Director of Internal Audit

Central Insurance Company

About The Position

The Director of Internal Audit shapes and leads Central's internal audit function and strategy, providing insight to strengthen risk management, governance, and internal controls across the organization. The role serves as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, influencing business decisions, identifying emerging risks, and supporting the organization's long-term success. The Director will modernize and elevate the audit function through innovation, data-driven insights, and partnerships across the business. The position establishes and evolves the enterprise audit strategy, governs third-party audit delivery, oversees audit partners and the full audit lifecycle, and maintains the internal audit charter, methodologies, and quality standards while preserving independence from management. It also coordinates audit activities with external auditors, regulators, and internal stakeholders; ensures compliance with professional standards and regulatory requirements, including Model Audit Rule; and advances audit effectiveness through quality assurance, improvement, data, and automation.

Requirements

A master's degree in accounting, finance, business, or a related field and 6 years of internal audit and/or public accounting experience; or a bachelor's degree in one of these fields and 8 years of such experience; or 10 years of internal audit and/or public accounting experience.
Experience in the Property & Casualty or Excess & Surplus insurance industry.
Expert knowledge of auditing practices.
Ability to understand the audit lifecycle and evaluate and improve risk management, controls, and governance.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects and teams simultaneously.
Advanced project management skills, including time and risk management, resource prioritization, and project structuring.
Ability to communicate and negotiate options effectively at the most senior organizational levels.
Ability to lead company-wide initiatives spanning multiple teams and organizations.
Ability to foster a culture of integrity, transparency, and accountability.
Advanced business acumen, technical knowledge, and extensive knowledge of applications and technologies.
Good understanding of Central Insurance's policies and processes.

Nice To Haves

CPA, CIA, or CISA certification.
Extensive experience performing audits.
Experience developing internal audit strategy.
Understanding of internal audit best practices.

Responsibilities

Apply extensive knowledge of audit theories, lead existing principles, and guide the development of new internal audit ideas and practices.
Establish and evolve the enterprise internal audit strategy in alignment with organizational priorities and the risk landscape.
Design and govern a third-party audit delivery model to support quality, efficiency, and scalable audit execution.
Provide strategic oversight of audits conducted by external audit partners, ensuring alignment with professional standards and company expectations.
Serve as the primary liaison to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, including planning agendas and reporting audit outcomes, key risks, and strategic goals.
Own performance management and relationship strategy for internal and external audit providers.
Set expectations for audit scope, deliverables, and outcomes, and hold the team accountable for results.
Develop and maintain a risk-based audit plan that strengthens internal controls, risk management, and governance practices.
Oversee the audit lifecycle, including planning, execution, reporting, and issue validation.
Evaluate audit outputs to ensure findings and insights are actionable, relevant, and aligned with enterprise risk priorities.
Provide executive leadership with an independent and objective perspective on emerging risks, control effectiveness, and governance maturity.
Partner with executive leadership, Legal, Compliance, IT, and Risk Management to align audit focus with enterprise priorities.
Advise leadership on control design, risk mitigation strategies, and operational effectiveness.
Maintain ownership of the internal audit charter, methodologies, and quality standards while remaining independent from management.
Ensure adherence to professional auditing standards and regulatory requirements, including Model Audit Rule.
Oversee the quality assurance and improvement program to continuously enhance audit effectiveness.
Coordinate audit activities among external auditors, regulators, and internal stakeholders to promote consistency and efficiency.
Promote a forward-looking audit approach using data, automation, and external expertise, and champion improvements and insights.
Stay current on industry trends and regulatory changes to promote continuous improvement.