“Finish accounting, get a job” is a piece of advice that I still remember to this day, which made a country kid like me want to go to Bangkok to study accounting at Sripatum University. From the beginning of my first year to my fourth year, I was an activity-oriented kid, not really focused on studying (hahaha). However, I was given the opportunity to intern at Central Pattana Public Company Limited and also tried being an assistant auditor. I think it was lucky to have the opportunity to try it. It made me realize that it’s not something I want to do. Also, during my fourth year, there was a subject that I didn’t really understand, which was internal auditing. Therefore, I felt like “wanting to try it” and it became the starting point since I was 22 years old when I started working as an internal auditor. Now, 15 years have passed. Today, I would like to share it as an idea for those who are interested in the career of internal auditor but don’t know where to start.
1. Start by asking yourself, “Do you want to try?” Giving yourself the opportunity to try makes us know what we like or dislike faster.
2. Understand the nature of internal audit work. You can find information on the website of the Association of Internal Auditors of Thailand. Or if you want to read about the experiences of seniors, you can join the Internal Auditor group on Facebook.
3. Choose the business you are interested in. Personally, I give it a lot of importance because internal auditors should understand the business and its risks. Also, if the organization does not give importance to internal auditors, our work will be many times more difficult.
4. In the beginning of your career, you must be very patient and pay attention to learning as much as possible because the internal audit profession requires a variety of knowledge to use in auditing, plus you must learn new things all the time (there are endless new things, haha).
5. If you know that you “like it”, don’t stop developing yourself because we believe that salary/compensation depends on experience and ability.
6. Qualifications of internal auditors that can be used to roughly evaluate yourself (if you want to try, skip this point), such as:
– Likes challenging work, not monotonous (looks like someone who gets bored doing repetitive work)
– Able to work as a team (work alone, rest)
– Like to learn new things (good at reading, good at summarizing, and able to understand quickly)
– Able to handle pressure because sometimes you may encounter difficult tasks but have little time.
– Be considerate of your colleagues and be humble. It makes you more likeable. (If you are good but have a bad attitude, no one will want to get close to you.)
Ms. Nongnapas Chaicharn (CPIAT)
Senior Audit Associate, SCB X Public Company Limited
Alumni of the Bachelor of Accountancy Program
Faculty of Accountancy, Sripathum University
