Director, Internal Audit

Job Title: About Forged Fiber At Forged Fiber, our mission is bold but simple: deliver fast, reliable, future-proof connectivity that builds the foundation for everything online. As we execute, we believe the right way to do something is the only way. This foundation guides how the company builds, operates, and maintains a state-of-the-art open-access fiber network platform that empowers millions. Forged Fiber is about more than building a network. It is about people. Every role matters. Every contribution counts. Together, employees create impact through teamwork, trust, and a shared commitment to excellence. The Role The Internal Audit Director is the senior leader responsible for establishing, leading, and continuously advancing Forged Fiber 37's independent, risk-based internal audit function. The Director owns the internal audit strategy, enterprise risk assessment, multi-year audit roadmap, and annual audit plan, and provides objective assurance and advisory insight regarding the effectiveness of governance, risk management, internal controls, financial reporting, and operational performance across the organization. This role serves as a strategic advisor to executive leadership and works across Finance, Accounting, Treasury, Procurement, Engineering, Network Operations, Human Resources, Legal, Information Technology, and other business functions to anticipate risk, influence control design, and improve enterprise performance. The Director is expected to communicate effectively with senior executives and applicable governance or committee stakeholders, exercise sound judgment on complex and sensitive matters, and build a scalable audit function suited to a growing, private equity-backed fiber infrastructure company. The role provides leadership over financial, operational, compliance, technology, and strategic audits, with particular focus on procurement, vendor management, capital deployment, revenue assurance, treasury, contract lifecycle management, network assets, financial reporting, and major business transformation initiatives. What We Look for in a Candidate Forged Fiber’s culture is built on honesty, respect, trust, transparency, and a growth mindset. We strive to treat people as they want to be treated, and to operate with consistency, integrity, customer obsession, and courage. We’re looking for top-tier talent to join Forged Fiber that can help us bring this mindset to our everyday work and deliver meaningful results. Work LocationHybrid1200 17th Street Denver, CO Internal Audit Leadership Define and execute the vision, charter, strategy, operating model, and multi-year roadmap for Forged Fiber 37's internal audit function. Lead the enterprise-wide risk assessment and translate strategic, financial, operational, technology, regulatory, and fraud risks into a dynamic, risk-based annual audit plan. Obtain executive and applicable committee approval of the audit plan, budget, staffing model, and material changes in audit priorities. Maintain the independence, organizational authority, and unrestricted access necessary for internal audit to fulfill its mandate. Oversee the full portfolio of assurance, advisory, investigation, and remediation activities, ensuring work is appropriately scoped, risk-focused, timely, and supported by sufficient evidence. Provide clear, concise reporting to executive leadership and applicable governance or committee stakeholders on significant risks, control deficiencies, root causes, management actions, and overdue remediation. Escalate material control failures, suspected misconduct, fraud indicators, or unacceptable risk exposure promptly and objectively. Establish and maintain audit policies, methodologies, risk-rating criteria, documentation standards, reporting protocols, and a quality assurance and improvement program aligned with applicable professional standards. Coordinate with external auditors, lenders, sponsors, consultants, Legal, Compliance, and other assurance providers to improve coverage, reduce duplication, and support audit readiness. Track remediation commitments across the enterprise, challenge management's risk-acceptance decisions when warranted, and validate that corrective actions are sustainable and effective. Procure-to-Pay & Vendor Management Audit Evaluate controls over procurement, purchase order compliance, invoice processing, and approval authority. Audit vendor onboarding, vendor master file maintenance, and payment processing controls. Review controls related to duplicate vendors, banking changes, employee/vendor conflicts, and unauthorized payments. Assess compliance with vendor agreements, negotiated pricing, and purchasing policies. Identify opportunities for fraud prevention, cost savings, and improved spend visibility. Capital Projects & Fixed Asset Audits Lead audits of fiber deployment, network construction, and other capital investment programs. Evaluate controls over capital versus operating expense classifications. Review project closeout procedures, capitalized labor practices, depreciation methodologies, and asset retirement processes. Assess governance over construction spending, contractor management, and project approvals. Ensure fixed asset records accurately reflect company investments and infrastructure assets. Revenue Recognition & Billing Audits Audit revenue recognition processes and customer billing operations. Review contract terms, billing accuracy, customer credits, manual adjustments, and revenue cut-off procedures Assess compliance with company policies related to customer contracts and recurring service revenues. Provide recommendations to improve reporting accuracy and strengthen revenue controls. Financial Reporting & Close Process Audits Evaluate revenue assurance controls to identify and reduce potential revenue leakage. Assess the effectiveness of month-end and quarter-end close processes. Review journal entry controls, account reconciliations, and financial