General Summary: Operate as a thought leader and champion of the Internal Audit fuction by supporting and actively collaborating and engaging with the team and business partners. Direct and oversee the execution of internal audits and operational reviews across all divisions of Designer Brands Inc. Establish standards and procedures for internal control testing and corporate wide operational audits. Works with Audit Committee of the Board of Directors and Executive management to ensure compliance with all internal and external audit requirements.
Reports to: Directly to Audit Committee Chairman / Administratively to Chief Financial Officer
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
*Direct the planning and execution of financial, regulatory, compliance and operational reviews/audits. *Bring a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management, internal controls and governance processes. *Inform Audit Committee and Executive management of effectiveness of internal control and risk management systems as well as control remediation plans. *Prepare annual risk-based audit plan focusing on key business risks and processes with input from relevant stakeholders and obtain approval from Audit Committee *Implement best practice audit standards and testing *Work in partnership with the company's external auditors to plan and implement a comprehensive audit of the company's interim, year-end and Sarbanes-Oxley assessments. *Lead and enhance process for reporting all audit findings which clearly articulate the risks and include recommendations which are documented and tracked for accountability. *Evaluate the adequacy of action taken by management to correct reported deficient conditions, accepting adequate corrective action and continuing reviews with appropriate management on action considered inadequate until satisfactory resolution. *Assist in testing the design and operating effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. *Administration of the Enterprise Risk Management process. Administation includes the independent oversight to risk owner mitigation plans and formalized reporting to Leadership and Board. *Maintain relationships with all levels of management, staff and external auditors. *Establish department strategy, objectives and standards of performance and monitor accomplishments while maintaining continuous process improvement *Collaborate effectively with cross functional teams, including close partnerships with Finance, IT and Legal.
Required Skills and Competencies:
*Proven leadership and motivational skills *Strong analytical and problem solving skills *Strong interpersonal, communication and leadership skills *PC proficiency, including Word, Excel & PowerPoint *Familiarity with major business processes *Strong technical internal audit skills, including IT audit skills *Ability to interact comfortably with senior/executive level management and board members *Ability to quickly assimilate relevant information in unfamiliar situations *Passion to help improve operations continuously *Sound judgment and ability to act independently
Minimum Qualifications
Experience:
*BA/BS plus Minimum 10 years of experience in public accounting or combination of public and private accounting including increasing management responsibility for audit functions *CIA or CPA, with previous Internal Audit experience *Public company experience, multinational locations a plus *Experience working in the retail industry
Preferred Qualifications:
*Private to public company transition experience and/or familiarity with controls implementation and training skills *Combination of audit and business experience preferred – specifically managing or leading accounting and/or FP&A functions *MBA
