Manager Global Risk & Controls - Chicago, IL

Manager Global Risk & Controls - Chicago, IL

Role Overview
The Manager of Audit Readiness, Controls, and Policy Governance plays a critical role in building and sustaining a strong, scalable, and audit‑ready organization. This role integrates external audit coordination, internal control design and oversight, and finance policy governance into a cohesive mandate aligned with SOX, COSO, GAAP, and regulatory requirements.
Serving as a key partner to Controllership, IT, Internal Audit, and business leaders, this role embeds effective controls into day‑to‑day operations, ERP implementations, and business transformations, including acquisitions. The Manager acts as a trusted advisor, balancing rigor and practicality to enable growth while maintaining a well‑controlled and transparent environment.

Key Responsibilities
External Audit Readiness and Coordination

• Serve as the primary finance liaison for external auditors, owning the end‑to‑end audit readiness and coordination process.
• Manage and oversee audit request lists (PBCs), ensuring timely, accurate, and complete submissions from stakeholders.
• Provide clear status reporting, facilitate walkthroughs, and coordinate responses to audit inquiries to drive efficient audits with minimal disruption.
• Proactively identify and resolve potential audit issues, ensuring alignment on expectations, scope, and documentation.

Internal Controls, Risk, and SOX/COSO Compliance

• Lead periodic risk assessments and design, document, and enhance key business and IT-dependent controls in response to process changes, system implementations, and identified gaps.
• Oversee the effectiveness of application controls, including system configuration, automated calculations, access management, and system‑enforced approvals.
• Evaluate and monitor interface controls to ensure accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and reconciliation of data transfers across systems.
• Embed control ownership and accountability by partnering closely with process owners and control operators.
• Own remediation planning, execution tracking, and management testing to ensure timely, effective, and sustainable issue resolution.
• Act as the finance controls lead for ERP implementations and major system upgrades, embedding SOX and COSO-aligned controls into process design, role design, configuration decisions, and post‑go‑live stabilization efforts.

Finance Policy Governance

• Lead the end‑to‑end lifecycle of finance policies and procedures, from interpretation and design through approval, implementation, and ongoing maintenance.
• Build and maintain a centralized policy repository with version control, approval history, and clear ownership.
• Translate complex accounting standards, regulatory requirements, and control expectations into clear, practical guidance for global stakeholders.
• Drive consistency and scalability through standardized templates, structures, naming conventions, and style guides across entities and regions.
• Facilitate governance forums to review policy updates, interpret requirements, resolve implementation questions, and drive alignment.
• Manage policy exceptions, deviations, and escalations, ensuring appropriate approvals, documentation, and risk assessment.

Growth, Transformation, and M&A Support

• Support pre‑ and post‑acquisition activities, including control gap assessments, policy alignment, and integration into the SOX and governance framework.
• Partner with finance and transformation leaders to assess risk and control implications of new business models, process redesigns, and strategic initiatives.

What Success Looks Like

• External audits are well‑coordinated, efficient, and completed with strong auditor confidence and minimal rework.
• Controls are embedded into systems and processes, not managed as after‑the‑fact compliance activities.
• Finance policies are clear, current, consistently applied, and well understood across the organization.
• The role is viewed as a trusted advisor by finance, IT, and business leaders on risk, controls, and governance matters.

Required Skills and Qualifications
Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field.

Experience

• 7+ years of progressive experience in financial controls, controllership, audit, or risk management within public accounting and/or complex corporate environments.
• Demonstrated experience supporting SOX compliance, external audits, ERP implementations, and process or system transformations.

Technical and Professional Knowledge

• Strong understanding of SOX, COSO, GAAP, and risk assessment methodologies.
• Solid working knowledge of financial systems, system integrations, and technology‑enabled and automated controls.
• Proven ability to design, draft, and govern finance policies and procedures within a structured governance framework.

Core Competencies

• Excellent analytical, writing, editing, and verbal communication skills.
• Strong project and program management capabilities with the ability to lead through influence.
• Sound judgment and ability to balance precision and pragmatism in complex or evolving environments.
• High attention to detail with a proactive, problem‑solving mindset.

Preferred Certifications

• CPA (Certified Public Accountant)
• CIA (Certified Internal Auditor)
• CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor)
• or other relevant professional certifications