Finance Risk and Assurance Associate

Company: Morgan Stanley
Location: Arlington
Posted on: June 25, 2022

Job Description:

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries. As a market leader, the talent and passion of our people is critical to our success. Together, we share a common set of values rooted in integrity, excellence and strong team ethic. Morgan Stanley can provide a superior foundation for building a professional career, a place for people to learn, to achieve and grow. A philosophy that balances personal lifestyles, perspectives and needs is an important part of our culture. In Q4 2020, Morgan Stanley completed the acquisition of E*TRADE Financial Corporation, a formerly publicly traded financial services firm. Integration efforts of the two companies are currently underway.

Arlington Profile:

Morgan Stanleys Arlington office employs approximately 500 professionals across Finance, Risk, Technology, Legal and Compliance, and Internal Audit. Due to our growing business, we have a demand for career minded people to join our teams. Our opportunities offer unrivalled scope for progression and training within a fast paced, meritocratic and constantly changing environment. Morgan Stanley pride themselves on maintaining a culture which champions diversity, an inclusive environment for all, recognition and an opportunity to give back to our communities through various local charity partnerships. The office is located centrally in the Ballston area and is accessible by metro.

Department Profile:

The Finance Division reports to the Chief Financial Officer and consists of some 2500 employees worldwide. Finance protects the Morgan Stanley franchise by serving as guardian of the Firm's books and records, and by contributing to firm wide risk management and risk reduction. This division maintains relationships with Morgan Stanley's various industry and government regulators, and also serves as the conduit of financial information to the outside investment community. Finance plays a critical role as advisor to Morgan Stanley's various businesses and its senior management team.

The Finance Control Group (FCG) is responsible for overseeing the accounting and financial and regulatory reporting for the Firm. FCG prepares external financial reports for public filings and regulators. For internal reporting FCG, along with Financial Planning and Analysis (FPA), summarizes, plans and forecasts the organization's financial position, including income statements, balance sheets, and analyses of future revenues, expenses and earnings. FCG is comprised of Business Unit Controllers, Infrastructure Controllers, Accounting, Regulatory and Reporting groups, Tax and Valuation Review.

Job Summary

The role will reside within the Finance Division, under the Finance Risk and Assurance (FinRiA) function that supports a number of Morgan Stanley?s key validation programs including SOX Compliance, Large Financial Institutions (LFI) Key Control Validation and the Morgan Stanley 17a-5 Broker Dealer Compliance program as well as the overall Finance Risk agenda. These programs require management to document, assess and make representations about the effectiveness of the Firm?s internal control framework. Participation in this requires understanding of internal control activities, interpretation of the regulations and coordination of activities across the division. SpecificallySpecifically, this Director Associate level role will be tasked with planning, executing and documenting control testing, primarily within the Wealth Management segment, to support FinRiAs various validation programs. Additionally, this role will be active in identifying and evaluating key integration activities that occur as a result of the recent merger between E*TRADE Financial and Morgan Stanley. leading FinRiAs oversight, analysis, and documentation of Finances integration activities between legacy E*TRADE Financial processes and Morgan Stanley.

The broader Finance Risk agenda includes, but is not limited to, governance of the Global End User Computing procedures, Risk & Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) governance and reporting, FDIC Improvement Act (FDICIA) testing and other operational risk related topics. This dynamic position offers the candidate an exceptional opportunity to gain exposure and learn various processes across the Finance division.

The ideal candidate possesses banking/financial services experience, with a focus on internal controls. Additionally, the candidate should have knowledge of project management, process flow mapping, design and documentation of controls, risk assessment and the ability to interact effectively with all levels of management via superior communication (written and oral) skills.

Primary Responsibilities:

Responsibilities Include but are not limited to:

* Evaluate and document impact to Finance processes and controls throughout integration efforts between E*TRADE and MS; including IT general controls and application controls as applicable
* Proactively identify potential areas of risk to the firms compliance with SOX and 17a-5 as integration efforts continue, and partner with the business and risk leads to ensure these risks are mitigated by appropriately designed and documented controls
* Periodically re-evaluate appropriateness of Finance?s control environment throughout integration and report to management as necessary
* Communicate status of integration activities and anticipated changes to risks/processes to greater FinRiA team to ensure continuity of coverage across the organization
* Identify, document and assess SOX, 17a-5 and FDICIA controls on behalf of management, including any controls that may change as a result of integration activities
* Communicate findings and recommendations to management, determine root causes, obtain management's action plan for remediation in a timely manner and track findings through resolution
* Document control deficiencies which are clear, concise and provide value to management
* Develop and manage working relationships with key stakeholders, including Risk Managers and Business Process owners
* Assist in the development and rollout of the testing strategy for a number of key validation programs
* Assist in various ad-hoc and broader Finance Risk agenda topics
* Develop and maintain productive working relationships within a global team.

Skills Required:

* Bachelor?s degree in Finance or Accounting
* 26 years relevant experience in public accounting, or a combination of public and internal audit experience, preferably within financial services with a minimum of 2 years in financial services
* Knowledge of internal control frameworks (specifically COSO) and a solid understanding of the concepts of control design and operational efficiencyeffectiveness
* Proven understanding of control testing methodologies and processes
* Excellent analytical, technical and problem-solving skills with strong attention to detail
* Strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate with key stakeholders and Senior Management
* Working knowledge of data, application, IT general and end user computing controls
* Intellectual curiosity with a focus on information sharing
* Strong relationship building skills
* Flexibility to constantly learn and adapt in a fast-paced environment
* Time management and organizational skills enabling the achievement of tight deadlines on multiple concurrent tasks

Keywords: Morgan Stanley, Arlington , Finance Risk and Assurance Associate, Accounting, Auditing , Arlington, Texas