4Internal Audit Manager- London

About the company

S4Capital is a new age/new era digital advertising and marketing services company, listed on the London Stock Exchange. Founded in 2018, S4Capital has combined with more than 25 companies across the content, data & digital media and technology services sectors. In 2024, S4Capital further simplified its structure around two practices, Marketing services and Technology services, with a new brand name, Monks. The company is headquartered in London and is active in 32 countries with over 7,000 employees.

In 2022 S4Capital’s Internal Audit function was created using an outsource model in partnership with Deloitte. With the recent appointment of a Head of Internal Audit we are now looking to bring the function in house and create a best-in-class internal audit team to help drive business value through the next stage of our growth. This Internal Audit Manager position will be one of the first roles to be recruited and the successful candidate will be actively involved in shaping the new function. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to join a business of scale which is continuing to disrupt the advertising and marketing world and has a mission to ‘seize the decade’. 

The Internal Audit Manager role is based at our office in Shoreditch. As a collaborative people-based business we would like the team to be in the office 2-3 days per week. Some international travel will be needed, approximately 20%.

About the job

The key responsibilities of the Internal Audit Manager include:

• In conjunction with the Head of Internal Audit, designing and implementing an internal audit methodology aligned to Institute of Internal Audit (IIA) Standards.
• Contributing to the development of the annual internal audit plan.
• Managing the delivery of assigned audits to time, cost and quality. Taking ownership of audit delivery from planning through fieldwork to reporting, and obtaining buy-in from key stakeholders.
• Reviewing the completion and quality of audit work performed by other team members to ensure that that controls have been appropriately tested and conclusions reached are supported. 
• Using your expertise to draft high quality audit reports that clearly articulate the issues identified and their impact on the business, along with SMART actions to address them.
• Working with action owners and other relevant stakeholders to track the completion of all agreed actions, escalating any overdue actions as appropriate. 
• Taking an active role in the recruitment and onboarding of new team members as the function takes shape.
• Once recruited, managing 1-2 direct reports in a small matrixed team. Developing talent, motivating, leading, and supporting team members to ensure skills, knowledge and professional experience are effectively shared and utilised.
• Building and maintaining an effective stakeholder network across the organisation.  
• Contributing to a collaborative and professional work environment that encourages learning, innovation, and career development.
• Fostering awareness of risk and control across S4Capital – encouraging a business culture that seeks continuous improvement in the management of risks and effectiveness of controls.
• Maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of internal audit best practice and regulatory requirements.
• Ad hoc projects as and when required.

About the ideal candidate

• An agile and robust mindset, able to work effectively in a world with rapidly changing priorities and deadlines. Experience in a fast growth (organic and M&A) organisation would be very beneficial.
• Possess a professional qualification (ACA, CIMA, ACCA, MBA, CMIIA or equivalent) or be a qualified internal auditor (CIA).
• Technical expertise and knowledge of professional internal audit practices, governance, risk management and internal controls, with a strong track record of relevant audit experience.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with a demonstrable ability to summarise and explain technical issues and solutions for a non-technical audience.
• Experience of direct line management with a successful track record of motivating, leading, coaching, developing and performance-managing individuals or small teams.
• Good knowledge of financial reporting standards, compliance programmes and risk assessment methodologies.
• Previous professional experience of working in complex, international organisations is highly desirable.

RISK & CONTROLS MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

Company: GroupM EMEA

Location: London, UK

Salary range: Competitive

Reporting to: Associate Risk & Controls Director, GroupM EMEA

ABOUT GROUPM

GroupM is the world’s leading media buying operation worldwide, responsible for more than $60B of global media billings through agencies including Mindshare, Essence Mediacom, Wavemaker, and mSix & Partners, as well as Nexus, the industry’s largest community of performance marketing experts designed to drive performance and innovation at scale for GroupM’s agencies and clients.

SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE

We are looking for a Risk & Controls Manager to join our team. The candidate will be part of the EMEA Risk & Controls team, reporting to the Associate Risk & Controls Director, GroupM EMEA.

You will be responsible for providing support to the organization in both implementing and monitoring an effective local control framework aligned with Group requirements and the wide spectrum of compliance activities. You will support with audits on both coordination, issue discussion and remediation. This is a challenging role with multiple priorities and a wide range of local and regional stakeholders.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Promote and help embed the culture of ethics and integrity across the region, through training, support and advising on relevant topics such as anti-bribery and corruption, internal controls, as well as internal policy requirements.
• Serve as a risk & controls subject matter expert and thought leader within the region.
• Be a great business partner; establish and maintain excellent relationships within the R&C team and local markets, and collaborate effectively with colleagues across GroupM, WPP and other Networks. Engage with multiple senior stakeholders, both internal and external.
• Support the design and implementation of financial, operational and compliance controls in line with the WPP Internal Control framework, which includes meeting the documentation and evidence standards required.
• Design and operate effective on-going quality reviews / control monitoring programs as a second line of defense for the markets you work with.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement, including use of technology, while adapting to the new and evolving challenges and opportunities.
• Reinforce WPP & GroupM policies, control requirements and communicate updates / changes to the business in a clear and concise manner.
• Be a partner and source of support and guidance for specific areas of change / strategic importance that require controls implementation to enable on-going success.
• Think strategically about our business, develop pragmatic and sustainable solutions to enhance the control environment and streamline and standardise processes, procedures and controls.
• Coordinate audit and compliance activities alongside the relevant teams within the markets you support, liaising with internal and external audit teams (e.g. WPP IA, PwC and EY) and monitor remediation for all sources of assurance.
• Coordinate / oversee internal control and risk management processes, e.g. business risk maps, internal control self-certifications, market Letter of Representation submissions, Code of Conduct and related party declarations review.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
• 5+ years of work experience in industry or consulting in risk and controls, ethics and compliance, business process improvement, risk management, or internal / external audit.

MANDATORY SKILLS

• Familiar with IFRS, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, PCAOB requirements, etc.
• Ability to work independently and apply a structured approach towards balancing multiple demands and priorities in a fast-paced environment and work cross-functionally across different geographies, functions, and employees of diverse backgrounds.
• Experienced in assessing business risk and evaluating adequacy and effectiveness of internal control systems.
• Experienced in driving improvement and creating stronger business relationships, rather than simply enforcing guidelines.
• Approachable with excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written).
• Flexibility and openness to grow and take ownership of new projects/tasks/roles.
• Competent in Excel.

DESIRED SKILLS

• Certified Accountant, ACA/CA/ACCA qualified or equivalent.
• Language skills. We work across 30+ countries and therefore additional languages including Spanish, French and German are desirable.
• Experience in media and advertising with proven knowledge of core business processes.