Senior Internal Auditor - SOX Compliance

Position Summary

Tonix Pharma is seeking a Senior Internal Auditor to support its Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance program. This position will be responsible for evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting and supporting the company's ongoing compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The Senior Internal Auditor will work closely with Finance, Accounting, Information Technology, Legal, Compliance, business process owners, external auditors, and third-party service providers. The successful candidate will have strong SOX and internal-controls experience, sound audit judgment, and an understanding of the financial-reporting risks present in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct process walkthroughs with control owners to understand financial-reporting risks, control activities, systems, and supporting documentation.
• Prepare and maintain process narratives, flowcharts, risk and control matrices, testing procedures, and other SOX documentation.
• Evaluate the design and implementation of key controls over financial reporting.
• Evaluate the completeness and accuracy of information used in the performance of controls.
• Monitor changes to business processes, personnel, systems, transactions, and organizational structure that may affect SOX scope or control design.
• Execute the company's annual SOX compliance plan in accordance with established timelines, testing standards, and documentation requirements.
• Perform testing across all Financial Process (Order to Cash, Procure to Pay, Financial Reporting and Consolidation, Inventory, Fixed Assets et al.)
• Document testing procedures, evidence, conclusions, and review notes in accordance with internal standards.
• Identify control deficiencies and assess their severity, potential financial-reporting impact, root cause, and compensating controls.
• Communicate testing results and control observations clearly and constructively to process owners and management.
• Partner with control owners to develop practical remediation plans and monitor corrective actions through completion.
• Perform remediation and roll-forward testing to confirm that control improvements have been implemented and are operating effectively.
• Support SOX readiness and other significant business changes.
• Coordinate with external auditors and respond to documentation or testing requests.
• Track SOX testing progress, open deficiencies, remediation status, and program metrics for management reporting.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, information systems, or a related field.
• At least 4-6 years of experience in internal audit, external audit, SOX compliance, public accounting, or internal controls.
• Demonstrated experience performing SOX walkthroughs and design and operating-effectiveness testing.
• Strong understanding of internal controls over financial reporting and the COSO framework.
• Experience documenting processes, risks, controls, testing procedures, and audit conclusions.
• Ability to identify, analyze, and clearly communicate control deficiencies.
• Strong analytical, organizational, project-management, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple deadlines, and collaborate effectively across functions.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Visio or similar process-mapping tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical-device, healthcare, or life-sciences industry.
• CPA, CIA, CISA, or progress toward a relevant professional certification.
• Big Four or other public-accounting experience.
• Experience supporting the SOX program of a publicly traded company.
• Experience with ERP systems such as NetSuite and Coupa.
• Experience supporting SOX compliance during ERP implementations other significant organizational changes.

Key Competencies

• Internal-control and SOX expertise
• Professional skepticism and sound judgment
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Clear and constructive communication
• Accountability and follow-through
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Project and deadline management
• Continuous-improvement mindset
• Integrity and confidentiality