Job Description

Job Title: Advanced Specialist, Internal Audit, Controls, Compliance, and Risk

The Job is also known as SOX Controls Senior Analyst

Work shift: 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM/ 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM Philippine Time

Hybrid work setup: Onsite twice a month

At Pearson we help people realise the life they imagine through learning. Learning is no longer just a stage of life but a lifelong journey. In an era where AI is moving at breathtaking pace and where there is huge demand for new talent, with new skills, the world needs learning more than ever before. Whether it’s upskilling in the workplace, developing a team, getting ahead in school, making the grade at university, or learning a new language, millions of people around the world trust Pearson products and services to help them realise the life they imagine through learning. We hold learners, educators, and enterprises at the heart of our thinking. Our five interconnected business divisions work together to meet people’s evolving learning needs. We’re proud to be a trusted partner in the moments that matter throughout their lives.

As the equivalent of a Senior Analyst in Pearson’s Business Controls team you will play a key role in making sure that our framework of internal controls is well designed and operating as intended. You will be responsible for completing a sub-set of our annual controls testing as part of our Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. You will coordinate both with control owners in the business and members of our external audit team, promptly responding to and resolving any queries. This role offers a good opportunity for someone who is looking to build on their solid SOX experience and technical knowledge as we standardise internal controls testing at Pearson. We are a supportive team who already have one member based in Manila. If you’re interested in putting your SOX skills to good use in a supportive, collaborative international team we look forward to hearing from you. This role will require you to work 2-11pm or 1-10pm shift hours to align with international colleagues, be mostly home-based but willing and able to travel to Pearson’s Manila office once every two weeks to meet your Manila-based colleagues.

Main activities/responsibilities:

• Perform controls testing thoroughly in line with our team schedule and testing methodology.
• Highlight any opportunities for improvements to controls to control owners and process teams.
• Collaborating with control owners to develop remediation plans for addressing control deficiencies and monitoring remediation activities to ensure timely resolution of identified issues.
• Communicating clearly and concisely, in both written and spoken communication, to communicate testing requirements, and any potential issues.
• Building and sustaining positive working relationships with colleagues in the business, understanding their perspective, and any challenges, in operating controls.
• Proactive in managing your own work, asking for support when you need it, keeping your line manager up-to-date on progress and flagging any potential problems as soon as possible.
• Promptly documenting all work within our audit software, Wdesk, ensuring data is up-to-date and accurate.
• Keep up-to-date with changes in SOX guidance and techniques, and with changing technology

Qualifications required:

• Degree or equivalent level

• CPA/CIA/CRMA

• A minimum of one tp two years of experience post-qualification experience at an accountancy firm and / or large organization’s internal controls team, focused on SOX work

Desirable skills:

• Experience with major ERP systems, preferably Oracle
• Familiarity with audit / controls software - Wdesk experience a positive
• Familiarity with data analysis tools (e.g. Tableau, Google BigQuery, Process Mining)
• Understanding of key principles of AI assurance