Professional Scepticism
Professional scepticism means having an inquiring and questioning mindset. It’s about not simply accepting information as it is, but instead checking that it is accurate, complete, and reasonable.
When you write about this competency, you need to show how you questioned or validated information, rather than just describing the task you completed.
✅ What you should demonstrate
In your example, try to show that you:
· Did not take information at face value
· Questioned anything unusual or unclear
· Checked data or assumptions before relying on them
· Looked for evidence to support conclusions
· Used judgement to decide whether something was reasonable
💡 Examples you can use
You might demonstrate professional scepticism by:
· Investigating a budget variance and checking the figures against source data
· Challenging unrealistic forecasts or assumptions, and helping to improve them
· Reviewing expenses or transactions to ensure they are valid and appropriate
· Performing reasonableness checks (e.g. comparing trends, ratios, or prior results)
· Testing whether controls are working effectively
· Using data analysis to identify anomalies or inconsistencies
🧩 How to structure your answer
Use a simple structure:
- Situation
Briefly explain the context (e.g. a report, budget, or process you were working on)
2. Task
o Explain what your involvement in the situation was.
3. Action (Professional Scepticism)
Clearly explain how you:
o Questioned or challenged information
o Checked or validated data
o Investigated anything unusual
4. Outcome / Impact
Show what happened as a result:
o Did you identify an error or risk?
o Did your actions improve accuracy or decision-making?
o Did you strengthen a process or control?
⚠️ Common mistakes to avoid
· Simply describing a task without showing questioning or validation
· Saying you “reviewed” something without explaining what you checked
· Focusing only on ethics or honesty instead of critical thinking
· Not explaining the impact of your actions
⭐ Top tip
Think like an internal auditor:
“How do I know this is correct?”
“What evidence supports this?”
If your example shows that you asked these kinds of questions and acted on them, you are demonstrating strong professional scepticism