Though the job market for college graduates is at one of its lowest points in a decade, those enrolled in internal auditing courses remain optimistic about their futures.
In March, the unemployment rate for 20 to 24-year-olds was 8.9 percent, the second highest in the last six years, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics.
Despite the downward cycle the job market is in, Silvy Triana, a masters of business administration student, said students in the Center for Internal Audit program are in demand.
“The demand is so high because all publicly traded companies are required to follow rules now,” Triana said.
Companies look to internal auditors to make sure the rules get followed.
The center’s director, Glenn Sumners, said recent legislation has made corporate governance, management processes and internal control frameworks hot topics in the business world.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed in 2002 after the fall of Enron and World-Com, created a requirement for companies to document internal controls. Referred to as “the most dramatic change to federal securities laws since the 1930s” by the Center for Professional Education, the act significantly tightens accountability standards for directors and officers, auditors, securities analysts and legal counsel.
“The Sarbanes-Oxley Act signifies a boost for the internal audit profession,” Sumners said.
Ill-fated companies are not the only contributing factors in the matter. Triana said LSU’s Center for Internal Auditing program provides opportunities for students other schools cannot claim.
“We are the premier program,” Triana said. “Other schools follow our steps. LSU has the best reputation for internal auditing.”
LSU currently has the most recognized internal audit program internationally, according to the LSUCIA Web site. More than 40 universities have initiated programs similar to or modeled after the LSU program.
Triana posted the top student score internationally on the Institute for Internal Auditors’ Certified Internal Auditor exam this summer. The test is given to thousands of professionals and students around the world twice a year.
Triana is the 14th LSU student to receive the Student Highest Achievement Award in the past 17 years.
“LSU is doing well,” Sumners said. “We have spent 20 years developing networking. We have a lot of interface with the business world, which includes visiting companies, training for positions and placement assistance.”
Triana interned at Entergy in New Orleans during the summer and said she felt very prepared for the internship. One of the advantages of the program is that the students get three months for internships, Triana said.
Sumners said that out of the 150 students enrolled in the highly competitive program, most have gotten undergraduate degrees from accounting, ISDS and finance. But he added that students from any LSU program are urged to apply.
The current demand for internal audit jobs is not going down, Sumners said.
“There aren’t that many schools offering internal auditing,” Sumners said. “The market is growing faster than we are.”