Associate Director, Audit and Assurance Services

Job Description

Job Description:

This Associate Director, Audit and Assurance Services role will be part of the SOX Project Management Organization (SOX PMO) along with the Director and Executive Director in charge of our SOX Program. This role is responsible for assisting in the development of our SOX Audit Plan, coordinating with external auditors and Global Process Owners, staying connected to the Governance and Compliance Lead who leads any changes to controls, assisting Audit Teams during fieldwork, and ultimately reporting SOX Audit Findings to Senior Leaders. This individual will also assist in audits outside of SOX.

Description

• SOX scoping

  • Develop and maintain the SOX Audit Plan, including selection of entities and processes subject to MCAAS testing.

  • Execute quarterly scoping reviews to confirm testing coverage aligns to MCAAS guidelines and evolving business changes.

• Audit planning and execution oversight

  • Support audit teams during fieldwork to ensure consistent application of testing attributes, timely deficiency vetting, and alignment on process improvements.

  • Maintain AuditBoard accuracy and reporting for all control and testing documentation.

• Stakeholder collaboration and external auditor engagement

  • Partner with SOX IT team to evaluate the control impact of new system implementations and general changes to our control environment.

  • Discuss control changes and significant findings with Global Process Owners (GPOs), Governance & Compliance leads, and PwC.

  • Serve as MCAAS’s liaison to PwC.

• Team leadership and skill development

  • Lead, coach, and train a small team during audits, ensuring high-quality deliverables and development of staff.

  • Provide technical guidance on company policies, control design, testing methodology, and reporting.

• Reporting, analytics and continuous improvement

  • Produce senior leadership reporting on deficiency trends and audit results.

  • Lead initiatives to streamline testing, improve efficiencies, and implement best practices across the SOX program.

  • Participate in ad-hoc incident response and control impact assessments as required.

• Execute Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC) Audits

  • Perform approx. four GRC Audits in a year, where you lead a small team through financial and compliance audits and assessments across all our Company's divisions and functions to evaluate the adequacy of internal controls and deliver audit reports that add value to the area audited

  • Coach and train staff members during the execution of the audits and assessments.

Qualifications:

Education Minimum Requirement:

• BS/BA degree in accounting

Required Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of demonstrated technical accounting experience, preferably with a Big 4 firm

• Must be able to cope with changing priorities and work under the pressure of rigid time schedules

• Experience with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance

• Certified Public Accountant

• Air travel is required within assigned regions/entities both domestically and internationally to complete testing; estimated travel up to 25% of the time.

• Driving is also required for certain domestic audits

Required Skills:

Accountability, Accountability, Administrative Policies, Asset Accounting, Audit Planning, Budgeting, Client Relationship Building, Compliance Awareness, Financial Analysis, Governance Risk Compliance (GRC), Internal Audit Controls, IS Audit, Leadership Reporting, Management Process, New System Implementations, Performance Monitoring, Persuasion, Policy Development, Policy Implementation, Preparation of Financial Reports, Project Governance, Report Writing, Risk Governance, Risk Management, Tax Return Analysis {+ 4 more}

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The salary range for this role is

$129,000.00 - $203,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

05/16/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.