Internal Audit: Attractive Income or Fierce Competition?

What is internal audit? What is internal audit in English?

Internal audit is an independent, objective evaluation activity established within an organisation to examine and evaluate the activities of that organisation. This is a constructive control tool. This helps the organisation accomplish its goals by providing systematic and disciplined methods to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of the risk-management, control and governance process.

What is internal-audit recruitment like today?

The labour market for the internal-audit position is having positive changes with many attractive opportunities for those pursuing this profession.

Recruitment demand

The recruitment demand for internal auditors is rising strongly, especially at large organisations, listed enterprises and banks. According to a survey by TopCV – Vietnam’s leading recruitment platform – in 2024 there were more than 5,000 recruitment posts for the internal-audit position. This figure increased by 25% compared to the previous year.

The fields with the highest demand include: Banking and finance (35%), manufacturing and distribution (20%), real estate and construction (15%), telecommunications and technology (12%), energy and chemicals (10%), other fields (8%). In particular, commercial banks, state economic corporations and listed companies are required to have an internal-audit department according to the provisions of the Enterprise Law and related legal documents.

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The development roadmap and salary

The career-development roadmap of an internal auditor can be referred to as: Internal Auditor (0-2 years of experience) → Senior Internal Auditor (2-5 years) → Audit Supervisor (5-7 years) → Internal Audit Manager (7-10 years) → Chief Audit Executive – CAE (10+ years).

According to data from JobStreet Vietnam – a reputable international recruitment platform – the average salary in the internal-audit field is as follows:

• New internal auditor: 10-15 million VND/month
• Senior auditor: 15-25 million VND/month
• Supervisor/Team leader: 25-40 million VND/month
• Head of audit department: 40-70 million VND/month
• Chief Audit Executive: 70-150 million VND/month or higher

The role and function of internal audit

Clearly understanding the role and function of this field will help enterprises strengthen risk control, improve operational efficiency and ensure compliance with current regulations. Internal audit plays many important roles in the organisation:

• Risk-management role: Internal audit helps identify, evaluate and give recommendations to manage the risks the organisation faces. They are the third eye that helps the leadership fully see the risk picture.
• Advisory and control role: Not only detecting errors, internal audit also plays an advisory role to help improve processes, enhance operational efficiency and optimise resources.
• Examination and evaluation role: Evaluating the effectiveness of the internal-control system, compliance with internal policies and legal regulations, and the reliability of report information.
• Reporting role: Providing independent, objective information to the leadership and the board of directors about the organisation’s actual situation.

In terms of specific functions, internal audit performs:

• Auditing financial statements and the accounting situation: Ensuring internal financial statements are accurate and reliable and comply with accounting standards and company policy.
• Protecting the enterprise’s value and ethics: Detecting and preventing fraud, corruption, abuse of power and violation of business-ethics rules.
• Improving the system in the enterprise: Proposing process improvements, enhancing operational efficiency, reducing waste, optimising costs and improving corporate governance.

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The work of internal audit

Learning about the work of internal audit will help you better visualise the task of supervising and evaluating the control system. This contributes to enhancing governance efficiency in the enterprise.

• Annual audit plan: Carrying out periodic and surprise audits at departments, branches and projects according to plan or at the request of the leadership.
• Evaluating the internal-control system: You need to evaluate each department and business process such as purchasing, sales, warehouse management, cash management, credit and human resources… Detecting weaknesses and gaps that can lead to risk or fraud.
• Checking compliance: The auditor needs to check against internal policies and processes and legal regulations (tax, labour, environment, safety…). Evaluating whether the departments implement correctly according to regulations.
• Investigating special cases: You need to investigate some special issues such as suspected fraud, embezzlement and violation of ethical rules. The internal auditor usually plays the role of internal investigator in these cases.
• Making the audit report: The auditor needs to present the findings, evaluate the risks and give specific recommendations. Monitoring the implementation of the recommendations and ensuring the issues are remedied.

