Head of Business Controls

We are seeking a skilled and experienced Head of Business Controls to lead the work to develop, embed and provide ongoing assurance of YouGov’s financial control framework.

As part of our in-house Audit & Assurance team, The Head of Business Controls will primarily be responsible for leading the Business Controls team in assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) related to in-scope business processes, recommending improvements to mitigate risks/enhance financial integrity, presenting the results of this work to senior management and the external auditor.

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll do (not all of it, just the important stuff):

• Lead the Business Controls team in the execution of their tasks to deliver an effective financial control framework.
• Maintain the risk and control matrices for key in-scope business and IT processes.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (including HR, Finance and IT) to design effective controls that align with business processes and adequately address identified risks.
• Provide guidance on best practices, share knowledge and deliver training sessions to increase awareness of control requirements.
• Conduct regular assessments of business processes and controls to evaluate their compliance with financial control requirements, including documentation and testing of ICFR.
• Identify control deficiencies and provide recommendations for their effective remediation that balance both commercial considerations and the regulatory / assurance requirements of the business.
• Present findings to management and provide guidance on implementing corrective measures. In addition, present regular progress updates to senior management and the external auditor.
• Stay up to date with evolving financial reporting / corporate governance regulations and industry good practices. Monitor and evaluate emerging technologies, processes, potential risks and changes in the regulatory landscape to ensure ongoing compliance.

These are the essentials you’ll need to get an interview:

• Extensive financial and IT controls experience, ideally in a Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliant environment, including process mapping, risk identification and the design of key controls to deliver an effective and efficient financial control environment.
• Strong communication and people skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional, international teams and present complex information to non-technical stakeholders.
• Solid time and project management skills, with the ability to work independently and prioritise tasks to ensure work is delivered on time, to budget and to expected quality.
• Experience in performing risk assessments, control testing and audit procedures in alignment with SOX / SOX-equivalent requirements.
• Good understanding of technology, systems and data flows and how these relate to business processes.

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