and if it relates to systems, functionality and such, why an acccounting degree to get work? Seems a CS or IS degree would fit better. Pardon my ignorance!

You are correct in puzzling over the supposed 'need' for an accounting degree to do IT auditing. It is really a two part discipline requiring the technical skills of an IT person as well as the skills of most of your average auditor types.

Do not be discouraged in applying if you have a technical degree. I know many IT people who have successfully crossed over to the dark side. The question is, do you have the desire and the aptitude to quickly learn the skills necessary to become an accomplished auditor. 9 out of 10 IT people do not (sad but true). Whereas the success rate in taking your average auditor and turning them into a successful IT auditor is much higher. I'm not judging anyone, just relating my experiences (11 years) in dealing with IT audit. I hope this helps!

I'll agree with what's been said.

I spent the first 19-20 years of my career as an accountant (never an auditor) followed by five years as a network (Windows and UNIX) administrator doing everything from Income Tax & Payroll to crawling under buildings to run CAT5.

I never thought that I would be working as an Auditor - However, after seeing my background in both Accounting and IT, I was contacted by a headhunter who sent me to a large Fortune 500 company looking for someone with just my skills and here I am.

A lot less stress than the management level accounting positions I've held in the past and much less frustration as far as dealing with inept users having daily computer or network issues when I was network administrator.

The two diciplines do work well together for this position.

There are some of us in IT Auditing who don't have accounting backgrounds. I have degrees in Physics and Mechanical Engineering - not an obvious source for an auditor! For me, I became proficient in computer programming, database administration and security as a "sideline" of my engineering work. When I was looking around for carrer enhancement, I found a job that was looking specifically for my sideline skills. I didn't know what an EDP Auditor was, but I'm glad I applied. It's been 10 years now, and I love the work. I've even picked up a little bit of accounting knowledge so I can discuss controls over the General Ledger.