Head of Financial Internal Controls

Role overview 

The Head of Financial Internal Controls will lead the financial business process internal controls function for Nebius Group, building a scalable, risk-based SOX program that supports reliable financial reporting and the continued growth of the business. Reporting to the Head of Internal Controls and Internal Audit, the role will set the strategy, lead execution, and provide senior management with clear insight into control effectiveness, emerging risks, and remediation priorities. 

The role will lead an internal team of controls professionals operating as risk partners, with a designated partner for every in-scope financial SOX process. The team will work closely with process and control owners, Finance, and the parallel IT Controls team to strengthen end-to-end controls and address business and technology dependencies. The Head will continue to build the team, its capabilities, and its operating model as the business expands. 

As a second-line leader, the Head will establish standards, advise and challenge management, and oversee monitoring and management testing. Business process and control owners retain accountability for designing, implementing, and operating their controls and executing remediation. Internal Audit retains its separate third-line assurance responsibilities, with appropriate safeguards for objectivity where reporting lines are shared. 

Key responsibilities 

Financial controls strategy and governance 

• Define and execute the financial internal controls strategy, annual SOX roadmap, and multi-year improvement plan, aligned with financial reporting risks, business priorities, and growth. 

• Lead financial process risk assessment and SOX scoping, including significant accounts, disclosures, entities, and relevant assertions; reassess coverage as the business, systems, and transaction volumes change. 

• Set consistent standards for risk and control matrices, process documentation, control design, evidence, management review precision, and deficiency evaluation, aligned with the Group control framework. 

Risk partner leadership and team growth 

• Lead, coach, and evaluate the risk partner team; assign clear process coverage, objectives, decision rights, and escalation responsibilities across all in-scope financial SOX processes. 

• Develop the workforce plan and resource budget; recruit, onboard, and retain professionals with the skills needed for business growth, new entities, and increasingly complex processes. 

• Build technical depth, succession coverage, and a consistent advisory approach; balance internal capacity and specialist support while maintaining ownership and quality within the team. 

Key responsibilities continued 

End-to-end SOX program delivery 

• Direct the financial process SOX lifecycle, from scoping and walkthroughs through design and implementation assessment, operating effectiveness testing, remediation, and year-end roll-forward procedures. 

• Establish the annual calendar, milestones, quality reviews, and reporting cadence; coordinate with IT Controls, management testing resources, and external auditors to support timely completion before annual reporting. 

• Oversee management testing plans and workpaper quality, including population completeness, sample selection, evidence sufficiency, and conclusions. Align deliverables with external auditor expectations while respecting the auditor’s independent judgments and reliance decisions. 

• Hold risk partners accountable for proactive monitoring of control readiness and execution, identifying potential failures early, and coordinating timely corrective action with business owners. 

Control effectiveness and remediation 

• Challenge control design and operating performance across in-scope processes, including procurement and payables, revenue and receivables, fixed assets and capital expenditure, inventory, payroll, treasury, tax, and financial close and reporting, as applicable. 

• Lead second-line oversight of control deficiencies, including root cause analysis, severity assessment, aggregation, remediation planning, compensating controls, and escalation. 

• Require remediation plans with accountable business owners, milestones, resources, and evidence requirements. Monitor progress and escalate overdue actions or solutions that do not address the underlying risk. 

• Oversee validation and retesting of remediated controls, allowing sufficient operating history and evidence before recommending closure; provide transparent assessments of residual risk and readiness for year-end conclusions. 

Partnership with IT Controls and business stakeholders 

• Work as a peer to the IT Controls lead to maintain integrated coverage of business controls, IT general controls, automated controls, interfaces, segregation of duties, and system-generated reports used in financial controls. 

• Agree clear responsibilities and shared milestones with IT Controls; jointly assess the financial control implications of IT deficiencies and coordinate impact analysis, compensating controls, and remediation. 

• Serve as a senior adviser to Finance and business leadership, translating financial reporting risks into practical control requirements and challenging decisions where exposures remain unresolved. 

• Embed risk partners in process governance and change initiatives. Advise on controls for new products, entities, acquisitions, ERP implementations, and data conversions, with clear readiness criteria, risk escalation, and follow-up after go-live. 

Reporting and continuous improvement 

• Provide concise reporting on coverage, testing results, control failures, remediation, resource needs, and emerging risks to the Head of Internal Controls and Internal Audit; contribute to executive and Audit Committee materials and management’s ICFR assessment and certification processes. 

• Drive proportionate standardization, automation, and better use of data to improve control reliability and reduce unnecessary effort. Lead training for process owners and control owners to strengthen accountability and evidence quality. 

Qualifications and experience 

Required experience 

• 12 or more years of relevant experience in financial internal controls, SOX, audit, or finance risk management, including at least five years leading teams or major controls programs in a complex international environment. 

• Demonstrated experience leading an end-to-end financial SOX program for a listed or similarly complex business, including risk assessment, scoping, control design, management testing, deficiency evaluation, and year-end reporting. 

• Proven ability to recruit, develop, and scale a team of internal controls professionals, establish effective process coverage, and manage competing priorities and resource constraints. 

• Strong knowledge of COSO, ICFR, SOX requirements, and relevant financial reporting requirements under US GAAP and IFRS; ability to translate accounting and disclosure risks into effective controls. 

• Track record of leading oversight of significant deficiency or material weakness remediation, including root cause analysis, sustainable corrective action, and evidence-based validation. 

• Practical understanding of IT dependencies in financial processes, including ITGCs, automated controls, access and segregation of duties, interfaces, and the completeness and accuracy of information used in controls. 

• Experience advising on finance transformation, ERP implementations, process redesign, and data migration in a fast-growing or changing business. 

• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, challenge constructively, and work effectively with business owners, IT Controls, Internal Audit, and external auditors. 

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business, or a related discipline, or an equivalent professional qualification. Fluent written and spoken English. 

Preferred qualifications 

• CPA, CA, ACCA, CIA, or an equivalent professional certification; a master’s degree is an advantage. 

• Experience in a multinational technology or infrastructure business, with substantial capital expenditure and rapidly evolving financial processes. 

• Experience with NetSuite, Oracle, or comparable ERP platforms and controls management tools. 

Leadership competencies 

• Strategic judgment with the ability to translate risk priorities into practical execution and measurable improvements in control effectiveness. 

• Strong people leadership, clear accountability, and the ability to build an engaged team of credible risk partners across locations and cultures. 

• Professional skepticism, sound judgment, and the confidence to escalate material issues promptly while maintaining productive stakeholder relationships. 

• Clear executive communication and disciplined delivery in a dynamic environment, with a pragmatic approach to balancing control rigor and business needs. 

Measures of success 

• Complete, risk-based process coverage and timely, high-quality SOX deliverables that support management’s annual ICFR assessment and reporting deadlines. 

• Controls that demonstrate effective operation in testing, supported by early detection of potential failures, timely remediation, and fewer recurring deficiencies. 

• Sustainable remediation validated with sufficient evidence, integrated resolution of business and IT control dependencies, and timely escalation of residual risks. 

• A capable, scalable risk partner team with clear process accountability, strong stakeholder relationships, and capacity aligned with business growth.