Analyst, Special Investigations Group - job 2 of 3

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career.

Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

American Express is committed to doing right by our colleagues. Acting with integrity and protecting our brand’s reputation is everyone’s responsibility, no matter where in the company you sit. The Amex Ethics Office (AEO) furthers this responsibility by managing the Amex Ethics Hotline (Hotline), the company’s official confidential whistleblower channel, where colleagues can raise concerns of violations of law, regulation or company policy, anonymously if preferred.  The AEO ensures all concerns raised through the Hotline are referred to the appropriate internal team for review and investigation, as needed. One of the internal investigation teams includes the AEO Special Investigations Group (SIG).

The AEO SIG plays a meaningful role in ensuring that American Express complies with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As part of that process, the team is responsible for investigating unusual or irregular activities, including suspected and actual cases of internal fraud, Code of Conduct violations and other improprieties. The team is also responsible for the reporting of Whistleblower claims, Significant Ethics Violations, and certain instances of Fraud to the Audit and Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors.

The AEO SIG sits in the General Counsel’s Organization (GCO), and within GCO, partners closely with the Global Litigation & Investigations Team and the Employment Law Group.  The AEO SIG also partners closely with teams outside of the GCO including the Colleague Experience Group/Colleague & Labor Relations, Global Security, Conduct Risk Management, Global Compliance & Ethics and Control Management teams.

This Analyst role reports to the Director, Amex Ethics Office - Special Investigations Group. We seek professionals that have a diverse set of backgrounds including investigations, data analytics, technology, internal controls, compliance, operational risk and financial accounting, to support investigations globally, across all lines of business and functional areas of American Express.

Responsibilities:

• Handle multiple investigation projects across all business units globally, throughout the company.
• Gather and assess evidence and conduct procedures in the context of investigations, including coordination with American Express staff groups (e.g., Colleague Experience Group/Colleague Labor & Relations, Compliance, Conduct Risk, Control Management, Global Security, etc).
• Conduct fact-finding interviews with all personnel, including various levels of management.
• Collaborate with investigations team members to understand the data behind processes, risk and controls, to develop analytic controls tests and analyze and interpret their results.
• Proficient use of case management, automated work papers, analytics and other department and company tools.
• Present investigation results, including the timely production of clear and concise investigation reports.
• Make recommendations for process opportunities to address observations identified through investigations.
• Maintain investigative proficiency through ongoing professional development.

Minimum Qualifications

• 3+ years of combined experience in corporate investigation services performing forensic/fraud investigations and/or relevant audit experience 
• BA, BS, or equivalent degree in relevant field
• Proficiency in Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel
• Effective written and verbal communication skills; ability to clearly present investigation results, including recommendations, with professionalism

Preferred Qualifications 

• Advanced degree in accounting, or related field is preferred
• Interest in working with data, interpreting results, analytic best practices and experience with data analytics tools and data visualization
• Proficiency in Tableau, Power BI
• Spanish speaking ability and or written/reading ability would be preferred
• Professional Certification (CFE, CPA, CIA, or equivalent)
• Developing and implementing investigative work plans;
• Recognizing evidence in financial fraud and ethics violation situations;
• Forensically analyzing financial records and supporting source documents;
• Using data analytics in order to make data-informed decisions;
• Conducting fact-finding interviews;
• Reconstructing financial, accounting and/or business transactions;
• Knowledge and experience in application of control theory to effectively assess internal controls during investigations and make recommendations for improvement;
• Understanding of financial statement fraud indicators and “red flags”, the fraud triangle, attributes of strong corporate ethics and compliance programs, and relevant regulatory, accounting, and financial industry guidance and best practices

• Ability to effectively complete a variety of financial and accounting-oriented forensic investigations in the financial services industry
• Proficiency in forensic techniques, including:
• Developing and implementing investigative work plans;
• Recognizing evidence in financial fraud and ethics violation situations;
• Forensically analyzing financial records and supporting source documents;
• Using data analytics in order to make data-informed decisions;
• Conducting fact-finding interviews;
• Reconstructing financial, accounting and/or business transactions;
• Knowledge and experience in application of control theory to effectively assess internal controls during investigations and make recommendations for improvement;
• Understanding of financial statement fraud indicators and “red flags”, the fraud triangle, attributes of strong corporate ethics and compliance programs, and relevant regulatory, accounting, and financial industry guidance and best practices

Salary Range: $55,000.00 to $105,000.00 annually + bonus + benefits

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries 
• Bonus incentives 
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan 
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support 
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits 
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need 
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy 
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location) 
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program 
• Career development and training opportunities

For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site.

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including, but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the U.S. is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.