States that have casinos and licensed gambling operations require the services of a financial auditor. For this position you must hold a Bachelor’s degree with a specialization of at least ten courses in accounting. You must have work experience of at least four years in the area of either public accounting or auditing or a combination. One year of your experience must be in the area of reviewing and analyzing complex corporate documents or the preparation of complicated tax returns. Many of the professionals who work in this position have a Master's degree in accounting.
As the financial auditor in charge of the gaming commission, you will have to develop a plan for auditing the finances of individuals and corporations that make their money from the gaming industry. The information you gather and analyze will help you make decisions regarding the financial stability of the companies and their ability to meet their financial obligations. Determining the stability of a corporation can also include reviewing the history of the company, researching the background of the executive officers, the minutes of the meetings and the operating policies. You may also have to identify any subsidiaries of the corporation and investigate their financial dealings as well.
Some of the documents you will have to analyze include income tax returns, W2 forms, inheritance documents, accrued interest on bank balances, 1099 forms and money earned from investments. You will also have to analyze the company’s expenditures, such as in loans, operating costs and other expenses. When companies have tangible assets such as property, it will be your job as financial auditor to examine the documents related to this property to ascertain ownership.
The operating budgets of the corporations involved in gaming will be of particular interest to financial auditors as are the projected operating expenses and income. Net profit and loss statements will have to be verified and it may be necessary to interview personnel and attorneys, especially if the audit will help to determine license renewal. In the event of criminal investigations, you may be called as a witness in court to give detailed information about the results of your audit.
The skills and abilities required of a financial auditor include a thorough knowledge of both state and federal tax laws and a thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of auditing financial records. Using spreadsheets, work processing applications and accounting software is an essential part of the job. Interviewing skills are also necessary when interviewing personnel to gain further information.
Working in this field of the accounting industry requires you to be able to analyze and interpret financial data and to be able to prepare both written and graphical representations of this data. You will be expected to travel extensively in this position visiting many different areas of the state in which you work. You will need to have excellent interpersonal skills in order to develop and maintain effective working relationships that will allow you to gather the information you need to do your job.
