Internal Audit Specialist III

Vistra Energy; Irving (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Vistra Corporate Services in Irving, Texas seeks an experienced Internal Audit professional to plan, direct, and complete complex assurance and advisory audits focusing on financial, operational, and compliance risks.

You will serve as Auditor-in-Charge, lead audit teams across units, develop risk-mitigating action plans with management, and leverage data analytics to improve processes while ensuring timely delivery.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of audit or relevant experience.
• CPA/CIA/CISA/CCSA/CIDA/CFE preferred.
• Experience in electric power generation, electric retail, or energy trading is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own all audit lifecycle phases for assigned engagements, ensuring on-time completion and quality.
• Plan audits with objectives, scope, timelines, and team assignments.
• Conduct interviews to understand processes and design reference programs.
• Identify and assess risks and evaluate controls across the area under audit.
• Determine testing strategy and leverage data analytics where possible.
• Test controls for effectiveness and prepare findings and recommendations.
• Prepare audit reports and follow up on management actions.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to drive risk mitigation and process improvements.
• Report updates to key audit stakeholders up to EVP.

Skills

Auditing

Data analytics

Risk assessment

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance

Job description

Job Summary

Plans, directs, and completes complex assurance and advisory/consulting audits of business processes or units, with particular focus on financial, operational, and compliance risks. Adheres to department audit methodology and utilizes technology-based audit techniques to perform required duties where appropriate. Leverages data analytics tools and techniques on traditional and continuous audits. Serves as the Auditor-in-Charge role on the project and may lead an integrated audit team crossing multiple business units. Partners with management to develop meaningful risk-mitigating action plans for issues identified. Performs follow-up audit procedures on management actions resulting from assigned audits. Assists with the risk assessment and audit plan development process.

Job Description Key Accountabilities

• Responsible for ownership of all audit lifecycle phases for the assigned Internal Audit risk-based audit and advisory engagements, including on-time completion of projects, the project’s management and documentation within the audit project management system, and the project’s adherence to Internal Audit methodology and quality assurance requirements.
• Plans the assurance or advisory audit, including the development of the audit objectives, scope, time-line, and team assignments when applicable.
• Conduct interviews to gain an understanding of the processes/activities being audited and communicate the objectives/scope to the audit customer. Audits assigned to this role frequently must be developed from scratch without prior audit programs to use as reference and must be designed by the auditor.
• Identify and assess the risks associated with the area under audit.
• Identify and evaluate the controls designed to mitigate the identified risks.
• Determine testing strategy appropriate for risks and controls identified, considering sampling methodology and opportunities to leverage data analytics.
• Test the controls for operational effectiveness/compliance and provide recommendations to address identified control gaps.
• Summarize issues identified and prepare the audit report.
• Collaborate with audit customers to advise valuable risk‑mitigating control enhancement recommendations and process improvement considerations through assurance, advisory, and management request projects.
• Continuous updates to key audit stakeholders, including updates up through EVP.
• Pro‑actively monitors open issue follow‑up activities including remediation testing and issue close‑out within the audit project management system.
• Assists with the annual risk assessment and audit plan development process via analysis of relevant data, participation in Enterprise Risk Management workshops, socialization of emerging risks with key stakeholders, and analysis of prior audit findings. Suggests audit plan adjustments as applicable.
• Participation in, and ownership of, recurrent stakeholder discussions, including discussions with executives throughout the business.
• Often sought out by leaders in the business to perform management requests or join task forces because of their expertise.

