Business Controls Audit Lead

Cornerstone Home Lending•Centennial, CO

10d•$90,000 - $115,000•Onsite

About The Position

Cornerstone Servicing is seeking an experienced Business Controls Audit Lead to join our team in Englewood, CO. This role will provide leadership and oversight for internal and external audit activities supporting mortgage servicing operations, with a focus on regulatory compliance, operational risk, control effectiveness, and remediation. The Business Controls Audit Lead will serve as a key liaison between Business Controls, Servicing Operations, Internal Audit, external testing partners, and regulatory stakeholders. This individual will lead audit and regulatory engagements from planning and scoping through response development, issue management, remediation, and final closure. The role requires a strong understanding of mortgage servicing operations and applicable federal and state regulatory requirements, as well as the ability to independently assess risk, challenge responses, identify control gaps, and drive timely resolution of findings.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Risk Management, or a related field; equivalent experience preferred.
Demonstrated experience leading or managing mortgage servicing audits, regulatory examinations, quality control reviews, or similar control-testing activities.
7+ years of experience in mortgage servicing, business controls, internal audit, quality control, compliance, operational risk, or a related financial services.
Experience with audit management, GRC, issue-management, loan servicing, or related technology platforms preferred.
Strong working knowledge of mortgage servicing operations, including applicable federal and state mortgage banking laws and regulations.
Strong understanding of internal controls, risk assessment, issue management, root-cause analysis, remediation, and audit methodologies.
Experience working directly or indirectly with banking, lending, mortgage servicing, or financial services regulators.
Proven ability to independently lead complex projects and manage multiple audit engagements, deadlines, and stakeholders simultaneously.
Strong verbal, written, analytical, research, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with executive leadership and external stakeholders.
Advanced critical-thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
Exceptional attention to detail and ability to identify inconsistencies, control gaps, and regulatory risks within complex documentation and processes.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Visio.
Strong technical skills, including experience with SQL, databases, data analysis, or other tools used to support audit and control testing.
Ability to interpret regulatory requirements and translate them into practical operational controls and corrective actions.
Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders, challenge processes constructively, and drive accountability for remediation.

Nice To Haves

Mortgage servicing, audit, compliance, risk, or controls-related professional certifications are a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead and coordinate complex internal audits, external audits, regulatory examinations, investor reviews, and other third party testing activities across mortgage servicing operations.
Own assigned audit and examination engagements from planning through final response and closure, establishing timelines, coordinating business ownership and resources, and driving deliverables to completion.
Serve as a primary point of contact for auditors, testing partners, Business Controls, Servicing Operations, and other key stakeholders throughout the audit lifecycle.
Evaluate audit scope, testing requests, regulatory requirements, and risk considerations to determine appropriate response strategies, resource needs, and evidence requirements.
Independently review and challenge audit responses, supporting documentation, procedures, controls, and other evidence for completeness, accuracy, and regulatory alignment, partnering with business leaders to develop clear and well supported responses.
Independently review and gather audit responses, supporting documentation, procedures, controls, and other evidence to determine completeness, accuracy, regulatory alignment, and audit readiness.
Challenge responses and supporting documentation when appropriate and partner with business leaders to develop clear, well-supported responses to audit findings.
Leverage data, reporting, and technology to improve audit readiness, identify trends and control risks, reduce manual processes, and support efficient audit and examination response.
Identify control weaknesses, process gaps, emerging risks, and opportunities to strengthen the Servicing control environment.
Lead issue management and remediation for audit findings, testing exceptions, regulatory issues, and control deficiencies through closure, including root cause analysis, corrective action planning and validation, monitoring commitments, and escalating risks or delays.
Maintain comprehensive audit and issue-management records, ensuring documentation supports internal governance and regulatory expectations.
Develop management reporting, presentations, and executive-level updates regarding audit results, control deficiencies, remediation status, and emerging risks.
Establish and maintain effective relationships with external testing parties and operational leadership to discuss testing methodology, exceptions, responses, feedback, and results.
Partner with Business Controls and Servicing leadership to identify opportunities to improve policies, procedures, controls, monitoring, and risk-management practices.
Research changes to federal and state mortgage banking laws and regulations and evaluate their potential impact on servicing operations and the control environment.
Provide guidance and subject-matter expertise to business partners regarding audit readiness, regulatory expectations, documentation standards, and control effectiveness.
Support the development and enhancement of audit management, issue management, and control-monitoring processes.
Lead special projects and strategic initiatives related to business controls, operational risk, regulatory compliance, and audit readiness.