Diane Becker is a senior internal audit/technology consultant in Protiviti's Dallas office. We asked her the following questions to get an idea of what her day to day responsibilities are as an internal audit professional. Below you will find her responses and advice if you are thinking about entering into this profession.
1. What was your college and your major?
Baylor University – BBA/Masters in Accountancy with a concentration in Management Information Systems
2. What courses did you find the most helpful to prepare you for your current position? What advice do you have for students about choosing a major and choosing courses?
I go between Technology and Internal Audit clients. On any project, I generally am brought on as the expert to help the rest of the team understand the Accounting process from start to finish; so my accounting classes were extremely helpful. Also, in today’s environment, Information Systems play a huge role in our daily activities. I would recommend everybody to take some Information Systems classes, especially an Information Systems Auditing class for those going into Internal Audit.
3. What are your primary work activities on a day to day basis?
It depends greatly on the project, whether it’s Internal Audit or Technology.
- For Internal Audit projects, my day generally includes meeting with process owners to gain an understanding of their roles, designing tests of controls, testing the controls and presenting the results to management.
- For Technology projects I typically do data analytics with ACL or implementing SAP’s Business Planning and Consolidation solution. For both of these, my roles include meeting with our client contact to determine the needs for the solution, working with my team to design the solution and then implementing and testing the solution.
4. What industries have you worked in?
I have worked in Retail, Manufacturing, Distribution, Energy, Advertising and Not-for-Profit.
5. What do you enjoy most about your profession?
What I enjoy most:
- Each project brings new needs and learning opportunities.
- The people on my teams are all highly motivated and enjoyable to work with.
- The opportunities to work with high-level executives at our clients.
What I enjoy the least:
- Difficult clients. Generally as a whole my clients have been excellent, but there’s always that one person who thinks they can do it better and will oppose everything you do. It makes you appreciate your team that much more.
6. What advice would you give to students interested in the internal audit/risk consulting business? Anything you would do different or change? Any success strategies to share?
- Advice to students - Use your internship to help determine the direction you would like your career to go. Take two internships if you feel the need. I used my internship to explore a field I wasn’t sure I was interested in and I’m glad I did because I learned that career is not for me and was able to find my home in consulting.
- Anything that I would do differently or change – While in college, I wish I had taken advantage of the networking events in order to build my interpersonal skills. It was intimidating to start in a professional environment learning new skills while also learning to communicate in a professional environment.
- Success Strategies – Look for networking opportunities. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, we’ve all been there and would love to help you. Learn and absorb as much as you can.