Education, Experience, & Skill Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or other related business discipline.
• Minimum 8+ years of audit or other relevant experience.
• Certification such as CPA, CIA, CISA, CCSA, CIDA, or CFE preferred.
• Previous experience in electric power generation, electric retail or energy trading businesses preferred.
• Advanced risk identification and prioritization skills, including the ability to connect the broader implications of risks to their potential impact to organizational objectives.
• Ability to be assigned a wide array of audit engagement topics and risk areas, while also demonstrating specialized business knowledge and/or functional expertise, such as:
  • oRobust knowledge of processes, governance, and risk profiles of relevant business segments (e.g., Generation, Retail, etc)
  • oAdvanced functional expertise and/or skills and the ability to enhance auditing techniques (e.g., data analytics tools and techniques)
  • oGenerally consulted by other auditors or stakeholders in the business for their input, guidance, or direction based on this expertise.
• Ability to establish and maintain relationships with key business partners, often at the executive level.
• Exceptional skills pertaining to communication, including interviewing audit stakeholders, preparing and presenting audit plans, results, and reports, negotiating and collaborating on recommendations and management action plans, etc.
• Ability to lead meetings and represent Internal Audit leadership as needed.
• Thorough understanding of Internal Audit methodology and the Institute of Internal Auditors’ Global Internal Audit Standards. Ability to adhere to all requirements throughout the audit lifecycle, including planning, fieldwork, reporting, and follow‑up, and can train other auditors on Internal Audit methodology procedures as needed.
• Understanding of general fraud concepts and the ability to analyze business processes for fraud risks.
• Knowledge of accounting principles, financial reporting concepts, and information technology risks.

Key Metrics

• On‑time Audit Plan completion
• On‑time high‑risk open issue closure
• Internal Audit’s annual Risk Assessment and Audit Plan development
• Adherence to methodology through Quality Assurance Reviews.

Job Family: Internal Audit
Company: Vistra Corporate Services
Locations: Irving, Texas, Texas

We are a company of people committed to: Exceeding Customer Expectations, Great People, Teamwork, Competitive Spirit and Effective Communication.

It is the policy of the Company to comply with all employment laws and to afford equal employment opportunity to individuals in all aspects of employment, including in selection for job opportunities, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military service, protected veteran status, or any other consideration protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance submitting an application or would like to request an accommodation, please email us at [e-mail] to make a request.

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is a leading Fortune 500 integrated retail electricity and power generation company based in Irving, Texas, that provides essential power resources to customers, businesses, and communities from California to Maine. Vistra is the largest competitive power generator in the U.S., with a capacity of approximately 41,000 megawatts, or enough to power 20 million homes, operating in all of the major competitive wholesale markets in the country. Vistra is a leader in the energy transformation and expansion with an unyielding focus on reliability, affordability, and sustainability, powered by a diverse portfolio that includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage facilities. The company continues to grow its zero‑carbon resources, operating the second‑largest fleet of competitive nuclear power plants in the country, substantial battery energy storage capacity, and a growing number of solar facilities. Vistra is one of the largest competitive electricity providers in the country and takes an innovative, customer‑centric approach to retail, offering solutions to meet customers’ needs, including more than 50 renewable energy plans. Through its family of retail brands, Vistra serves approximately 5 million residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers. As a leader in the responsible transformation of the country’s energy supply, Vistra has made significant progress towards its 2030 and 2050 targets. The company has committed to a 60% reduction of Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, as compared to our 2010 baseline, and net‑zero carbon emissions by 2050, assuming necessary technological advancements and public policy incentives are achieved. Learn more about our environmental, social, and governance efforts and read the company’s sustainability report at https://vistracorp.com/sustainability/. Vistra’s hardworking team is committed to its purpose, “lighting up lives, powering a better way forward” and is guided by four core principles: we do business the right way, we work as a team, we compete to win, and we care about our stakeholders, including our customers, our communities where we work and live, our employees, and our investors. Learn more about how Vistra is powering a better way forward at vistracorp.com. Come join us and be part of something special!

It is the policy of the Company to comply with all employment laws and to afford equal employment opportunity to individuals in all aspects of employment, including in selection for job opportunities, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military service, protected veteran status, or any other consideration protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance submitting an application or would like to request an accommodation, please email us at [e-mail] to make a request.