Corporate Director of Internal Audit

HHM Hotels - Philadelphia Region•Philadelphia, PA

11d

About The Position

The Corporate Director of Internal Audit leads the company’s internal audit, financial controls, and governance function across a multi-brand portfolio of more than 200 assets. Reporting to the CFO, the Director determines how internal control oversight, certification, and risk management are structured and prioritized. The role partners with Corporate Accounting, Corporate Shared Services, Treasury, senior finance and operations leaders, and property teams to strengthen controls, reporting accuracy, and consistency across the portfolio. This is a senior, highly visible leadership role. The Director establishes financial-controls and governance policy, advises the executive team, ownership groups, and audit committee on financial, operational, and compliance risks, and leads the audit and controls organization. Responsibilities include building and developing the team, setting standards, and ensuring corporate and property teams meet them. The position requires recurring travel and regular in-person time at corporate offices in Philadelphia and Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, as well as at hotels.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a related field.
At least 10 years of experience in internal audit, financial controls, hospitality finance, or public accounting, including several years leading an audit, controls, or governance function.
Strong command of internal controls and audit methodology, with a track record of building and scaling control and governance programs at a large organization.
Experience owning risk assessment and audit planning across a large, multi-property or multi-entity portfolio.
Advanced Excel, AI, and data analytics skills, including hands-on use of tools such as Python, Power BI, or SQL to improve audit efficiency and detect fraud.
Comfort advising and presenting to C-level executives, ownership groups, and the audit committee.
Leadership and communication skills, including the ability to build teams, manage competing priorities, and work independently at a senior level.
Ability to meet the role’s recurring travel requirements and attend in person at the Philadelphia and Camp Hill corporate offices and hotels.

Nice To Haves

Experience with audit documentation and GRC tools; AuditBoard (OpsAudit, CrossComply, Analytics, Accelerate) and BlackLine are preferred.
Hospitality accounting and hotel operations background, including familiarity with USALI and GAAP.
Exposure to ERP, PMS, and procurement or payroll systems such as Oracle Cloud, M3, Opera, or Birchstreet.

Responsibilities

Own the direction and multi-year plan for the Internal Audit, Financial Controls, and Governance function across roughly 200+ properties, including team structure and work prioritization.
Advise the CFO and senior executives on significant financial, operational, and compliance exposures, and represent the function to ownership groups and the audit committee.
Lead the annual risk assessment and audit plan, focusing coverage on the areas of greatest risk to the business and ownership.
Oversee an audit program producing more than 3,000 findings annually, with over 80% remediation, and use analytics and automation to improve efficiency and detect fraud earlier.
Set control policy and design supporting frameworks, including certification and month-end close processes, and establish teams and oversight to sustain them.
Report audit results, risk trends, and remediation progress to executive leadership, ownership, and the audit committee quarterly and at year end.
Partner with Corporate Accounting and Shared Services, regional finance teams, and property Directors of Finance to improve month-end close, balance sheet integrity, and ownership reporting accuracy.
Run the property review program and recurring finance and operations forums to promote consistent practices, expand audit coverage, and make SOPs effective standards.
Manage recurring reporting, including monthly financial statement completion and certification, balance sheet scorecards, and self-assessments to close control gaps.
Identify and resolve financial exposure and establish lasting controls to prevent recurring issues.
Support financial systems and process improvements across ERP, PMS, and reporting platforms, including standards transitions such as USALI, and lead related training, onboarding, and consistent property rollouts.
Build and lead a geographically dispersed team and develop Directors of Finance and audit leaders into stronger business partners.