IT Auditors Salaries At Premium

Information technology auditors, professionals who determine whether corporate IT systems are effectively maintaining Sarbanes-Oxley controls, are in demand from a wide range of companies.

As a result, IT auditors with four to seven years' experience can expect an estimated starting salary of $67,000 to $94,250 this year, 11.2 percent more than in 2005, Robert Half International told The Wall Street Journal.
While corporations required to meet SOX disclosure requirements have sought IT auditors since the law was passed in 2002, the need has become more acute as smaller companies work toward their January 2007 deadline for demonstrating compliance, the Journal said. Adding to the overall need is the requirement that all companies show compliance annually.

The demand is widespread, and includes foreign companies whose shares trade on U.S. exchanges, as well as overseas subsidiaries of U.S. companies. Also, accounting and consulting firms are seeking IT auditors.

Experienced executives - those with 15 or more years in IT audit - may earn premiums for changing jobs, the Journal said. ''A 30 percent increase is not unheard of,'' Charles Eldridge, of Korn/Ferry International, told the newspaper. ''We're talking about compensation well north of $200,000.''