Head of Gusto Controls

About Gusto At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff — payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR — so owners can focus on their craft and their customers. With teams in Denver, San Francisco, and New York, we support more than 500,000 small businesses nationwide and are building a workplace that reflects the people we serve. All full-time employees receive competitive base pay, benefits, and equity (RSUs) — because everyone who helps build Gusto should share in its success. Offer amounts are determined by role, level, and location. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy. AI is a fundamental part of how work gets done at Gusto. We expect all team members to actively engage with AI tools relevant to their role and grow their fluency as the technology evolves. AI experience requirements vary by role and will be assessed during the interview process. About the Role: We’re looking for a Head of Internal Controls to join Gusto’s Finance, BizOps & Strategy team. This leader will partner with accounting and technical leaders to build and scale a forward-thinking internal controls environment that supports Gusto’s growth and operational maturity. As the Head of Internal Controls, you will lead Gusto’s controls program across business process controls and IT controls. The scope includes the proprietary and third-party systems supporting Gusto’s payroll, health benefits, retirement, and other financial products. You will build the team, set the program’s strategy, and embed practical controls into how Gusto’s products, systems, and financial processes are designed and operated. You will also define what an AI-forward internal controls function can look like, both by applying AI to controls work and by establishing oversight of AI-enabled financial processes and software development. The ideal candidate is a hands-on controls leader who has built or scaled an ICFR program and led experienced teams. They can engage collaboratively with accounting and technical leaders, understand proprietary systems and complex data flows, and translate risk into controls that support the business without creating unnecessary operational burden. Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day: • Build and lead Gusto’s internal controls function, bringing business process controls and IT controls together under a single program and developing the team needed to support both areas. • Own Gusto’s risk-based ICFR framework across financial processes and the systems and data that support them, including scoping, control design, documentation, testing, issue evaluation, and remediation. • Strengthen the control environment supporting Gusto’s complex operations, proprietary systems, and evolving products. • Partner early with Accounting, Finance, Product, Engineering, Data, Security, and Risk to build control and auditability into new products, systems, and processes without creating unnecessary manual work or disruption. • Set the vision for an AI-forward internal controls function, using AI and automation to rethink how risk is identified, evidence is evaluated, and controls are tested and monitored. Establish practical oversight for risks introduced by AI-enabled financial processes and software development. • Lead the relationship with external auditors, ensuring alignment on risk, scope, testing, evidence, and remediation. • Establish clear governance and accountability for internal controls, including training across Gusto and reporting to senior management and the Audit Committee on the program’s health and effectiveness. Here’s what we're looking for: • 12+ years of progressive experience in a Big 4 accounting firm, internal audit, or SOX compliance role program in a complex, scaling organization with professional certifications like CIA or CISA. • 5+ years of people leadership experience, with a track record of hiring, coaching, and developing experienced controls professionals and distributing judgment and institutional knowledge across a team. • Deep knowledge of US GAAP, the COSO framework, and the requirements supporting management’s ICFR assessment and external auditor attestation. • Breadth across business process controls and IT controls, with depth in at least 1 discipline and the judgment to lead experienced specialists across both. • Experience in a technology-driven environment with proprietary applications, automated controls, complex data flows, high transaction volumes, and evolving products. Experience in fintech, payments, payroll, or financial services is preferred. • A builder who can establish a long-term strategy and operating model while remaining close enough to the work to resolve ambiguous risks, challenge conclusions, and guide remediation. • The ability to influence senior leaders, translate technical and financial risks into practical decisions, and work credibly with Product, Engineering, external auditors, and the Audit Committee. • An AI-forward mindset. You are already experimenting with AI and automation to improve how internal controls work, from risk identification and evidence evaluation to testing and monitoring. • A practical understanding of how AI changes the control environment, including the risks introduced by AI-generated code and AI-enabled financial processes, and the ability to partner with Engineering and business teams to establish practical oversight. • CPA, CIA, CISA, or a comparable professional certification is preferred. Our cash compensation amount for this role is between $188,510 - $232,496/year in Denver and between $221,275 - $272,906/year for New York/San Francisco. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate location, experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above. At Gusto, we don't use titles the traditional way, as a signal of rank or hierarchy. Instead, our titles describe two things at once — your craft (what you do, e.g. Enginee