reporting procedures. Evaluate controls over aging reconciling items and balance sheet account management. Identify opportunities to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and reliability of financial reporting. Support the organization's audit readiness and control environment. Treasury & Cash Management Audits Evaluate controls related to bank account governance, cash management, and liquidity oversight. Review wire transfer approvals, positive pay controls, and cash forecasting processes. Assess access controls within banking platforms and treasury systems. Identify risks related to the safeguarding of company cash and financial assets. Recommend enhancements to improve treasury controls and reduce fraud exposure. IT Controls & Systems Governance Lead audits of IT General Controls (ITGCs) supporting key business processes. Evaluate system access provisioning, deprovisioning, segregation of duties, and application-level controls. Review change management processes, system interfaces, backups, and application governance controls. Assess ERP system controls, including NetSuite and related financial applications. Participate in major system implementation, integration, and transformation initiatives to ensure appropriate control design. Contract Lifecycle Management Audits Review controls over contract administration, renewal monitoring, obligation tracking, and document repositories. Evaluate non-standard contract provisions, termination rights, pricing arrangements, and compliance requirements. Assess risks associated with customer, vendor, and service provider agreements. Recommend improvements to strengthen contract governance and oversight. Inventory & Network Asset Audits Lead audits of network assets, inventory, spare equipment, and fixed asset inventories. Oversee physical asset verification activities and cycle count programs. Review inventory reserve methodologies and asset tracking processes. Assess the accuracy of records supporting network infrastructure and financial reporting. Identify opportunities to improve accountability and asset management practices. Payroll, Workforce & Expense Management Audits Evaluate payroll processing controls, employee change management, and termination procedures. Review time reporting practices and contractor classification processes. Audit corporate card programs, travel and entertainment spending, and employee expense reimbursements. Assess compliance with company policies and identify opportunities to improve controls and reduce risk. Promote operational efficiency and accountability across workforce-related processes. Leadership & Continuous Improvement Serve as a trusted, independent advisor to executive leadership on enterprise risk, control design, governance, transformation initiatives, and scalable business processes. Influence business leaders to address root causes, balance risk and execution priorities, and embed accountability for controls within the first and second lines of management. Establish key performance indicators and reporting for audit plan delivery, issue aging, remediation effectiveness, coverage, productivity, stakeholder value, and function maturity. Develop and manage the internal audit operating budget, workforce plan, technology roadmap, and co-sourcing strategy. Expand the use of data analytics, automated testing, and continuous monitoring to improve risk coverage, audit quality, and early identification of exceptions. Provide risk and control input on acquisitions, integrations, financing activities, system implementations, organizational changes, new products, and other strategic initiatives without assuming management responsibility. Build strong relationships across the organization while preserving independence, objectivity, and professional skepticism. Champion a culture of ethical conduct, disciplined risk management, transparent issue escalation, and continuous improvement. People Management & Team Leadership Design the internal audit organization, talent strategy, and succession plan required to support the company's evolving risk profile, growth plans, and audit roadmap. Recruit, develop, lead, and retain a high-performing team with the financial, operational, technology, data analytics, and industry capabilities needed to deliver the audit plan. Set clear goals, decision rights, priorities, and performance expectations, and hold team members accountable for timely, high-quality, business-relevant results. Provide executive-level coaching, technical guidance, and actionable feedback through regular one-on-one meetings, engagement reviews, talent assessments, and development planning. Conduct performance evaluations, recognize strong performance, address performance concerns promptly, and make informed decisions regarding staffing, development, and advancement. Build bench strength through cross-functional exposure, stretch assignments, succession planning, continuing education, and support for relevant professional certifications. Allocate internal and external resources across audits, investigations, advisory work, and remediation validation based on enterprise risk, required expertise, and business priorities. Select, negotiate with, and oversee co-sourced providers and subject-matter specialists, including accountability for scope, quality, knowledge transfer, budget, and deliverables. Provide final review and approval of engagement scopes, workpapers, conclusions, issue ratings, management actions, and reports before executive-level distribution. Promote a culture of integrity, inclusion, objectivity, professional skepticism, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement. Manage staffing plans, compensation input, time-off coverage, training investments, travel, technology, and other administrative responsibilities for the function. Qualifications Education Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Information Systems, or related field. Experience #J-18808-Ljbffr