Risk Specialist II , TERA

Risk Specialist II, TERA (Travel and Expense Reimbursement Audit)

Amazon's Finance Operations Risk Management Services is seeking a Risk Specialist II to join our Travel and Expense Reimbursement Audit (TERA) team within Accounts Payable. In this Individual Contributor role, you will own the execution of risk, audit, fraud detection, and process improvement initiatives across a dynamic global business environment.

You will work independently and cross-functionally with business teams, process owners, product teams, and technical teams to identify risks, investigate potential fraud and financial abuse, strengthen controls, and develop scalable solutions that improve controllership and operational efficiency.

The ideal candidate combines strong analytical and investigative skills with experience in audit, expense compliance, fraud/risk management, or accounts payable. You should be comfortable working with large datasets, performing deep dives, identifying root causes, and influencing stakeholders without direct authority.
Key Responsibilities

Execute pre- and post-reimbursement audits to identify and prevent potential fraud, abuse, waste, policy violations, and financial risks at the earliest possible stage.

Independently conduct risk assessments, audits, deep dives, investigations, and special projects related to employee expense reimbursements and corporate card spend.

Analyze expense and transaction data to identify anomalies, patterns, emerging risks, control gaps, and potential fraudulent activity.

Perform root cause analysis on identified defects and risks and translate findings into actionable recommendations and sustainable control improvements.

Develop and implement data-driven and automated solutions using tools such as Excel, VBA, SQL, Python, Tableau, or similar technologies to improve risk detection and reduce manual effort.

Identify opportunities to improve automated expense audit mechanisms, including increasing detection accuracy and reducing false positives.

Review employee expense reimbursements and corporate card transactions for compliance with Amazon's Travel and Expense policies, corporate card policies, and Business Code of Conduct.

Investigate complex or unusual transactions and clearly document the risk, evidence, root cause, financial impact, and recommended remediation.

Identify gaps in existing fraud prevention and detection mechanisms and risk assessment methodologies, and drive initiatives to address those gaps.

Design, implement, and standardize audit procedures, SOPs, process controls, and mechanisms that improve consistency, efficiency, and defect detection.

Own assigned projects and workstreams end-to-end, including defining objectives, developing project plans, analyzing data, coordinating stakeholders, implementing solutions, and measuring outcomes.

Conduct process walkthroughs, evidence reviews, quality reviews, and deep dives to resolve complex risk and compliance issues.

Communicate audit findings, risk insights, trends, and recommendations clearly to business, product, operations, and technical stakeholders.

Influence stakeholders without direct authority to adopt recommended controls, process improvements, and best practices across global teams.

Partner with product and technical teams to identify opportunities for scalable technology and automation solutions that strengthen expense risk controls.

Provide data-driven input into the FinOps Cards & Expense automated audit roadmap, with a focus on improving fraud detection accuracy and reducing false positives.

Monitor implemented controls and mechanisms to assess their effectiveness and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

Proactively identify emerging fraud, abuse, waste, compliance, and operational risks and recommend appropriate preventive or detective controls.

Basic Qualifications

MBA/Postgraduate degree in Finance, Accounting, Risk Management, or a related field and/or professional qualification such as Chartered Accountant (CA) or Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).

7+ years of relevant professional experience in internal audit, external audit, risk management, forensic investigation, accounts payable, expense audit, fraud detection, or a related field.

Strong experience in data analysis using tools such as Excel, VBA, SQL, Python, or similar analytical technologies.

Demonstrated experience independently owning complex projects, audits, investigations, or process improvement initiatives from problem identification through implementation.

Experience working cross-functionally and influencing stakeholders without direct reporting authority.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in expense reimbursement audit, internal audit, corporate card risk/fraud, financial investigations, forensic accounting, conflict-of-interest investigations, or related risk and compliance functions.

Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Chartered Accountant (CA), or equivalent professional qualification.

Strong forensic data analysis skills, with experience using SQL or Python and visualization tools such as Tableau or QuickSight.

Experience developing automated controls, audit mechanisms, fraud detection rules, or data-driven risk monitoring solutions.

Strong understanding of fraud risk management, internal controls, audit methodologies, financial risk, and root cause analysis.

Experience working with large datasets to identify anomalies, trends, control weaknesses, and potential financial risks.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly communicate complex risk findings and recommendations to senior stakeholders.

Demonstrated ability to work independently, prioritize multiple high-impact initiatives, and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.

Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with a demonstrated ability to operate effectively in ambiguous situations.

Experience partnering with business, operations, product, and technical teams to implement scalable risk and control solutions.

Ability to influence stakeholders and drive adoption of controls and process improvements without direct authority.

Basic qualifications

- 4+ years of compliance program management, legal, governance, audit, risk/loss prevention, or equivalent experience
- Experience establishing successful partnerships with internal and external teams to execute tactical initiatives or equivalent
- 4+ years of program requirements definition and data and metrics leveraging to drive improvements experience
- Experience with research and investigation skills or equivalent
- 4+ years of program or project management experience
- Experience handling confidential information

Preferred qualifications

- Professional auditing qualification, or similar risk or compliance credentials
- Experience with SQL and Excel
- 5+ years of fraud identification and detection, investigation and analysis for root causing and providing suitable preventive mechanisms, or 2+ years of security service, loss prevention, asset protection, investigations, or law enforcement experience
- Experience leading prioritization of tasks, team scheduling, time management, and meeting deadlines
- Experience engaging, verbally and in writing, with internal and external stakeholders to convey complex ideas in a clear, concise manner

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.