in regular finance audit, now is a good time to learn about finance audit. Cos’ to the client its the expereince of the consultant that matters not his qualifications CPA, FCA etc.
    big4guy



  • I also agree with big4guy that SOX compliancy skills and knowledge are a must now for IT auditors 🙂
    Just as IT professionals must continue to learn new skills through continuing education (even on their own), the auditors assessing IT compliancy must also devote time to learning and enhancing their value as professionals. Thus, a professional will ehance their career significantly by learning all the associated controls for SOX, HIPAA, SAS 70, ISO 9000, etc., beyond the traditional skills sets associated with IT auditing.
    Had I not kept up with evolving and in-demand skills as an IT professional over the 34 years I’ve been in the profession, I would have been considered obsolete in just a few years 🙂


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