Zac Explains Audits: Volume 023

The Hidden Value of Accounting Degrees in Building Modern Audit Teams

When most people hear the word "accounting," they picture tax returns, debits and credits, and maybe a calculator humming through spreadsheets. But for anyone who's worked in internal audit leadership or is just stepping into the world of accounting, that image barely scratches the surface of what accounting actually trains you to do.

Accounting is more than a profession. It's a way of thinking. And once you've internalized it, that mindset becomes a framework you carry into every role, project, and pivot thereafter.

This post is for two types of readers:

• Those just starting out in accounting who want to understand what paths lie ahead.

• Internal audit directors and managers who want to hire, grow, and retain adaptable, modern audit talent.

When most people hear the word "accounting," they picture tax returns, debits and cre

Let's unpack how the accounting degree opens up far more doors than you think and how leaders can better harness the mindset it instills.

My Story: From Journal Entries to IT Risk

I started my journey as many do in accounting: audit in public accounting. I didn’t feel comfortable in tax, and I was (incorrectly) led to believe that tax work was for people who didn’t like talking to others. For those who know me, my head might actually implode if I can’t get the words out of it, I need to talk through ideas and with people. Now, I know that tax is a fantastic route if you want to start your own small firm or CPA practice. But for me, audit made more sense.

I went into accounting because my dad was an accountant (...with a gun! Check out the Fraud Finders newsletters for more on that story!) and my grandpa was a CPA. It seemed like a solid career choice, and I genuinely enjoyed learning how businesses worked. I was also told accounting was the "language of business," and it felt like the closest thing to a "technical" degree within the business school.

I chose to work in public accounting at a regional firm because it aligned with the lifestyle I wanted. I wasn’t thrilled by the culture of the Big 4, and after seeing how my friends came back from their internships, I didn’t want to start my career already thinking about when I'd quit.

I worked on a range of commercial and governmental financial assurance projects and later on had the opportunity to leave to assist a newly public company in their internal audit department. It felt like a cool challenge and a chance to make a big impact. I couldn’t turn it down.

That role unlocked a world of possibilities for me. It wasn’t just financials anymore, I got to work across the business. Even this newsletter is a direct result of skills i developed from the projects I worked on during that time. I also had the chance to focus more heavily on IT, which eventually became my core area.

Since then, I've run the gamut: financial audits, operational audits, IT audits, and I’ve learned something new in every one. What excites me most is that there’s always another area to explore. Today, I’m back in regional public accounting on the risk and advisory side, helping clients with everything from financial and IT audits to governance and emerging risk assessments.

Without accounting, I have no idea what my career would look like. But I know it wouldn’t be as diverse, fulfilling, or uniquely mine as it is today. But that is enough me for the day, let's get back to the article at hand!

What Accounting Actually Teaches You (That Leaders Should Care About)

An accounting degree teaches:

• Systems Thinking – Understanding how parts of a process connect and interact.

• Risk Awareness – You start spotting what could go wrong before it does.

• Documentation Discipline – Clear records, audit trails, repeatable logic.

• Framework Familiarity – GAAP, SOX, COSO; you’re trained to operate inside structured, regulated environments.

• Judgment and Materiality – You learn quickly that not every error matters equally. You get good at identifying which ones do.

These aren’t just accounting skills. These are audit skills. Risk skills. Strategy skills.

So for internal audit leaders: before you discard an applicant because they "only" have accounting experience, consider how that background shapes their thinking. You might be looking at someone who, with just a bit of support, could thrive in areas like data analytics, ESG, cyber risk, or operational audit.

Career Paths That Start With Accounting

Here’s where people with accounting degrees often go and where audit teams can pull in cross-functional insight.

1. Public Accounting

Audit, tax, and advisory. This classic route builds the technical foundation fast. Many of today’s audit directors started here, rotating through industries and controls in rapid cycles.

2. Corporate Accounting

Internal financial reporting, forecasting, cost accounting. These folks know the business from the inside and make excellent additions to internal audit functions when rotated in.

3. Internal Audit

Of course. But with evolving audit expectations (think: agility, automation, assurance mapping), we need to reframe what an internal auditor looks like. Accounting-trained minds already know how to map processes. That’s a major head start.

4. IT Audit & Cybersecurity

The jump from audit to IT audit is not as far as it seems. Understanding process logic, access controls, segregation of duties; these are natural extensions of accounting.

5. Data Analytics

Excel is the gateway drug. Add in Power BI, SQL, or even Python, and suddenly your accounting grad becomes a high-impact audit data analyst.

6. Compliance, ESG, and Risk

ESG reporting, policy controls, vendor risk management- they all benefit from professionals who know how to measure, track, and evaluate the integrity of systems.

7. Operations and Process Improvement

Accounting teaches efficiency. Accountants-turned-auditors are well positioned to identify waste, redundancy, or compliance gaps in business operations.

8. Entrepreneurship or Freelance

Side note: many accountants go solo. Bookkeeping, audit readiness consulting, process documentation, fractional CFO services. An internal audit director might be hiring one next quarter.

For Internal Audit Directors: Rethink Your Pipeline

If you're leading an audit team, this is more than a career map, it's a talent strategy. A few suggestions:

• Broaden your view of experience. Someone with strong accounting chops can learn the audit-specific parts quickly if they already understand the underlying risk logic.

• Invest in cross-training. Rotate people into ITGCs, operational audit, ESG controls. Accounting minds thrive with structure and grow fast when exposed to new systems.

• Pair junior staff with systems thinkers. People who grasp process mapping early can scale into analytics and automation.

• Revisit job descriptions. Instead of asking for "2+ years of audit experience," consider listing the skills you're truly hiring for: judgment, risk assessment, control evaluation, reporting clarity.

For Career Starters: Don’t Lock Yourself In

To the early-career folks: you don’t need to know your five-year plan. Just know this:

Accounting gives you a transferable mindset. You can go deep or pivot sideways. The doors are wider than they appear.

Want to try something new? You’re not betraying your degree. You’re leveraging it.

Final Thought: The Future of Audit Is Interdisciplinary

Internal audit is evolving. We're no longer just scorekeepers; we're advisors, analysts, and storytellers of risk. And to do that well, we need teams built on more than just checklists.

We need people who know how to think in systems. People who value structure, clarity, and risk alignment. People who ask, "Where could this break?"

Sounds like an accounting grad to me.