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Internal & IT Audit Insights – June 2024

  • Overall vacancy numbers remain low in June. Q2 2024 has seen some pockets of activity but by historical standards it is very quiet for internal audit hiring.
  • The fund management, pensions and insurance sectors have been relatively busy for internal audit hiring when compared to other industry sectors. Not prolific hiring by any measure, just relatively higher volume.
  • Most hiring demand for internal auditors is, unsurprisingly, for delivery focused roles, namely Senior Internal Auditor or Internal Audit Manager. Most companies are looking for previous internal audit experience rather than hiring an external auditor and training them. There is very little capacity for hiring someone new to internal audit in the current market.
  • Subject Matter Expert internal auditor roles are still proving hard to fill depending on industry sector and location. As has been the case for a long time, technology auditors are the most difficult to recruit.
  • Candidate motivation to move jobs is relatively low in the current environment. With the economy continuing to be weak, there is some ‘last-in, first-out’ concern.
  • In contrast, where a company is mandating additional days to be worked from the office, we are seeing internal auditors register with us if they are unhappy with the hybrid working balance.
  • The large salary increases that were offered post-COVID have long disappeared, and more modest salary increases are the norm. This trend has dented candidate motivation to move.
  • Some internal audit functions have made redundancies in 2024, generally at more senior grades, such as internal audit directors or portfolio heads of audit.

Russell Bunker

Head of Internal Audit
rb@barclaysimpson.com
020 7936 8911

Please reach out if you would like advice on hiring in the internal audit, assurance and controls market. Barclay Simpson has over 30 years’ experience of hiring in this sector and we can offer deep insight into how the market is changing and how to secure the best candidates.