Abstract
The purpose of the research is to determine how much do the external auditors’ qualifications in Iraq match the international requirements? And determine the necessary and priority requirements that the auditor should have in order to adapt with the changes in the community and the profession. The research partially focuses on comparing international institutes curriculum requirements with the local institutes’ curriculum requirements. Furthermore, it compares examinations of local students with the questions of these institutes and compares the requirements of these institutes to continuing vocational education with the local, as well as analyzes and presents the questionnaire results to find out the necessary and most priority skills. The researcher reached a number of conclusions, the most important of which is the lack of matching of local requirements comparing to the international ones. In light of the above, the most important recommendations of the research were the necessity of requiring auditors to pursue continuing professional education and focus on professional fellowships, in order to ensure the qualifications of auditors with the appropriate scientific and professional qualifications. Quantitative methods and accounting information systems and professional organizations set a minimum of 120 hours of continuing vocational education for at least three years in accordance with international requirements.
