SOX Audit Expert

Nace.AI; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 82,656 - 123,984; Part time

Job summary

A leading auditing tech firm in Palo Alto is seeking an experienced auditor with over 5 years of SOX compliance and financial audit expertise. The role involves reviewing AI-generated workpapers, defining ground truth across various controls, and shaping the product roadmap. Candidates should have a background in a Big 4 firm, hold a CPA certification, and possess a deep understanding of PCAOB standards. A competitive hourly rate is offered for this on-site position.

Qualifications

• 5+ years SOX compliance and financial audit experience, hands-on.
• Background in Big 4 or equivalent top-tier firm.
• Deep working knowledge of PCAOB standards and COSO framework.

Responsibilities

• Review AI-generated workpaper interpretations against audit standards.
• Define ground truth across various control types.
• Challenge the AI's exception logic and provide professional judgment.
• Shape the product roadmap based on auditor needs.

Skills

SOX compliance

Financial audit

PCAOB standards

Control testing

Judgment in auditing

Education

CPA certification

Degree in Accounting or Finance

Tools

GRC tools

Job description

Location

Palo Alto, CA

Employment Type

Contract

Location Type

On-site

Department

Finance & Audit

Engagement: 2 weeks · 8 hours/week Compensation: Competitive hourly rate

The Opportunity

We are building an AI-native platform for SOX control testing — one where an AI agent reads an audit workpaper, classifies every sheet, extracts sample rows, identifies exceptions, and generates PCAOB-defensible narratives. Automatically.

The engineering is working. What it needs now is an expert who can tell us when it's right and when it only looks right.

This is not a training role. This is not a data labeling role. This is the role where a seasoned auditor looks at what the AI produced, applies the kind of judgment that comes from years of real engagements, and tells us exactly where professional standards would push back — and why.

Your input directly shapes how AI handles SOX compliance for public companies. That influence starts on day one.

What You Will Actually Do

Review AI-generated workpaper interpretations against real audit standards. The system parses uploaded Excel workpapers and makes decisions: which tab is the testing table, which rows are samples, which variance is an exception. You will tell us when those decisions are audit-defensible and when they are not.

Define ground truth across control types. Reconciliation controls, management review controls, IT access reviews, three-way match, segregation of duties — each behaves differently. You will tell us what a correct result looks like for each, and provide real workpaper examples where possible.

Challenge the AI's exception logic. When the system flags a variance as an exception, is it? When it concludes a control is effective with limited samples tested, should it? You provide the professional judgement the engineering team cannot.

Shape the product roadmap. You will identify gaps between what auditors actually need and what the system currently produces. Those gaps become the next build cycle.

Who This Is For

You have 5+ years of hands‑on SOX audit experience, including direct workpaper preparation and review — not just oversight. You know what a PCAOB reviewer looks for because you have been in that room.

You came up through a Big 4 or equivalent top‑tier firm (EY, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, or a national practice with equivalent SOX depth). You hold a CPA and have worked across multiple clients and control environments, not just one industry.

You are intellectually curious about what AI gets wrong — not defensive about it. You see the potential for AI in audit and want to be part of getting it right from the beginning, before the standards catch up.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years SOX compliance and financial audit experience, hands‑on
• Big 4 or equivalent top‑tier firm background required
• Deep working knowledge of PCAOB standards and COSO framework
• CPA certification required
• Experience spanning multiple control types, not single‑domain

Preferred

• Experience leading SOX workstreams for mid‑to‑large cap public companies
• Former senior associate or manager level — you reviewed others' workpapers
• Exposure to control testing automation or GRC tools
• Intellectual interest in where AI belongs — and doesn't belong — in regulated workflows