If you’re an auditor and you’re wondering how to take greater ownership of your career, here’s some advice.
Find out what your boss needs.
It’s a simple, universal idea that we sometimes forget.
Often, we think we know. The boss needs me to perform this audit test. Or draft this report. Or complete the audit plan within budget.
And you might be right. At least superficially.
But, as auditors, we need to always be thinking about more than the easy, surface answer.
Sure, if you’re a staff auditor, your senior needs you to perform the audit test. But, maybe, there’s a lot more. Maybe you’ll save your senior a lot of review time if you truly understand why you’re doing that test. So, do your own research. Talk to people. 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸 what you should be seeing. And what you should not be seeing. Take the initiative to investigate any ‘oddities’. Know whether or not these ‘oddities’ are a real problem or not before your senior looks at your work. And, please come forward if you’re reaching a point of diminishing returns on your test, so that maybe you can end your test early and move onto something more important.
Simply doing your job is adding value at Level 1. There’s nothing wrong with that, exactly.
Level 1 is ‘meeting job requirements’. That will likely keep you employed. But it’s not going to move you to the top of the list when the next interesting opportunity comes along.
I’ll talk more about Levels 2, 3, and 4 in future posts.
But the basic way you prepare yourself for higher levels of value is to understand what your boss needs. Understand 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 responsibilities. Understand 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 challenges. In everything you do, don’t simply do what you were asked; provide a more complete deliverable that helps your boss overcome their challenges and meet their responsibilities.
This universal idea applies to all of us at every level. But, like I said, sometimes we forget the obvious, easy stuff.
The key is to know – for sure – what your boss needs. Talk with your boss. Develop a relationship where you’re focused on 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 success. Then get creative. Innovate. Teach yourself the skills to make your boss’s life easier. You may even be able to introduce some new ideas that your boss never considered, but will be hugely beneficial.
That’s how you get ahead.
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