SOX Technical Director

About the team and role

Reporting to the VP Internal Audit & Controls Compliance, the Technical SOX Director is Pearson’s subject matter expert on controls. You will be responsible for sharing your passion, understanding and experience of controls both with our operational team and internal stakeholders. You will also play a key part in planning and discussions with our external auditors. We want our approach to controls to be forward-thinking and we’ll rely on you to challenge our current controls framework and inspire change.  This could include training programmes, improved business alignment, standardisation, improved efficiency, technology and automation. 

You will be part of the Controls Leadership Team, working alongside the Senior Director Controls Operations who leads the Business Controls Centre of Excellence (CoE) team. The CoE Team has the responsibility for both supporting the business to ensure controls are appropriately designed and operational testing. You will be responsible for advising senior stakeholders across Finance, Legal, Operations and Technology on controls design particularly during transformation. You will also take the technical lead in any discussions on agreeing approach with our external auditors and suggesting technical opportunities for efficiencies. This role is a technical expert role and does not have direct reports, but the successful applicant will have support/resources in other members of the CoE team.

Location: Based on a hybrid working model, candidates should be able to easily access our central London office.

Further responsibilities include:

• Partner with Finance and Business leaders across the organisation, as well as internal & external auditors to support SOX Compliance across the organisation with a focus on technical opportunities to enhance or simplify our controls and introduce automation.
• Support teams across the company to design controls when business processes change. 
• Support the business to understand, assess the impact of, and design an approach to remediate, any control deficiencies identified. 
• Support Controls CoE team members to review complex and reliance controls to ensure documentation is of appropriate quality.
• Provide SME support and lead the co-ordination of efforts between Internal Audit, External Audit and Business Process Owners to ensure internal control requirements are embedded into broader business initiatives including the identification of key risks and designing controls to mitigate.
• Own the Controls CoE’s technical methodology, ensure it is technically sound and train team members to reach the standards set out in the methodology. 
• Partner with the business and the Controls CoE to ensure SOX documentation, including process flows, risks and controls are complete, accurate and up to date.
• Lead the programme on timely updating and upskilling of Risk control Matrix making sure the control description and relevant data fields are up to date. 
• Work closely with the ITGC CoE to drive improvements in both the efficiency and effectiveness of the Company’s SOX programme to increase the level of automated and preventive controls.
• Lead SOX scoping and risk assessment activities.
• Support the delivery of the SOX training programme to key business stakeholders by leading training sessions to define compliance requirements and share hot topics related to SOX compliance.
• Update the Controls Steering Committee on the status of ongoing projects with a potential controls impact.
• Support the CoE team to prepare and then review the year end deficiency assessment.
• Work closely with VP Internal Audit & Controls Compliance and Sr. Director Controls Operations on understanding how the regulatory environment evolves both in the UK and US in relation to wider controls and compliance/reporting and ensuring that our processes and reporting change appropriately to remain compliant.

About You

• Qualified accountant with demonstrable experience with Sarbanes Oxley and internal controls; ideally Big Four accounting firm experience with regards to SOX, Audit or risk advisory. 
• You’ll have a firm grasp of financial reporting and SOX requirements and methodologies (risk assessment, controls design, testing strategies, etc.) and know what ‘best in class’ looks like.
• Strong affinity with technology, experience with Oracle and Workiva is preferable.
• A deep understanding of COSO, SOX and PCAOB rules.
• Collaborative approach to working as part of a leadership team.
• Proven ability to work with and communicate effectively across all levels across the organisation; including educating cross-functional teams and other leaders regarding SOX.
• Strong influencing skills and business judgment. 

Your rewards & benefits   

We know you’ll do great work, so we give a lot back with some of the best benefits in the business. We know that one size doesn’t fit all, so our workplace programs meet the different needs of our diverse teams, and their families too.

• Starting holiday of 25 days plus UK public holidays and you’ll earn 1 additional day’s holiday per year you work with us;
• A generous pension scheme where we match and double what you contribute; 
• Maternity, paternity, and family care leave as well as flexible work policies; 
• Stock/share purchase options; 
• Healthcare and dental plans, and an employee well-being assistance program for you and your family to help balance work, family, and personal life; 
• Cycle to Work Scheme, gym membership concessions in selected office locations, along with retail and leisure discounts.