Internal auditors need a wide range of skills in order to carry out their role.

They must:

• have sound commercial awareness
• enjoy working with people at all different levels of the organisation
• have strong communication skills, both written and oral
• be able to interpret figures and statistics
• have strong analytical and problem solving skills
• be able to work as part of a team or alone
• have a flexible approach to work
• be able to work to tight deadlines and under pressure to deliver results
• be able to multi-task and prioritise
• be able to use their initiative
• be able to use a range of computer packages

Internal auditors should:

• be ambitious, energetic and ready for a challenge
• have an enquiring mind
• enjoy working with figures and statistical data
• understand organisational structure
• have a commercial focus

Internal auditors gain the opportunity to practise their skills in a wide variety of environments in the course of their work.

Ruth Wilkinson - Trainee Auditor, HBOS Plc

"After completing my degree, I didn't really know what career I wanted. I did some research and found the Internal Audit Graduate Scheme with HBOS advertised on my university careers website. Not knowing what internal audit was, I did some research and found that many of the skills required matched to some of the skills I had acquired through my degree. When I went for my interview, the team was incredibly friendly and the job sounded really interesting, allowing me to gain a view of the bank as a whole."