Risk and Control Business Senior Specialist

 

The Team: 

The Risk & Control – Business Senior Specialist role sits within Risk & Control, part of Finance, acting as Agoda's second line of defense for risk management and providing timely assurance across business, technology, financial, and operational risk. As Agoda scales through innovation and data-driven experimentation, the team plays a critical role in balancing risk management with continued growth. 

Agoda is constantly expanding its reach through strategic innovations and data-driven experimentations. As a key stakeholder and enabler of the overall Agoda business, the Agoda Risk and Control team plays a unique role in balancing risk management without stifling innovation and growth. 

The Opportunity: 

You'll partner across Product, IT, Supply, Commercial, People, Legal, Customer Service, and Finance — engaging at all levels to understand business processes and design controls that ensure compliance and sound risk management. As the main point of contact for business stakeholders and internal/external auditors, this role requires strong leadership and communication skills to coordinate business process risk and control activities across process owners, SOX, and audit teams. It is not a policing role: success depends on building trust as a critical partner while proactively managing risk. 

The Individual:  

The ideal candidate brings strong financial and business acumen, a solid grounding in internal control principles, and hands-on experience assessing risks and controls across end-to-end business processes. They are tech-savvy, with a practical understanding of how complex systems, data flows, and automation underpin business operations in a technology company. They can connect business activities to financial outcomes, assess how technology dependencies affect business process controls, and evaluate control design and operating effectiveness, including for ICFR and SOX. This is a strong fit for someone who can translate risk insights into practical improvements that support growth in a fast-growing, innovative technology company.  

 

Key areas of responsibility (Including but Not Limited To) 

• Support the Risk & Control Leadership Team in maintaining a robust Enterprise Risk Management framework that enables growth and agility. 

• Maintain and continuously mature Agoda's internal control environment and full SOX compliance, including efficacy of financial reporting controls and their linkage to business processes. 

• Contribute to a pragmatic control assessment, testing, and reporting framework with adequate coverage across Agoda's operations. 

• Analyze and/or design IT and business process controls (SOX and non-SOX) to identify risks, control weaknesses, and gaps. 

• Guide business partners in designing and implementing controls that strengthen the control environment and mitigate risk. 

• Support business process control and ITAC testing and documentation, including process walkthroughs, risk and control gap identification, development of test procedures, and preparation of workpaper 

• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation, including flow charts, process narratives, and risk and control matrices. 

• Act as a subject matter expert on business process risks and controls, including financial, operational, and technology-related dependencies. 

• Drive timely remediation of identified control deficiencies. 

• Partner with internal and external stakeholders (process owners, auditors, outsourced providers) to build relationships and coordinate assurance activities. 

• Support/lead the preparation and issuance of Risk & Control reports and Risk Committee reporting packs, plus ad hoc requirements. 

• Act as a brand ambassador for the Risk & Control function across Agoda 

What you'll Need to Succeed: 

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in Accounting or Finance; CPA, CIA, or CISA certification preferred. 

• 6+ years’ experience in external audit, internal audit, internal controls, or SOX compliance with a public accounting firm or publicly listed company, with a strong focus on business processes and related controls. 

• Strong understanding of the COSO internal control framework, SOX requirements, and ICFR principles, and how to apply them to assess financial, operational risks and design effective business process controls. 

• Demonstrated financial and business acumen, with the adaptability to learn new processes, a practical understanding of how technology and data underpin business operations, and the ability to communicate complex risk and control issues clearly and simply. 

• SOX or ICFR experience highly preferred; experience in technology, digital platforms, fintech, or online travel businesses is a plus. 

• Able to work independently and collaboratively, with strong communication skills. 

• Open to constructive feedback and continuous growth. 

• Willing to adopt new tools, including AI, to support testing and reviews. 

• Strong collaboration skills, particularly when without actual management authority 

• An eye to spot control risks with an intuition of risk prioritization 

• Self-starter with strong sense of responsibility, can do approach and open mindset 

 

It's Great if you have: 

• Certified Public / Chartered Accountant (CPA)/(ACA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), or similar designation. 

• High level of integrity is a MUST and ability to constructively challenge. 

• Curious, creative and innovative, particularly in design proper controls without stiffening the business growth 

• Flexibility to adapt to an ever evolving and dynamic work environment 

• Quick thinker and confident in decision making 

• Process, problem solving and action orientated mindset 

• Good analytical skills with strong attention to detail 

• Excellent communication and relationship building skills 

• Professional “get it done” attitude and strong work ethic