Global Internal Audit Lead: Post-Acquisition & AI-Driven

Favia; United States; On-site; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Payward’s Audit & Risk function provides an integrated assurance framework spanning Internal Audit, SOX Compliance, and Enterprise Risk Management across multiple regulated entities and jurisdictions. You will partner with Internal Audit leadership to run risk-based operational audits with an immediate focus on post-acquisition integration, directing specialist support as needed.

You will lead engagement teams, manage end-to-end audits, and apply AI-enabled techniques to expand coverage while

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in internal audit, risk management, or regulatory examination within financial services, fintech, or crypto.
• Strong generalist audit background with ability to plan and lead audits across business, financial, operational, and regulatory processes.
• Experience auditing complex, regulated environments; exposure to post-acquisition or M&A integration is a strong plus.
• Multi-jurisdiction experience auditing or assessing controls across more than one regulatory regime, ideally with globally distributed teams.
• Ability to rapidly get up to speed on unfamiliar business models and direct specialist support where depth is required.
• Experience communicating findings and recommendations to senior stakeholders, including board or audit committee audiences.
• Leadership experience managing audit workstreams, engagement teams, and co-sourced specialists.
• Comfortable operating across multiple time zones with globally distributed teams.
• Uses generative AI responsibly with human oversight to improve workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.

Responsibilities

• Lead risk-based operational audits across governance, regulatory, financial, and operational processes and shape coverage across the audit plan.
• Drive post-acquisition integration audits—readiness, onboarding of acquired entities, and the design and operating effectiveness of controls.
• Assess integration and change risk across governance, licensing, change-of-control, finance, data migration, and key-person retention.
• Perform risk assessments to identify exposure and prioritize audit coverage.
• Direct co-sourced specialist support while maintaining Internal Audit ownership of judgments.
• Lead AI-enabled auditing to expand coverage and efficiency with human oversight.
• Manage multiple engagements end-to-end from planning through reporting.
• Document findings, gaps, root causes, and draft well-supported workpapers and reports.
• Track remediation and escalate delays to Internal Audit leadership.
• Collaborate to improve audit methodologies and ensure conformance with IIA standards.

Job description

Payward’s Audit & Risk function provides an integrated assurance framework spanning Internal Audit, SOX Compliance, and Enterprise Risk Management across multiple regulated entities and jurisdictions. You will partner with Internal Audit leadership to run risk-based operational audits with an immediate focus on post-acquisition integration, directing specialist support as needed.

You will lead engagement teams, manage end-to-end audits, and apply AI-enabled techniques to expand coverage while