Senior Manager, Group Financial Controls

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Job Purpose

The Senior Manager will lead the planning execution and oversight of SOX 404 compliance activities across actuarial and finance process controls for in-scope Prudential business units. This includes ensuring that key financial reporting controls are appropriately scoped designed documented tested and remediated in line with Group SOX methodology and external auditor expectations with senior-level coordination across Finance Actuarial Risk IT and external auditors.

Critically this is a transformation role. As part of the Groups shift from externally dependent testing to in-house capability the successful candidate will take ownership of the Actuarial and Finance Process SOX testing pillars. This requires a leader who combines strong technical SOX expertise with practical business partnering disciplined project management and the ability to drive outcomes across multiple stakeholders and locations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end planning and execution of SOX activities for actuarial and finance process controls including resource allocation overseeing the development and delivery of SOX plans timelines and milestones scheduling and stakeholder communication.
• Support annual SOX scoping risk assessment and control rationalisation ensuring key financial reporting risks are appropriately identified substantiated with rationale and addressed with minimal late scope changes.
• Review and challenge the design of controls provide technical oversight over walkthroughs control documentation management review controls IPE considerations and testing conclusions.
• Ensure process documentation risk and control matrices testing work papers and supporting evidence meet Group SOX methodology and external audit standards.
• Review testing outputs and support the assessment of control deficiencies including root cause severity remediation actions and read-across implications.
• Coordinate across business units Group Financial Controls Actuarial Finance and external auditors to ensure alignment on scope and testing approach monitoring delivery progress and escalating risks early.

• Act as a senior subject matter expert for actuarial and finance process controls in relation to IFRS 17 finance close reconciliations management review controls and other key financial reporting processes to assess the adequacy of controls over inputs outputs reconciliations assumptions and review processes.
• Support the assessment of new or changing processes systems and transformation initiatives (e.g. Oracle and other finance systems implementations) that may impact controls embedding control-by-design thinking to reduce late-stage issues.
• Provide practical guidance to control owners on evidencing standards documentation expectations and remediation requirements.

• Build effective working relationships with senior stakeholders across Finance Actuarial Risk IT business units and external auditors acting as the key point of contact for assigned business units on SOX planning testing deficiencies and reporting matters.
• Communicate complex control matters clearly to senior stakeholders including preparation of Group Audit Committee (GAC) materials SOX status updates and deficiency reporting supporting the SOX Director and Group Financial Controls leadership in presenting to senior management and the GAC.
• Facilitate pragmatic risk-based issue resolution between control owners SOX teams and auditors operating with a high degree of independence and sound judgement.

• Lead the assessment monitoring and resolution of actuarial and finance process control deficiencies challenging remediation plans to ensure actions address root causes are sustainable and tracking evidence of closure.
• Drive timely issue resolution across business units coordinating with control owners and auditors to agree on deficiency descriptions ratings accountability and remediation timelines maintaining the issue log for real-time senior management visibility.
• Identify recurring themes read-across risks and opportunities to strengthen the control framework.
• Support management in concluding on the impact of deficiencies on the overall SOX assessment.

• Lead coach and provide technical guidance to a team of managers senior associates and testers managing delivery across multiple locations and ensuring disciplined execution during peak SOX cycles.
• Allocate resources effectively monitor workload and build team capability across SOX methodology testing quality documentation standards and stakeholder engagement.
• Identify and drive opportunities to improve SOX delivery through automation standardised templates enhanced dashboards (e.g. PowerBI) and better use of data and tools contributing to the ongoing enhancement of the Group SOX operating model.
• Promote a culture of accountability quality continuous improvement and professional challenge with a track record of delivering impactful initiatives that elevate the function.

Key Skills and Experience

• Professional qualifications such as ACA ACCA CPA CIA or equivalent.
• Strong experience (810 years) in SOX 404 internal controls internal audit external audit or financial controls within a listed regulated or multinational organisation.
• Strong understanding of business process controls over financial reporting including finance close reconciliations journals management review controls and IPE.
• Proven project management skills with the ability to manage complex deliverables resource allocation scheduling and milestone tracking across multiple stakeholders business units and locations.
• Strong stakeholder management and business partnering skills with the ability to be firm pragmatic and solutions-focused when engaging with senior leaders auditors and control owners.
• Experience assessing control deficiencies driving issue resolution challenging remediation plans and managing action tracking.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills including the ability to present issues clearly to senior stakeholders and prepare materials for audit committee-level reporting.
• Strong organisational discipline with the ability to manage timelines budgets resources and competing priorities independently.

• Big 4 external audit internal audit or SOX advisory experience.
• Insurance financial services or listed company experience.
• Experience with actuarial valuation IFRS 17 finance transformation or Oracle / finance systems implementation projects.
• Experience leading or coaching teams in a controls audit or SOX environment.
• Familiarity with COSO SOX methodology management review controls IPE standards and external audit requirements.
• Experience with GRC and compliance tools such as PRISM OpenPages AuditBoard or similar platforms.
• Proficiency with data analytics and reporting tools such as PowerBI.

Suggested Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a senior controls professional who blends technical SOX and audit expertise with practical business partnering capability. They should be comfortable operating in a transformation environment thriving when building capability managing ambiguity and driving delivery across multiple locations and stakeholder groups. They should bring a track record of leading teams resolving complex control issues and delivering impactful improvements. Candidates from Big 4 SOX advisory insurance internal audit or senior controls roles within multinational insurers will be particularly well-suited with prior IFRS 17 or actuarial process experience a significant advantage.

Prudential is an equal opportunity employer. We provide equality of opportunity of benefits for all who apply and who perform work for our organisation irrespective of sex race age ethnic origin educational social and cultural background marital status pregnancy and maternity religion or belief disability or part-time / fixed-term work or any other status protected by applicable law. We encourage the same standards from our recruitment and third-party suppliers taking into account the context of grade job and location. We also allow for reasonable adjustments to support people with individual physical or mental health requirements.