Associate Director, Internal Audit Professional Practices

Overview

At Community Financial System, Inc. (CFSI), we are dedicated to providing our customers with friendly, personalized, high-quality financial services and products. Our retail division, Community Bank, N.A., operates more than 200 customer facilities across Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont and Western Massachusetts. Beyond retail banking, we also offer commercial banking, wealth management, investment management, insurance and risk management, and benefit plan administration.

Just as our employees are committed to helping our customers manage their finances, we’re committed to our employees. After all, they make it happen for our customers every day.

To ensure our people can enjoy long and successful careers here at CFSI, we offer competitive compensation, great benefits, and professional development and advancement opportunities. As an equal-opportunity workplace and affirmative-action employer, we celebrate and support a diverse workplace for the benefit of all: our employees, customers and communities.

Provide an innovative and industry leading approach to the professional practices strategy within Internal Audit while demonstrating a strong understanding of internal audit standards, best practices, and regulatory guidance. This position is responsible for managing the Internal Audit Department’s professional practices and quality assurance and improvement program (QAIP). The Head of Professional Practices will be responsible for driving process, policy, continuous improvements and quality outputs, through the execution and management of the program.

Managing the quality assurance and improvement program drives high-quality work, consistency and adherence to Internal Audit Department policies, procedures, methodology, Institute of Internal Audit (IIA) Global Standards and regulatory guidance. The Head of Professional Practices is expected to build and continually develop a reputation as a trusted partner with the Director of Internal Audit, management and other assurance providers within the company.

In accordance with the Company and Department values, this position must maintain integrity, excellence, teamwork and humility, ensure strict code of ethics and corporate confidentiality.

• Provide leadership over the QAIP to include Internal Audit departments standards, methodology and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Execute Internal Quality Assessment Review and manage outsourcing of External Quality Assessment Review in accordance with IIA Global Standards and regulatory guidance, providing report on results and opportunities for improvement.
• Maintain Internal Audit department policies and procedures (Audit Manual), update as required.
• Provide guidance on Internal Audit methodology.
• Support the execution of the annual risk assessment and audit planning processes.
• Manage the department’s training program to ensure the team possesses the appropriate technical skills of a high performing department.
• Manage the preparation of Department reporting to the Audit Committee, ensuring high quality documentation.
• Monitor the issues remediation and reporting process.
• Support the root cause analysis and reporting process.
• Provide oversight to the audit program review process in accordance with policy, procedure, regulatory requirements and best practices, providing recommendation for process improvements.
• Provide system administration/support to ensure audit workpaper application adheres to professional standards and regulatory guidance.
• Monitor key performance and key risk indicators.
• Stay abreast of emerging risks, regulatory changes and industry trends and communicate with the Director and audit team.
• Establish effective, credible and…