Internal audit gives the board independent assurance that risk management and controls actually work. The CIA (Certified Internal Auditor), granted by the IIA, is the credential hiring managers look for past the staff level. Entry-level internal auditors start around $60,000 total compensation, the median runs about $102,000, and the senior manager and director band reaches roughly $160,000.
Where the jobs are
Every US public company keeps an internal audit function because SOX made control assurance permanent, and bank and insurance regulators require one. The work differs from external audit: a CPA firm opines on the financial statements once a year for investors, while internal audit reports to the audit committee year-round and covers operations, compliance, IT, and fraud risk. Nobody here signs an audit opinion, so the CPA is optional and the CIA is the direct signal. Entry runs either straight from an accounting or finance degree, or laterally from Big 4 external audit after a couple of busy seasons, a popular move because the hours are better and the scope is wider.
The ladder
Staff to senior takes two to three years; seniors run fieldwork and draft findings. Audit manager is where the CIA earns its keep, since manager and director postings routinely list it as required or preferred. Managers own pieces of the audit plan and the relationships with the executives whose processes they audit. Above that sit director and chief audit executive (CAE), who reports functionally to the board, a real executive seat with audit-committee and regulator exposure. The exits are good too: internal auditors see every process in the company, so they move into SOX and compliance management, second-line risk roles, and IT audit, often pairing the CIA with a CISA.
Cost and how to qualify
The exam is three MCQ parts (125, 100, and 100 questions, no computational sections) scored 250 to 750 with 600 passing; pass rates run about 44, 48, and 56 percent by part, and the syllabus is keyed to the 2024 Global Internal Audit Standards. Certification also requires 24 months of internal audit or equivalent experience with a bachelor's degree (12 with a master's), verified after the exams. At IIA member rates the cash outlay is the one-time application fee of $120 plus exam fees of $310, $280, and $280.
FreeFellow's CIA Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 practice is free (full banks, per-choice explanations, 62 written lessons), so the study cost is the IIA fees.
"CIA" and "Certified Internal Auditor" are registered trademarks of The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc. FreeFellow is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by The IIA.