Sr. Internal Controls Manager

Betterment Betterment · Fintech · New York, NY · Finance

Betterment is seeking a Sr. Internal Controls Manager to shape their internal control environment and prepare for IPO readiness. This role is central to the company's SOX readiness program, involving risk assessment, control documentation, compliance, and external auditor liaison. The manager will work across Finance, Risk, Operations, and Engineering, with significant exposure to senior leadership. Responsibilities include leading risk assessments, owning control design and documentation, maintaining risk/control matrices, executing validation testing, coordinating external audits, managing access governance, and evaluating control deficiencies. Requires 8+ years of experience in internal audit/controls/SOX compliance, knowledge of COSO, SOX 404, ITGC frameworks, and business process controls. Experience with AI-assisted workflows and automation tools is a plus.

What you'd actually do

  1. Lead the annual risk assessment, control scoping, and materiality exercise in partnership with the Controller, aligning on controls in scope for validation and external audit walkthroughs
  2. Own the design, documentation, and ongoing assessment of entity-level controls
  3. Maintain and refresh the company’s business process control and IT general control risk and control matrices, ensuring risks, controls, and ownership are accurate and current
  4. Execute and coordinate control validation and effectiveness testing across all in-scope processes.
  5. Lead the preparation for and coordination of external audit walkthroughs, partnering with process owners to clarify evidence expectations, execution guidance, and remediation timelines

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, MIS, or a related field
  • 8+ years of experience in internal audit, internal controls, or SOX compliance, with evidence of progressive responsibility
  • Deep working knowledge of COSO, SOX 404, ITGC frameworks (access management, change management), and risk and control matrix methodology
  • Experience with business process controls across common enterprise cycles: revenue, expenditures, payroll, financial close, and treasury
  • Exceptional communication skills and comfort managing up and cross-functionally in a rapidly changing control environment

Nice to have

  • Experience with systems in our stack: NetSuite, Zip, Stripe, Salesforce, Numeric, ADP, Greenhouse, Pave, Okta, FastPath, or Hyperproof
  • An active CPA license or professional certifications such as CISA are beneficial
  • A mix of public accounting, consulting, or private company work experience
  • Prior experience leading a SOX audit cycle or IPO readiness process
  • Experience in technology and/or financial services industries
  • Willingness to learn and adopt new technologies, including AI-assisted workflows and automation tools

What the JD emphasized

  • IPO readiness
  • SOX readiness
  • SOX compliance
  • SOX 404
  • ITGC frameworks
  • risk and control matrix methodology
  • business process controls