Does internal audit require any practice certificate?

The internal auditor is not required to have a practice certificate like an independent auditor (the practising auditor certificate – CPA – is not needed). However, to enhance professional capacity and value in the labour market, many internal auditors pursue reputable international certificates.

• CIA (Certified Internal Auditor): The certificate granted by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is the most specialised and reputable certificate for internal auditors worldwide. People with a CIA are highly valued for internal-audit knowledge and skills, usually having a salary 25-40% higher than those without the certificate.
• CPA (Certified Public Accountant): The certified public accountant qualification is also very useful, especially when working in the finance and accounting field. ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), CMA (Management Accounting) and CISA (Information Systems Audit) are also valuable supplementary certificates.

In addition, knowledge of risk management (FRM – Financial Risk Manager), law and compliance is also very important. People who possess internal-control and risk-management certificates will have an advantage in salary and promotion opportunities.

Why should you choose to study internal audit at HUFLIT?

HUFLIT is a reputable training address for those who want to pursue the internal-audit profession through the Accounting – Auditing field. This is an extremely professional learning and practice environment.

• A modern training method: HUFLIT applies a student-centred teaching method, combining theory and practice. The subjects on internal audit, internal control and risk management are taught according to international standards, using real case studies from enterprises.
• A quality learning environment: Modern facilities with practice rooms, a rich digital library and an updated learning-materials system. Students get access to professional audit software and data-analysis tools.
• Foreign-language advantage: Students are trained in specialised English in parallel, reaching TOEIC and IELTS levels and able to read and understand international audit standards and specialised materials in English – a very big advantage when working at multinational corporations.
• Enterprise connection: HUFLIT has close cooperation relationships with many enterprises, creating internship opportunities in the audit, accounting and finance departments of large companies. Many students are accepted for official employment after their internship.

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Frequently asked questions about internal audit

Below are the common questions about internal audit, helping you better understand the role, tasks and value that this department brings to an enterprise.

Is internal audit compulsory?

According to current regulations, not all enterprises are required to have internal audit. The compulsory cases include: State economic corporations, state general companies and parent companies in the parent-subsidiary model according to Decree 05/2019/NĐ-CP. Credit institutions (banks, finance companies) according to the Law on Credit Institutions. Securities companies and investment funds according to the regulations of the Securities Commission. Insurance companies according to the Law on Insurance Business.

What is the scope of work of an internal auditor?

The scope of work is very broad, covering most of the organisation’s activities: Financial audit (financial statements, accounting, tax). Operational audit (the effectiveness of production, business and management processes). Compliance audit (compliance with the law and internal policies). Information-technology audit (network security, IT systems).

Comparing the difference between internal audit and independent audit

Comparing internal audit and independent audit will help you clearly understand the difference in the goals, scope of operation and role of each type in the corporate-governance system. These two types of audit have many basic differences:

• Legal status: Internal audit is a department within the organisation, while independent audit is an external organisation.
• Nature: Internal serves the organisation’s management needs; independent serves external related parties.
• Goal: Internal aims to improve operations and manage risk; independent aims to give an opinion on the financial statements.
• Type of examination: Internal examines diversely (financial, operational, compliance, IT…); independent mainly examines the financial statements.
• Scope: Internal is broad, covering all activities; independent focuses on the financial statements.
• Focus: Internal focuses on internal control, risk and efficiency; independent focuses on the truthfulness of the financial statements.
• Reporting: Internal reports to the leadership and the board of directors; independent reports to shareholders and the public.
• Operation: Internal operates continuously all year round; independent usually once a year.

Internal audit is a highly challenging but value-rich profession, contributing to protecting and promoting the sustainable development of an enterprise. The large human-resource demand, good income and clear promotion roadmap make this field increasingly attractive. To build a solid foundation, you can learn about the Accounting – Auditing field at HUFLIT.

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