Internal Auditor

Location: Lagos, Nigeria

Employment Type: Full-time, On-site

Industry: Retail, E-commerce, Beauty and Skincare

A fast-growing retail and e-commerce company in Lagos is looking for an experienced Internal Auditor to review its financial, inventory and operational controls.

The company sells through multiple channels, including physical retail operations, an e-commerce website, wholesale channels, POS terminals and bank transfers. The successful candidate will ensure that sales, payments, stock movements, expenses, refunds and operational records are accurate, properly documented and reconciled across all platforms.

This is not an accounting or bookkeeping position. The company already has an Accountant. The Internal Auditor will independently review financial and operational records, identify discrepancies, investigate their causes and recommend stronger controls.

The role requires someone who understands that auditing a retail business involves more than reviewing financial statements. You must be willing and able to verify physical inventory, examine transactions across multiple systems and investigate discrepancies thoroughly.

• Conduct scheduled and unannounced physical stock counts.
• Reconcile physical inventory with stock records across the company’s inventory, website, wholesale, accounting and retail systems.
• Investigate missing stock, negative stock, incorrect adjustments and unexplained inventory variances.
• Audit stock received, transferred, sold, returned, damaged, expired or written off.
• Reconcile daily sales across physical stores, online orders, wholesale transactions, POS terminals, bank transfers and payment gateways.
• Compare sales records with bank settlements, payment reports and inventory deductions.
• Identify missing, duplicated, cancelled or incorrectly recorded transactions.
• Audit customer refunds, exchanges, cancellations, store credits, discounts and price overrides.
• Review bank reconciliations and other financial schedules prepared by the Accountant.
• Examine expenses, petty cash, supplier payments and supporting documentation.
• Identify duplicate payments, unsupported expenses and unauthorized transactions.
• Review procurement records, including purchase requests, approvals, supplier invoices, goods-received records and payment evidence.
• Confirm that products purchased were received in the correct quantities and condition.
• Monitor near-expiry, expired, damaged, obsolete and slow-moving inventory.
• Review employee access to stock, cash, refunds, discounts and business systems.
• Assess compliance with approved operational procedures and internal controls.
• Identify potential fraud, revenue leakage, inventory theft and process failures.
• Prepare clear monthly audit reports supported by evidence.
• Maintain an audit-issues tracker and follow up until corrective actions are completed.
• Escalate significant financial, inventory or ethical concerns directly to senior management.
• Recommend practical controls suitable for a growing retail and e-commerce business.
  

• Bachelor’s degree or HND in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or a related field.
• Minimum of 3–5 years’ relevant experience in internal audit, inventory audit, financial control or operational audit.
• Practical experience in retail, e-commerce, wholesale, pharmacy, beauty, skincare, FMCG or distribution is strongly preferred.
• Proven experience conducting physical stock counts and investigating inventory discrepancies.
• Experience reconciling transactions across POS systems, online stores, payment gateways and bank accounts.
• Strong understanding of accounting principles, internal controls, procurement controls and fraud risks.
• Strong Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets skills.
• Experience using accounting, ERP, inventory-management, POS or e-commerce systems.
• Strong analytical, investigative, documentation and report-writing skills.
• Professional qualifications such as ACA, ACCA, ANAN or CIA will be an advantage.
• Must be available to work full-time on-site in Lagos.
  

The ideal candidate is:

• Honest, ethical and highly confidential.
• Independent and objective.
• Thorough and detail-oriented.
• Comfortable asking difficult questions professionally.
• Able to trace transactions from beginning to end.
• Willing to conduct physical verification rather than relying only on system reports.
• Firm, fair and able to work with different departments.
• Capable of identifying patterns behind recurring discrepancies.
• Able to present findings clearly and recommend practical solutions.
  

Performance will be measured using:

• Timely completion of scheduled and unannounced audits.
• Accuracy and completeness of audit findings.
• Timely reconciliation of inventory, sales and payment records.
• Identification and investigation of unexplained stock and financial discrepancies.
• Reduction in recurring inventory variances and control failures.
• Percentage of audit recommendations implemented within agreed deadlines.
• Timely escalation of high-risk findings.
• Completion of follow-up audits on outstanding issues.
• Quality of supporting evidence and audit documentation.
• Improvement in compliance with inventory, sales, procurement, expense and refund procedures.
  

Interested candidates should complete the application form and upload an updated CV.

• Only applicants with relevant internal audit, inventory-control, retail, wholesale or e-commerce experience should apply.