This finance and accounting graduate is now an IT auditor, even with having no background in the area, Parenting & Education and learning Information & Leading Stories

As extra firms and corporations go electronic in the new ordinary, getting a protected and effective IT infrastructure is more and more vital for company survival – and achievements – for the duration of these difficult situations. And playing a important purpose in maintaining IT devices resilient is that of an IT auditor.

In his prior position as a money auditor, Mr Dominic Ho scrutinised economic statements to ensure they were being correct and fair. Now an IT auditor with accounting business BDO LLP, the 26-12 months-old is responsible for analysing and examining his clients’ technological infrastructure in relation to their economical reporting closing method. He does this to recognize possible weaknesses or gaps in IT-linked controls for greater risk management and compliance. 

“IT auditing is a market discipline of perform which is turning out to be at any time additional critical and in demand from customers as technological innovation improvements,” he says. 

In the beginning, the accounting and finance graduate from the Singapore campus of James Prepare dinner College (JCU) believed his interest lay in finance audit. Four months into his to start with whole-time role at a nearby accounting business, he received an curiosity in IT auditing and made a decision to make the switch.

His greatest stumbling block was his deficiency of expertise and track record in IT. He graduated with a Bachelor of Business enterprise (Majoring in Accounting and Finance) from JCU in 2017. How would he be equipped to make a easy changeover from finance to IT auditing?  

Following all, these are two vastly various career roles.

“In finance audit, I predominantly carried out checks of aspects, these types of as checking files to guarantee that the figures in the fiscal statement tally and are correct,” he points out. 

“However, IT auditing will involve pretty a distinctive skillset. I have to evaluate and evaluate IT units to assure adequate inner controls are in put and functioning successfully. These checks contain the evaluation of managed modifications, sensible entry and other IT-associated normal controls to assure that controls laid out by administration are working proficiently.”

The first few months were being a steep learning curve. But with the guidance of his supervisor and right after finishing his first several career assignments, Mr Ho says he is finding the cling of his new job. In addition to accomplishing a whole lot of reading up and research on his personal, Mr Ho’s associate and administrators also guideline him so that he can complete his greatest at do the job. “It gets much better with experience and perseverance is critical,” Mr Ho provides.

Attaining transferable expertise

Does Mr Ho feel his 3 decades pursuing an accounting and finance diploma at JCU has absent to waste now that he is not in the identical industry any more?  

“I really don’t see it as a squandered experience. It broadened my considering and allowed me to attempt items that I would never have experienced the possibility to encounter.

“The transition from finance to IT auditing is fairly comparable to how we opt for new topics throughout our education days and enter an unfamiliar classroom atmosphere.”

In addition to expertise in finance and accounting, Mr Ho is notably grateful that his working experience at JCU instilled in him the way of thinking of lifelong learning so that he is speedy to adapt to new conditions.  

His class at JCU also educated him in the critical competencies to be a excellent auditor, no matter of which sector he is in. As a result of the coursework he did in auditing lessons, he created a keen eye for depth to spot any exceptions or discrepancies in the provided evidence, as perfectly as experienced scepticism to detect any misrepresentation.

Through multi-disciplinary undertaking modules, he also designed good documentation expertise. This is vital as it makes it possible for the particular person looking through the audit functioning papers and the last report to very easily fully grasp the pertinent particulars of major transactions.

At JCU, Mr Ho also discovered soft techniques that make him a great staff player.

With JCU’s numerous global university student cohort, Mr Ho loved finding to know people today from diverse cultures and walks of daily life. Doing work with foreign friends on group assignments also boosted his interpersonal interaction competencies. Now, he finds he is equipped to communicate efficiently with his customers – equally neighborhood and intercontinental – so that he has a better understanding of the systems he is testing. 

While quite a few JCU lecturers still left a powerful effect on him, business enterprise lecturer Ratna Devi influenced him the most. “Her enthusiasm for accounting piqued my fascination in the line of get the job done and developed the foundation of my information. In course, she was upbeat and usually experienced a very good feeling of humour. I normally seemed ahead to her classes.”

Mr Ho advises accounting graduates to start out out in an audit business to get an comprehension of as quite a few industries as attainable, in advance of becoming a member of a individual industry or business. 

Referring to accounting rules Intercontinental Financial Reporting Criteria, he adds: “As an auditor, you will also be able to familiarise oneself with the distinct IFRS benchmarks, attain experience in communicating with higher management and acquire time management capabilities. 

“There is no question that daily life in an audit company is usually tiring and arduous, but the experience is worthwhile. We are younger and just starting out in the workforce, so we have the power to persevere.”

Study far more about JCU’s Bachelor of Commerce and its majors which contain Economics, International Trade, Accounting, Fiscal Management, Banking and Finance.