Head of Internal Controls

About the Technical Finance Team at OpenAI

The Technical Finance team at OpenAI is crucial for maintaining our organization’s financial integrity. We focus on managing technical accounting, financial reporting, and the internal controls that preserve the accuracy of our financial information. Our team works across various functions to improve and streamline financial processes that support OpenAI’s goals. We are committed to enhancing these internal controls to ensure our financial operations are efficient, accurate, and compliant with relevant standards.

Join Our Mission:

OpenAI is seeking a Head of Internal Controls, a role critical to the stewardship of our sophisticated internal controls framework. Building on a well-established foundation—complete with comprehensive scoping, process documentation, and proactive identification of design gaps—you will be instrumental in managing and mitigating financial reporting risks. Your leadership will drive the refinement of our control systems, assessing both design and operational effectiveness to push our standards to exemplary levels.

Strategic Leadership:

Reporting directly to the Head of Technical Accounting, you will be pivotal in supporting OpenAI’s mission and strategic objectives. You will lead efforts to ensure our financial reporting systems are not only stable and robust but also innovative and aligned with our fast-paced growth. This role is not just about maintaining standards—it’s about setting new ones that match our global impact.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA, with a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week. Relocation assistance is available.

In this role, you will:

Own Risk Management:

• Lead Risk Assessments: Spearhead comprehensive risk assessments to uncover potential vulnerabilities and devise robust mitigation strategies. This includes critical IT system risks.

• Design and Implement Control Activities: Craft and continuously refine a suite of control activities grounded in COSO principles. This role demands innovative thinking to develop both preventive and detective controls that ensure the integrity and reliability of OpenAI’s financial and operational processes, including:

  • IT General Controls (ITGCs): Implement stringent ITGCs to regulate access and guarantee data integrity.

  • Policies and Procedures: Establish clear, actionable policies and develop procedures that operationalize these frameworks. Ensure these are well-communicated and executed to align with OpenAI’s strategic goals.

  • Segregation of Duties: Intelligently design and enforce segregation of duties within the workflow to minimize risks and boost efficiency.

Monitor and Improve Processes:

• Integrated Monitoring Framework: Develop and manage a sophisticated monitoring system that continuously evaluates the effectiveness of internal controls. This framework will provide real-time insights into all control components.

• Proactive Reporting and Response: Regularly test, review, and report on the health of OpenAI’s internal controls to senior management and the board of directors. Be agile in responding to and adjusting controls to swiftly address new risks and changes in operations.

• Regulatory Compliance and Standards Adherence: Ensure all monitoring activities are in line with current regulatory demands and best practices.

Lead and Influence:

• Strategic Leadership: Take on a pivotal leadership role in safeguarding OpenAI’s control environment. Deliver polished, insightful reports to key stakeholders including the board, audit committee, and CFO.

• External Audit Liaison: Act as the primary point of contact for external auditors, ensuring that all audit requirements are met, and any remediation actions are promptly addressed.

You might thrive in this role if you have:

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field with at least 12+ years of experience in risk management, internal controls, or a related function.

• Professional Certifications: CPA, CIA, or CISA preferred, with a deep understanding of the COSO framework and experience in applying it within a tech-focused environment.

• Experience with ITGCs and External Vendor Reviews: Proven ability to implement and monitor IT General Controls, and conduct SOC 2 reviews or similar for external vendors.

• Strong Leadership and Communication Skills: Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage complex projects. Excellent communication skills are essential for interacting with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills: Strong capability to analyze risk and design effective controls. Ability to identify and implement process improvements that enhance reliability and efficiency.

Technology Proficiency: Experience with modern ERP systems like NetSuite and control tools like Workiva/Auditboard would be advantageous.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. 

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For US Based Candidates: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.

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At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.