Senior Internal Auditor – Finance Operations

Azizi Developments stands as one of the UAE’s leading private real estate developers. Behind our iconic projects is a high-performing corporate team that drives strategy, innovation, and growth. Our professionals, spanning finance, HR, marketing, legal, and operations, play a vital role in shaping the future of our business. We operate with a keen sense of purpose, transparency, and integrity, committed to creating value at every level. If you seek to be part of a results-oriented, fast-paced environment where your contributions truly matter, Azizi is the ideal place to advance your career.

Role Description:

Azizi Developments is seeking a skilled and experienced Senior Internal Auditor – Finance Operations to support the Director of Finance, Risk Management, and Compliance in delivering high-quality internal audit services across the finance function. This role focuses on executing risk-based audits of finance operations, ensuring strong internal controls, regulatory compliance, and effective governance within financial processes.

The Senior Internal Auditor will play a critical role in auditing key finance operations such as financial reporting, treasury, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, budgeting, taxation, and financial systems. The role requires strong technical expertise, operational involvement, and the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive improvements and mitigate risks

Responsibilities:

• Plan and execute detailed internal audits of finance operations, including but not limited to accounts payable, accounts receivable, treasury, payroll, budgeting, taxation, financial reporting, and ERP-based transactions, ensuring compliance with internal policies, procedures, and relevant regulatory frameworks.
• Conduct thorough risk assessments of financial processes and design targeted audit programs addressing key financial and operational risks, internal control weaknesses, and regulatory compliance gaps.
• Evaluate the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls over financial processes, ensuring accuracy, reliability, and consistency of financial information in accordance with IFRS and internal accounting policies.
• Support the implementation, documentation, and ongoing monitoring of Internal Controls over Financial Reporting (ICFR) to ensure the integrity of financial statements and compliance with statutory and management reporting obligations.
• Perform audits of monthly and year-end financial closing processes, with a focus on validating the completeness and accuracy of journal entries, accruals, provisions, and adjustments. Ensure that closing timelines and accounting practices align with company policies and financial reporting standards.
• Review and verify the accuracy of reconciliations for key accounts (e.g., bank, vendor, customer, intercompany, accruals, and payroll accounts), identifying mismatches or anomalies and recommending corrective actions.
• Assess and validate accounting treatments of complex or non-routine transactions, including asset capitalization, revenue recognition, lease accounting, provisions, and foreign currency transactions to ensure adherence to IFRS and internal accounting policies.
• Collaborate with finance and accounting teams to evaluate the accuracy and completeness of in-house Management Information Systems (MIS), ensuring reliability for internal decision-making and external reporting.
• Liaise with external auditors during interim and final audits by providing required documentation, clarification on accounting entries, reconciliations, and control environments, thereby facilitating an efficient and transparent audit process.
• Prepare well-documented and structured audit work papers, audit evidence, and detailed audit findings with root cause analysis and practical recommendations. Submit reports for review and discussion with the Director – Finance, Risk Management, and Compliance.
• Track and follow up on audit findings and recommendations to ensure timely implementation of corrective actions and effective closure of audit points.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives within the internal audit function, including enhancements to audit programs, templates, workflows, and adoption of automated testing and data analytics tools.
• Remain up to date with emerging financial regulations, accounting standards, IIA guidance, and industry best practices to maintain audit quality and relevance. Share key updates with team members and support knowledge dissemination across the function.

Here's what you'll need:

• Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification is mandatory. Additional certifications such as Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) or CPA are an advantage.
• Minimum 7 to 10 years of progressive internal audit experience with significant exposure to auditing finance operations.
• Proven experience auditing key finance processes including financial reporting, treasury, accounts payable/receivable, payroll, taxation, budgeting, and ERP systems.
• Hands-on experience in ICFR implementation or monitoring is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with UAE financial regulations, IFRS, IIA standards, COSO framework, and other relevant internal audit and governance frameworks.
• Experience in liaising with external auditors is preferred.
• Exposure to multinational or large-scale project-based organizations is an advantage.
• Strong understanding of finance operations, risk assessment, internal controls, and compliance requirements.
• Proficient in ERP systems, MS Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word), and audit management software.
• Ability to leverage data analytics in audit processes is preferred.