Director of Financial Controls and SOX Compliance

The Financial Controls and SOX Compliance Director will design internal controls and reporting framework to support financial Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC), with core focus on Sarbanes-Oxley. Compliance vision will extend beyond the Finance department to include Information Technology change management, Human Resource, human capital management, and Legal contract management. To be successful in this role, the individual will need to advise Senior Management and subject matter experts to establish best practice cross-functional business processes and their potential impact on financial controls and reporting. #LI-DNI

Job Responsibilities:

• Direct and plan SOX 404 testing and drive compliance of Internal Controls over Financial Reporting (ICFR) and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requirements.
• Present audit findings and recommendations to senior management and the Audit Committee and ensure the timely implementation of corrective actions.
• Apply sound ethical judgment regarding personal conduct and business practices, and escalating, managing, and reporting control issues with transparency, as well as effectively supervise the activity of others and create accountability with those who fail to maintain these standards.
• Serve as the primary liaison with company’s External Auditors on SOX audit related matters including scope, materiality assessment, audit risks, reliance strategy and internal control testing requirements to ensure qualitative outcome of quarterly and annual audits.
• Assess risk when business decisions, process or system changes are made, demonstrating consideration for the company's business operations, and safeguarding the company through compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations while adhering to company policy and best practices.
• Direct and monitor progress with external SOX consultants and internal resources to ensure timely and cost-effective completion of internal control testing.
• Identify business process improvements and make recommendations to align business functions processes for operational efficiencies and the prevention or reoccurrence of material issues.
• Establish and maintain appropriate Segregation of Duties (SOD) and best practices within ERP system to mitigate enterprise fraud risks and financial statement risks.
• Oversee the design of test plans and testing approaches with emphasis on automation based on risk analysis and identify root cause of problems and how to prevent future occurrences.
• Manage the business process walkthroughs and business process narratives and/or business process flows with Sr. Management and subject matter experts.
• Implement a formal change-recognition process to identify emerging business and technical risks, issues and developments in a timely manner for action and disclosure on a quarterly basis.
• Develop, implement, and direct a Sarbanes-Oxley PMO or steering committee to ensure effective communication, alignment of efforts across and within business functions, performance of annual self-assessment, and reporting to senior Finance management team.
• Execute the quarterly 302 sub-certification process, reporting process, and summarize test results.

Skills Needed:

• The ideal candidate will have experience working with ICFR and SOX compliance and internal control design and operations within Finance in a growing mid-sized or larger public multinational Life Sciences companies.
• Experience with tier-1 or tier-2 ERP/CRM systems and data integration platforms and cloud computing.
• Experience working with cross-functional compliance regulations in information technology, human resources, and legal with strong emphasis on change and business process management.
• CPA, CIA certification with Big 4 external audit experience is preferred.
• Excellent verbal, written, business process flow charting, and presentation skills; able to build strong rapport across core general business compliance functions and with external vendors.
• Exceptional project management skills to manage quarterly evidence gathering, ongoing design/remediation of identified gaps in business processes and reports and reporting progress/issues to Finance management.
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiating skills; ability to solve problems creatively; ability to adapt to changing work priorities; and ability to maintain good working relationships while dealing appropriately with sensitive and confidential matters.

Educational Requirements & Work Experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance; Master’s degree preferred.
• A minimum of 12 total years of experience with preferably 7 years of experience in auditing and 10 years in accounting.

A reasonable estimate of the base salary compensation range is $190,000 to $240,000 per year, cash bonus, and stock options.