Auditor/Junior Accountant - How to become an Auditor/Junior Accountant

Auditor also designated as Junior Accountant in Central Governments Offices deals with the accounts-related matter of the departments to which they are attached. Their work profile includes taking care of the financial transaction of the departments of government they are employed. They have to take care of the resources of these departments and make sure that the sources of the departments are being used judicially and with the prior approval of the competent authorities.

Auditors are responsible for the judicious use of all the financial and another resource available to the department without any kind of discrepancies. To discharge their duties honestly, sometimes they have to take bold steps. To perform these duties is not a mean thing as sometimes they have to deal with high-profile people like a politician, public figures, and even their own bosses, etc.

Thus to discharge his duties auditor need to be intelligent, well-informed, brave, hardworking, honest as well as tactful as he has to deal with so many high-profile people that may use their influence in high echelons to save themselves and in turn prove the Auditors wrong or impartial.

To become an Auditor/Junior Accountant one has to undergo a selection process of written and oral exams conducted by the Staff Selection Commission so that only the competition among the aspirants could be selected.

Auditor/Junior Accountant Eligibility

Educational Qualification

To be eligible to become an Auditor/Junior Accountant one should hold a Bachelor's degree in any stream.

Age Limits

• The candidate must have attained the age of 18 years on 1st July of the year of examination and must not have attained 27 years of age on that date.
• The upper age limit will be relaxed by 3 years for OBC candidates and 5 years for SC/ST candidates.
• The upper age limit is also relaxed in favor of certain categories of employees working under the Government of India and Defence Services Personnel.

Auditor/Junior Accountant Required Skills

• Auditors should be able to plan, schedule, and conduct audits of businesses, agencies, schools, corporations, or others to determine compliance with laws and regulations.
• They should have knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles and practices; auditing theories and techniques; public and business administration; financial statements, ledgers, journals and reports, and analytical principles.
• They should also be able to prepare audit reports; makes recommendations concerning changes in policies or operating procedures.
• They also possess skills regarding financial records and other business records; evaluate financial controls; identify deficiencies; provide advice on requirements for compliance with existing laws, policies, and standards.

How to become an Auditor/Junior Accountant?

To become an Auditor/Junior Accountant one has to follow the given steps:

Step 1

As a first step, the aspirant has to procure the “Application Form” along with the required information from the employment newspaper generally published in the month of April. sent the filled Application form to the regional centers as mentioned.

Note: The notification for the examination with relevant details regarding rules and syllabus is published in the month of April in the 'Employment News' / 'Rozgar Samachar', 'Gazette of India', and in some leading Newspapers of the country.

Step 2

Preliminary Examination

In the month of May or June, the aspirants have to take the “Preliminary examinations” consisting of two papers. The papers are on:

Note: This exam is just a qualifying exam for the Final exam and scores obtained in this exam are not added to make the final result.

Step 3

Main Examination

Those candidates who are declared qualified in the “Preliminary examination” are supposed to take the final exam. The final examination will consist of two parts. Part A will be of written examination and second Part B will be of Personality Test:

Step 4

Personality Test

Once you are through the final stage is the interview. The aspirants are grilled in the interview to test their personality and mental ability. Then the final list of successful candidates is prepared.

Auditor Job Description

An auditor job profile is somewhat similar to an accountant, in fact, these are the two designations of the same post in some organizations. The job description of an auditor includes verifying the financial records of a company, checking the company's bookkeeping and accounting methods, and comparing the company's books with records stated in banks, creditors, brokers, etc. The main objective of an auditor is to analyze and prepare reports on profits, income tax savers, and management cut costs. The main tasks of Auditors who are operating independently are:

• To prepare a detailed audit report of the company
• To review accounts of taxpayers
• To conduct on-site audits as and when required
• To evaluate the finances of a taxpayer to find out the tax liability
• To collect and analyze the data to find out if there is any fraud, violation of laws, regulations and management policies, duplication, etc of the concerned company/organization
• To inspect the account books of a company for analyzing the transactions and efficiency of the accounting procedures
• To report to the management of the company regarding the audit results and suggest changes in the financial activities and operations of the company

Auditor Career Prospects

Auditors can be basically classified as external auditors and internal auditors. An internal auditor works like any other employee of a specific company and receives a salary and other benefits for all audit-related work. 

Whereas an external auditor is an independent auditor who audits self-employed individuals and public accounting firms. External auditors usually audit a company, once a year.

Auditor Salary

An Auditor/Junior Accountant gets a pay scale of Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000. The Government of India has fixed salary grades for its employees at various posts. Their salary keeps on changing with the new pay commission.

Note: The above scales only provide an idea of the pay scales. Different branches of the service have different scales of pay. Even personnel of the same branches may have different pay according to their area of posting and the responsibility they are holding at a particular time.

In addition to the salary Auditor/Junior Accountants receive various types of allowances such as Dearness Allowance, City compensatory Allowance, Leave Travel Allowance, Medical, and subsidized housing.