Government Auditing Jobs

We have all heard of stories like the ones recently reported about Boeing, a supplier of military aircraft to the United States. There was a charge of $ 645 for a copter part that cost another Pentagon Department $ 12.51, plus other outrageous overcharges. It is reminiscent of the days of $ 600 screw drivers at NASA.

Now to be fair to Boeing and the government, sometimes cost overruns are allowed to be charged to spare parts. The lack of knowledge by the general public on this subject gives the sense that everything the government does is wasteful. Still in many cases charges are unjustified and to find these charges is the job of government auditors.

To be an auditor the skills you need may vary. Some auditors are hired straight out of college after a background check. To be hired here you need to have a bachelors degree from college and at least a certificate in accounting. In a job like this you may be required to eventually obtain a CPA or an equivalent certification.

Other jobs require experience outside the government. Sometimes 2 years of experience, for instance, may be needed working at a military manufacturing company as a compliance auditor. This is a person who ensures that a company complies with government regulations and practices good accounting procedures.

The idea here is the same as with the Secret Service. When the Secret Service trains agents to spot counterfeit money, the agents are not shown any counterfeit money for six months. Instead they intensely study real money. The idea is that if you know a real note in every detail, the fake notes will jump out at you.

In dealing with auditing then, the best auditor may be the ones who worked for a civilian firm. He or she knows what compliance should look like because of experience.

In auditing jobs you will need computer skills, a good command of English since you will write a lot of reports and a willingness to travel. You may spend 25 % of your time on the road.

The good thing about auditing jobs is that you are not only earning a good paycheck, but serving your country. For instance, you may have a job in the process that helps ensure that effective, correctly made weapons reach our troops at a true cost. You'll earn your check from and for the taxpayers by saving the the government many times your salary as you ferret out waste.

Interestingly, government accounting and finance is not like private accounting. The government lists no assets because it is not in a for profit business. It also deals in huge sums of money which even giant multinational corporation would find unfathomable.

So, for more information on an exciting career in auditing, check out our link at www.finacialJobBank.com and at www.Nexxt.com.

By

Jeffrey Ruzicka

Jeffrey Ruzicka is a retired executive of a small company that specializes inindustrial water treatment. He lives happily with his wife in Western Pennsylvania and is a contributing writer to FinancialJobBank,FinancialJobBankBlog and Nexxt.