Associate Principal, Technology SOX

In the role of Associate Principal, Platform Technology SOX, the successful candidate will be responsible for continued development of our Platform Technology compliance program for Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.  You will support design and scoping of key IT controls over platform financial reporting in a rapidly changing and growing company and technology environment, as a leader in the Finance Systems group.  You will provide guidance to process and control owners and lead coordination with other SOX stakeholders as well as our internal and external auditors. 

The platform refers to the airbnb.com platform and any in-scope platforms of any acquired businesses.  The scope of your work will also include technologies and databases between the platform and the company’s general ledger. You will work directly with Platform SOX control owners in the business (e.g., engineers), Security Risk Assurance for implementation of the controls, Global Risk (Internal Audit) for testing of the controls, and interact and extensively support efforts of the Company’s independent auditor.   You will also support the walkthrough process and evaluation of gaps, remediation of gaps, and evaluation of deficiencies.  You will also be deeply involved in the development of new IT controls for new platform systems (often tied to new products or lines of business and partnerships) driven by our high growth and rate of change.

You will help us create an IT SOX compliance program that continually evolves and reflects our business and stakeholder needs and expectations.

The role requires a well-rounded controls focused professional with accounting, systems and operational expertise.  Excellent communication, resource allocation and project management skills are critical, as well as the ability to influence across functions and various levels.  The position reports to Senior Principal of Platform Technology SOX that rolls up to the Head of Finance Systems.

Key responsibilities:

• Develop the annual compliance plan for Platform IT controls in coordination with Platform Controlling and Global Risk (Internal Audit).
• Work with business and engineering partners to identify financially relevant services, systems, databases and application functionality.
• Develop and help implement IT general controls for platform services in collaboration with business and engineering partners.
• Lead any initial documentation of SOX 404 platform IT controls.
• Consult on new business initiatives and platform system implementations/ enhancements and service oriented architecture work to assess the impact of changes on financial processes and IT general and application controls. Recommend controls to be implemented as part of new project launches and collaborate with teams on controls implementation.
• Act as the “go-to” person for Platform IT general controls within the organization and be an insightful resource for implementing controls in an efficient and effective manner, while creating guardrails to allow the business to move quickly.
• Support the quarterly 302 certification and control owner sub-certification process through coordination with Global Risk for platform services including “road-shows” explaining the “why” and “how” to impacted engineers.

Qualifications and Experience:

• A. or B.S. in Accounting or Finance or Management Information Systems or related field
• Minimum of 5+ years of experience, preferably with some years of external audit or consulting experience with publicly traded companies
• Understanding and experience with the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Section 404, COSO framework and PCAOB standards
• Knowledge of technology marketplace environments including both 3rd party and home-grown systems
• Understanding of a service oriented platform architecture and AWS infrastructure
• Experience with external auditor requirements and expectations
• Mission-driven, enthusiastic to learn and grow; team-oriented with a positive attitude and able to work in hyper-growth, fast paced environment
• Ability to work collaboratively with people at all levels of the organization and make actionable recommendations and use influence to ensure execution
• Strong risk management experience, including: performing assessments and audits, designing IT controls, leveraging risk and control frameworks, and prioritizing risk
• Role model Airbnb core values