Experience

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  Ernst and young llp

  Jan 1999 - Sept 2000

  Internal audit consultant

  • Responsible for client service primarily in the insurance (life and property and casualty) industry.• Planned and performed financial and operational audits of various life insurance processes.• Assisted in the risk assessment and development of the annual audit plan. • Assisted in the preparation of quarterly audit reports to the Audit Committees of clients.

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  Aegon americas

  Sept 2000 - Jan 2007

  Lead internal auditor

  • Designated as the Lead SOX Internal Auditor for one of AEGON USA’s largest divisions, Transamerica Reinsurance. Lead a team of 11 auditors in the completion of effectiveness testing of 115 key controls covering 13 significant business processes. Lead responsibilities included assignment of resources, planning, reviewing workpapers, drafting and completion of the final report and related deliverables, and communicating the results of testing to the Divisional CFO and SOX Project Manager.• Responsible for relationship management with various business units in the areas of insurance/reinsurance products and operations, broker/dealer operations, and mutual funds. • Assisted in the risk assessment and development of the annual audit plan for multiple AEGON divisions.• Ensured that operations were in compliance with company policies, business plans, laws and regulations.• Assisted senior audit department management with the recruitment, interviewing, and hiring of audit professionals at all experience levels. Show less

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  Transamerica reinsurance

  Jan 2006 - Jul 2007

  Program manager - internal controls

  Developed and directed the Reinsurance Division’s SOX 404 management testing program, including collaboration with division management and process owners in coordination efforts to ensure successful implementation. This involved both high-level and detailed facilitation and coordination of all aspects of the program, including planning audit engagements, assigning resources, providing leadership and guidance, reviewing audit deliverables, and communicating results to Senior Management. • Decision maker and problem solver on related topics between divisional business units, external auditors, and Corporate entities.• Developed and implemented a risk-based testing approach for the execution of the SOX 404 compliance program. This approach ensures that the appropriate level of testing is performed based on the financial statement risk associated with the business unit or process to the overall division.• Co-managed the SOX Compliance department budget of approximately $1million.• Negotiated contracts and agreements with external public accounting firms to provide temporary assistance with the execution of SOX 404 testing strategies.• Conducted a resource/staffing analysis to determine the staffing needs required to successfully implement the SOX 404 Compliance program. Presented the analysis to the Divisional CFO and CEO and obtained staffing approval.• Provided advice and guidance to division senior management and process owners in the development and design of controls, documentation of business processes, and understanding of the COSO Internal Control Framework.• Remain current and knowledgeable in specific areas of reinsurance operations (premiums and claims processing), front office operations (pricing and product development), and back office operations (financial reporting and actuarial valuation processes). Show less

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  Bank of america merrill lynch

  Jul 2007 - Dec 2013

  Responsible for the management of audit activities for the following Consumer business units: Preferred and Merrill Edge, Insurance Service, Protection Products and Operations, Preferred Savings Products, and Home Loans Products. Proven ability to develop and manage relationships with key members of business and control partner management; coach, train, and develop talent/ and execute audit strategy.• Directly managed a team of eight audit professionals with a focus on complex businesses. Responsible for personnel management, resource/staffing management, expense management, and employee training and development.• Effectively implemented Corporate Audit’s strategy by defining the annual audit plan and approving the audit scope, audit programs/test procedures, and test results for areas of responsibility.• Responsible for the communication of audit results and development, communication and delivery of written audit reports to business and control partners.• Assisted the business in the development of sustainable risk mitigation efforts. Ensured the proper execution of the issue management process (issue identification, action plan development, and validation testing) for areas of responsibility.• Developed and managed key business partner and control partner relationships for areas of responsibility. Assisted business partners with balancing the risk/reward of development and execution of their business strategies with appropriate risk management controls.• Effectively executed the Law and Regulation Owner role for the Interagency Statement on the Sale of Non-Deposit Investment Products (RSNIP) regulation and represented Corporate Audit on the Enterprise RSNIP Risk Committee.• Interacted with numerous regulatory agencies (OCC, Federal Reserve, CFPB, SEC, FINRA), in coordination with Senior Audit Management for areas of responsibility. Show less • Effectively managed the execution and continued development of the GWIM Audit continuous auditing program, which provides continuous audit coverage for high inherent risks, key business risks, and enterprise risk drivers within GWIM.• The Financial Advisor Review program selects Merrill Lynch financial advisors using risk-based indicators. The program provides reasonable assurance that client assets are adequately protected and invested consistent with their stated investment objectives, the business and sales practices of FAs are conducted pursuant to reasonable risk-reward decision making, and employees’ actions are in compliance with Bank policies and standards, and applicable laws and regulations.• The Fiduciary Continuous Testing program uses automated testing to perform related analyses of key risk data to determine whether trust and investment accounts and related assets are managed in accordance with the governing instrument, stated investment objectives, and key regulations. • The Product Approval program assesses product approvals across pre-defined risk attributes prior to inception (and post launch) with a view toward identifying and mitigating risk.Led more complex audit engagements including Merrill Lynch branch office reviews, financial advisor incentive compensation, and GWIM Risk Management functions.• Led the execution of the SOX 302 and 404 compliance program for the Global Wealth Management (GWIM) line of business. Lead responsibilities included resource planning, risk assessment, creation of audit programs, reviewing workpapers, drafting and completion of the final report and related deliverables, and presenting results to Line of Busineess, Finance, Risk Management and Global Compliance Executive management. Show less

  • Vice President, Audit Manager

    Aug 2012 - Dec 2013

  • Vice President, Senior Audit Consultant

    Jul 2007 - Aug 2012
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  Bank of america

  Dec 2013 - Oct 2018

  Senior vice president, internal investigations manager

  Primary responsibilities included conducting internal whistleblower and other complex internal investigations, with a focus on the wealth management business. I am a Certified Fraud Examiner and utilized investigate procedures in accordance with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Worked with key internal stakeholders throughout the course of investigations, including: Executive Management, Human Resources, Employee Relations, and Legal.

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  Bank of america merrill lynch

  Oct 2018 - Jul 2021

  Senior vice president; compliance and operational risk manager

  Primary responsibilities include engaging in activities to provide independent compliance and operational risk oversight of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Private Wealth Management in alignment with company and departmental policies and standard operating procedures.• Owner of the Merrill Advisory branch exams program test inventory, comprising 80+ tests designed to evaluate adherence to company policy and regulatory requirements. Develop new and maintain existing tests, evaluate testing results and findings, assign report ratings, and communicate results to branch management.• Provide ongoing broker-dealer compliance advice and guidance to branch supervision teams through monitoring of the firm’s compliance policy inquiry email inbox.• Evaluate and assess key SEC and FINRA regulatory changes to determine their impact on the business, including any additions or changes needed to company policies in order to meet regulatory requirements.• Conduct targeted risk assessments of key business processes in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the control environment over high inherent risk processes. • Manage multiple compliance self-identified audit issues, including the development and implementation of action plans to address gaps in current compliance policies and procedures.• Partner with key stakeholders, including Merrill front line management, Supervision, Legal, and Compliance on critical and strategic business initiatives; providing Compliance viewpoint in order to ensure regulatory requirements are considered and met. Show less

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  Wells fargo

  Jul 2021 - now

  Executive director; control management senior manager

  Primary responsibilities include partnering with Wealth and Investment Management (WIM) executive leadership, Risk Assessable Unit (RAU) owners, control owners, and other key stakeholders (Business Control Management, Compliance, Independent Risk Management) to develop and maintain a strong control environment through the management and oversight of evidence based control evaluations (EBCE).