Why do people dislike auditors?

Let's face it, auditors do not have the best reputation. Whenever I told someone that I was an auditor, I always got a mix of confused and concerned reactions. Over the years, I've learned why people have an aversion to the word auditor and I'm going to share what I've learned with you today so you can understand why people dislike auditors.

Reason #1 - They Don't Know What Auditors Do

When most people hear the word “auditor,” their first thought is of some IRS auditor looking at their tax return and telling them they did everything wrong and that they owe more money. This is not what most auditors do. In fact, the title auditor can mean many different things, including:

• Financial statement auditors

• Internal auditors

• IRS auditors

Even though financial statement auditors are the most common, many people still associate the word with the big, scary IRS. It goes without saying that most of the people who hold this view are not financial professionals. Once you explain to them what your audit role is, they are just relieved because it's not what they originally thought. This kind of disdain for auditors is really just due to miscommunications with the general public. The other reasons are much more relatable to financial professionals who work with financial statement auditors. 

Reason #2 - They Ask a lot of Questions

Financial statement auditors ask a lot of questions. It's their job, and some are much better at asking questions than others. To fulfill both their documentation requirements and the audit partner's curiosity, many young auditors need to persistently ask clients why things are the way they are. In doing so, they send lots of emails, spend lots of time on phone calls, and generally distract client accounting staff. Too many clients, the amount of questions can get exhausting, especially when one of the newer auditors doesn't ask enough questions and has to go back for multiple rounds to get everything answered.

Reason #3 - The Extra Work

While I always did my best to help my clients year-round as an auditor, most of my time was spent making requests of them to help get out a set of audited financial statements before a deadline. Many industry accountants will associate their auditor with these tight deadlines and constant requests to support the audit. These requests come on top of normal operating responsibilities and that extra workload can manifest as a negative experience for many. 

So why do people not like auditors? It depends. Non financial professionals don't like auditors because they don't understand what they do and confuse them for a big bad guy. Financial professionals have likely experienced an audit and understand that while an auditor is there, there is extra work to be done. This doesn't mean that all auditors aren't likable people, although I can say that some are certainly better than others. While the hard work is appreciated, it's not always a thankable job!