Financial auditor to accounting analyst
A financial auditor already meets 54% of what the accounting analyst role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
48.4/ 100
1 How much of what an accounting analyst is expected to do is already part of a financial auditor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the accounting analyst role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An accounting analyst role treats 11 of its required skills as things a financial auditor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- accounting entries
- accounting techniques
- analyse financial performance of a company
- analyse financial risk
- check accounting records
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An accounting analyst role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a financial auditor background worth leading with.
- already held ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information information skills
- already held identify if a company is a going concern information skills
- already held accounting entries business, administration and law
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions information skills
- already held national generally accepted accounting principles business, administration and law
- already held check accounting records information skills
All 19 carried skills, including the 11 the accounting analyst role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn create a financial report required
- still to learn analyse business processes required
- still to learn monitor financial accounts required
- optional, not held forecast account metrics optional
- optional, not held perform forensic accounting optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
- optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- still to learn identify process improvements required
- still to learn explain accounting records required
- still to learn supervise accounting operations required
- optional, not held manage accounts optional
- still to learn draft accounting procedures required
- optional, not held review investment portfolios optional
- optional, not held global standards for sustainability reporting optional
- optional, not held investment analysis optional
- optional, not held treasury management system optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- optional, not held public offering optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an accounting analyst role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 create a financial report practise this
- 02 identify process improvements practise this
- 03 analyse business processes practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 19 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held accounting entries knowledge
- already held accounting techniques knowledge
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held analyse financial risk skill
- already held check accounting records skill
- already held financial department processes knowledge
- already held financial statements knowledge
- already held international financial reporting standards knowledge
- already held interpret financial statements skill
- already held national generally accepted accounting principles knowledge
- already held advise on financial matters skill
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions skill
- already held ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information skill
- already held evaluate budgets skill
- already held follow the statutory obligations skill
- already held identify if a company is a going concern skill
- already held liaise with shareholders skill
- already held make strategic business decisions skill
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held global standards for sustainability reporting optional
- optional, not held investment analysis optional
- optional, not held treasury management system optional
- optional, not held forecast account metrics optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- optional, not held manage accounts optional
- optional, not held perform forensic accounting optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
- optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- optional, not held public offering optional
- optional, not held review investment portfolios optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
41 held skills the accounting analyst role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on credit rating skill
- not needed by the target role advise on tax planning skill
- not needed by the target role arrange audit skill
- not needed by the target role banking activities knowledge
- not needed by the target role commercial law knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with banking professionals skill
- not needed by the target role conduct financial audits skill
- not needed by the target role control financial resources skill
- not needed by the target role core banking software knowledge
- not needed by the target role corporate law knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop audit plan skill
- not needed by the target role develop financial statistics reports skill
- not needed by the target role disseminate information on tax legislation skill
- not needed by the target role economics knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial jurisdiction knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial products knowledge
- not needed by the target role fraud detection knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify accounting errors skill
- not needed by the target role insolvency law knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect tax returns skill
- not needed by the target role internal auditing knowledge
- not needed by the target role international tariffs knowledge
- not needed by the target role joint ventures knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain financial records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain records of financial transactions skill
- not needed by the target role maintain trusts skill
- not needed by the target role mergers and acquisitions knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor banking activities skill
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role obtain financial information skill
- not needed by the target role pose questions referring to documents skill
- not needed by the target role prepare financial auditing reports skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role produce statistical financial records skill
- not needed by the target role provide support in financial calculation skill
- not needed by the target role tax legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role trace financial transactions skill
1 further entry not listed here
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held global standards for sustainability reporting optional
- optional, not held investment analysis optional
- optional, not held treasury management system optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- optional, not held public offering optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
Other moves recorded from financial auditor
- audit supervisor 61% covered · moderate
- financial fraud examiner 57% covered · moderate
- bank treasurer 54% covered · moderate
- financial controller 53% covered · moderate
- accounting manager 46% covered · substantial
- accountant 46% covered · substantial
- bookkeeper 41% covered · substantial
- bank account manager 39% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a financial auditor become an accounting analyst?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A financial auditor already covers 54% of what an accounting analyst is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 11 of which the accounting analyst role treats as required.
What skills does a financial auditor need to become an accounting analyst?
7 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is create a financial report.
How hard is the move from financial auditor to accounting analyst?
Its learning distance is 48.4 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.