Associate Auditor
Posted Sep 24, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about a time you found a problem and had to tell someone their work had an issue.
What they are checking: Whether they can share findings directly and respectfully, which auditors do constantly.
How do you stay current on banking regulation and industry changes?
What they are checking: Whether they have real habits for keeping up, since the role expects them to know regulatory changes.
Tell me about a time you had to manage several assignments with different deadlines.
What they are checking: Whether they can balance special projects with audit fieldwork and keep their manager informed.
What interests you about internal audit at a financial institution like Northern Trust?
What they are checking: Whether they understand audit's role in protecting the firm and see it as a career path, not just a job.
What would you do
A business manager pushes back hard on your finding and says it isn't a real issue. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they listen, recheck the evidence, and hold firm when the facts support the finding.
In a meeting to discuss results, a senior partner asks you a question you can't answer. What do you say?
What they are checking: Whether they stay honest and composed and commit to follow up rather than guess.
How would you turn a finding into a recommendation that the business can actually carry out?
What they are checking: Whether they think about practical fixes rather than just listing problems.
About the work
Walk me through how you would test whether a control is designed well and whether it actually operates as intended.
What they are checking: Whether they understand the difference between design and operating effectiveness, which is the heart of control testing.
How would you go about understanding the key risks of a department you've never worked in before an audit starts?
What they are checking: Whether they would use walkthroughs, documents and interviews to learn a process before testing it.
How do you write up test results so a reviewer can follow exactly what you did?
What they are checking: Whether they understand audit documentation must let someone else reach the same conclusion from the workpapers.
Your sample turns up one exception out of twenty-five. How do you decide what it means?
What they are checking: Whether they think about root cause and whether the exception is isolated or a sign of a wider control failure.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Northern Trust.