Manager (Controls and Compliance), Audit and Financial Controls / Compliance

natgridProd•Waltham, MA

4d•$126,000 - $178,000•Hybrid

About The Position

National Grid is seeking an innovative, adaptable, and results-oriented Manager, Risk, Controls and Compliance to join their US RCC team within Group Financial Control. This role is crucial for strengthening the SOX and non-SOX control environment, supporting major business transformations, evolving regulatory requirements, emerging technologies, and the modernization of financial and operational processes. The position offers the opportunity to play a meaningful role in one of North America's largest energy, technology, and business transformations. The role is a broad second-line position covering SOX and non-SOX business controls, with exposure to business transformation, systems change, and technically complex financial reporting matters. The Manager will be responsible for overseeing SOX compliance, supporting controls outside SOX attestation, strengthening the first-line environment, and promoting a strong controls culture.

Requirements

Strong understanding of control design, control types, and COSO.
Extensive experience implementing and managing SOX compliance in a complex or regulated organization.
Extensive experience independently evaluating, documenting, challenging and remediating control deficiencies, including root-cause analysis, compensating-control assessments, severity evaluations, aggregation considerations and communication to senior management and auditors.
Sound technical accounting knowledge under US GAAP and IFRS, with the ability to understand and challenge management of judgments, estimates, presentation and disclosures.
Good understanding of core financial processes, close, consolidation, and reporting.
Good understanding of the IT environment and how systems support financial reporting, with the ability to bridge IT and Finance / controls teams.
Strong risk management, governance and audit skills, including risk assessment and the first, second and third lines framework.
Experience using a GRC tool and major financial systems such as SAP is desirable.
Experience using automation or continuous controls monitoring to strengthen the control environment is desirable.
Effective project management, prioritization, and attention to detail.
Demonstrated experience overseeing, evaluating and challenging controls associated with complex accounting, financial reporting, regulatory and business-transformation activities.
Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, Information Systems or related discipline, or equivalent experience.
Professional accounting, audit or risk qualifications, such as CPA, CA, CIA or equivalent
Substantial relevant experience in SOX, financial controls, accounting, audit or risk within a complex or regulated organization.
Proactive self-starter, able to manage priorities, deadlines and quality with limited supervision.
Strong communication, leadership, influencing, facilitation, and partnering skills.
Commitment to excellence, continuous improvement, and high-quality outcomes.
Pragmatic, resilient, and adaptable in a changing environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience using a GRC tool and major financial systems such as SAP is desirable.
Experience using automation or continuous controls monitoring to strengthen the control environment is desirable.
Significant and unusual transactions and other non-routine accounting events.
SOX deficiency evaluations, root-cause analysis, remediation planning, compensating controls, severity assessments, and aggregation conclusions.
Goodwill, long-lived assets, and investment impairment assessments.
Regulatory accounting and utility-specific accounting considerations.
Pension, OPEB, environmental reserves and other estimate-driven processes.
Revenue recognition, unbilled revenue, reserves, accruals, and management estimates.
Financial close, consolidations, and analytical reviews.
Major transformations, ERP implementations, automation initiatives, and system replacements.
Interaction with Technical Accounting, Controllership, senior finance leadership, and auditors on complex matters.

Responsibilities

Lead SOX risk assessment, scoping, control design and enhancement activities, providing practical advice to Finance, business and control owners to ensure financial reporting risks are effectively identified and mitigated.
Support major business and technology transformations by assessing financial reporting and controls impacts, performing pre-implementation reviews, and determining when new or evolving processes and systems become relevant to the control environment.
Support pre-implementation reviews of new financial systems and act as a bridge between IT and Finance / controls teams.
Lead coordination with Internal Audit and External Audit, including planning, walkthroughs, testing support, evidence reviews, issue resolution and ongoing stakeholder engagement.
Support delivery of control KPIs, the controls roadmap and facilitation and quality review of Controls Self-Assessments (CSA).
Provide practical, risk-based advice to Finance and business stakeholders to strengthen the control environment, increase risk awareness and promote a strong controls culture.
Support change and control roadmap activities and embed consistent RCC ways of working across a Global team.
Provide clear, timely, and practical advice to stakeholders.
Independently evaluate, document and support remediation of control deficiencies, including root cause, compensating controls, severity, and aggregation.
Assess control impacts from organizational and people changes, including ownership, reviewer reassignment and segregation-of-duties risks.
Identify opportunities to rationalize, automate, and continuously monitor controls.
Leverage data, automation and AI-enabled capabilities to strengthen Controls Culture, Controls Effectiveness and Controls Efficiency. Partner with stakeholders to identify practical opportunities to enhance risk assessment, control design, evidence review, testing, monitoring and reporting through AI-enabled solutions, while ensuring appropriate governance, professional skepticism, human oversight and accountability for all material judgements and decisions.
Provide training on SOX, financial controls, evidence standards and control-owner responsibilities.
Influence stakeholders at all levels and prepare clear, well-supported recommendations for senior leadership, governance forums and audit committees to drive timely, risk-based decisions.
Support maintenance of accurate risks and controls in the GRC tool.
Engage stakeholders at all levels to achieve timely, risk-based outcomes.
Independently lead and resolve complex accounting, controls, audit, compliance and business-process matters with limited supervision.
Evaluate ambiguity, identify key risks, develop well-supported conclusions, and present recommendations to senior leadership and auditors.
Apply professional judgment and appropriately challenge assumptions, evidence, accounting conclusions, process design and control effectiveness.
Own complex issues through resolution, proactively developing solutions, and escalating with clear analysis and recommendations.
Provide clear, practical, and risk-based advice and build credibility with stakeholders.
Influence and collaboration across Finance, IT, Operations, Technical Accounting, & Controllership.
Balance compliance expectations with operational practicality while maintaining an effective control environment.
Lead discussions involving competing views and drive timely, risk-based decisions.
Mentor and develop team members and strengthen overall team capability.
Operate effectively in a changing regulatory, business, system, and organizational environment.