Staff Auditor

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 330,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 36,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.
The Office of Internal Audit and Compliance (IAC) provides assurance and advisory services through independent and objective reviews to continuously improve systems and processes across the district that better prepare every child for success in college, career, and civic life.
Job Summary:
Reporting to the Audit Manager, the Staff Auditor conducts financial, operational, performance, compliance and other audits or reviews as assigned. Under the supervision of departmental management, this work will include planning, fieldwork, testing and data analysis, interviewing, evaluation of internal control processes, identification of observations, and preparation of reports in accordance with IAC procedures and applicable professional auditing standards.
The Staff Auditor will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:
• Executes the financial, operational and compliance audits throughout the organization.
o Utilizes CPS tools and processes to develop and manage project plans and task assignments for all resources.
o Reviews deliverables prepared by Internal Audit before passing to Leadership for final review.
o Ensures all project documentation is developed and kept current (i.e. audit programs).
o Ensures individual audits meet business requirements, and are completed on-time and within budget.
• Performs audit engagements by reviewing organizational and functional activities to ensure risks are appropriately identified, associated audit procedures are applied and related controls are designed and operating to mitigate the identified risks.
o Prepares audit reports for the assigned project; participates in communication with management about reports and related issues and recommendations.
o Monitors accomplishment of objectives directed toward increasing Internal Audit's ability to serve management in a professional, efficient and effective manner.
o Assists in the identification of those activities subject to audit coverage, evaluates their significance and assesses the degree of risk inherent in the activity in terms of materiality, cost and schedule.
o Enacts thorough and practical knowledge of audit methodology techniques.
o Leads discussions to obtain detailed understanding of business or functional area processes, systems and applications.
• Assists Internal Audit management in the development and maintenance of stakeholder relationships.
• Maintains professional certifications and related educational requirements as well as other duties assigned by the Audit Manager/Supervisor.
In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Staff Auditor must possess the following qualifications:
Education Required:
• Bachelor's degree in accounting, business, finance, economics, or related field.
• Active certification as a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or other internal audit related certifications, preferred.
Experience Required:
• Minimum of two (2) years experience in auditing or accounting.
• Experience in education and the public sector is preferred.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Effective communication, leadership, and time management skills with the ability to act autonomously while being a team player.
• Possess excellent interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Proven analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to details.
• Proven ability in audit planning and execution, including risk assessment, process, control evaluation, and drafting audit reports with summary results for executives.
• Thorough understanding of the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) promulgated by the IIA.
• Demonstrates a sense of urgency in accomplishing goals and objectives to ensure success.
• Demonstrated skill in leading audit projects involving two or more staff members.
• Ability to partner with Management in support of key initiatives and projects.
• Experience documenting business process flows.
• Ability to effectively and professionally communicate complex business topics to Management via reports, memos, and verbal communication.
• Able to act independently and be self-motivated.
• Experience working with large ERP systems (Oracle, PeopleSoft) is helpful.
• Broad business acumen - ability to engage in a wide variety of business discussions and quickly learn new and/or complex concepts.
• Working knowledge and experience with auditing tools and other software such as, Audit Control Language, Google Drive, MS Word, MS Excel, PowerPoint and Visio.
• Sarbanes-Oxley experience is preferred
Conditions of Employment
As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:
• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. "Up-to-date" on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.