Internal Audit Asset Management

Dana M. Staples, CPA

Experience Summary

Internal Audit and Risk Management professional with 20 years of extensive experience performing risk-based audit projects for asset management firms, broker-dealers, corporate investments, and insurance industries as well as third-party administrators for government-sponsored insurance plans.

Experience onboarding and building audit and risk frameworks for 4 newly acquired subsidiaries.

Prior, 6 years of Big 4 public accounting experience performing assurance services, co-sourcing for Internal Audit, SOX 404 buildout, implementation and execution, and other advisory/consulting services.

Results-oriented Manager for 10 years with proven success in team leadership and executing and managing multiple projects timely and effectively.

Strong writing, analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Demonstrated ability to work closely with Compliance and Legal for audits specific to relevant regulations.

SOC1 reviews and controls advisory to financial services firms and clients.

Key Areas of Expertise:

Asset Management, Insurance & Banking

Operational and Financial Risk Assessments

Annual Audit Plan & Program Development

Audit Management & Execution/Testing

Strong, Accurate Report Writing

Audit Findings – Root Cause Analysis

Developing & Monitoring of Remediation Plans

Internal Audit Advisory Services

Regulatory Compliance Reviews

SOX Compliance Control Reviews/Testing

SOC 1 Report Review & Risk Analysis

Direct Reports & Project Management

Professional Experience:

LPL Financial, Consultant, Risk and Controls – Atlanta, GA May 2025 - June 2025

Maintain SOC1 and FICCA reports provided to LPL clients and sponsors, verifying accuracy of business process and technology narratives and related controls mitigating financial, operational, and general technology risks.

Coordinate with Deloitte to perform testing of the design and operating effectiveness of the controls, and assess risks, and management responses plans for any control exceptions identified.

Invesco, Manager - Risk Advisory – Atlanta, GA May 2024 – Nov 2024

Collaborated with business partners for validation of the accuracy of SOC1 operational, financial, & technology descriptions and controls within the reports provided to Invesco clients.

Worked with PwC to perform testing of the design and operating effectiveness of the controls and assess risks and management responses for any control exceptions noted.

Performed control rationalization review across 5 SOC1 regional reports for alignment of the controls and propose a Global SOC1 to reduce redundancy and the expense of third-party reviews.

Risk Advisory Special Project – co-led the project and collaborated with business partners to create and build out Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) for ongoing monitoring of asset management operational risks across the organization.

Assetmark, Consultant, Sarbanes Oxley, SOC 1 Analysis – Concord, CA Dec 2022 – Mar 2023

Performed year-end reviews of SOC 1 reports for 22 service organizations that provide asset management-related services to the Company.

Coordinated and advised the internal business, finance, and information technology teams to address operating effectiveness and/or design deficiencies identified in the SOC 1 reports.

Aligned the Complementary User Entity Controls (CUEC) noted within the SOC 1 reports to key controls performed by the service organizations and/or the risk and relevance of the CUEC to the Co

Guardian Life Insurance Company, Internal Audit Manager – San Francisco, CA Jan 2014–Mar 2022

Developed an in-depth annual risk assessment and audit plan for 5 lines of business, including Asset Management, Broker Dealer Services, Annuities, Individual Insurance, and Government Third Party Benefit Plan Administration.

Executed the derived audit plan across multiple products/areas to validate relevant business objectives and processes, and then assessed the financial and operational controls, application change management and access controls, security of data, and compliance with laws and regulations (Company procedures, 40 Act, FINRA, Reg BI, AML/KYC, Privacy, Insurance Regulations).

Audits conducted included development of the audit program, managing and/or performing audit test procedures, identifying findings and root-cause analysis, written audit reports, and communication of audit results.

Contributed to the use of data analytics to execute internal audit testing and break down analytical challenges into workable components.

Conducted internal control testing across multiple financial processes in support of financial statement audits performed by external auditors.

Built out the risk and controls framework for 4 newly acquired subsidiaries to the internal audit universe and provided continued support to mature their control environment and risk governance.

Provided advisory services to specific business areas by evaluating processes and systems, identifying control gaps and root causes, recommending improvements, and developing related remediation plans.

Collaborated with Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management on an ongoing basis to evaluate and monitor financial, operational, regulatory, and strategic risk and leverage applicable testing for internal audits.

Provided ongoing input to Audit and Risk Committee Reports in support of communicating effective internal audit oversight of business operations and internal controls as well as audit plan status and audit results.

Managed and provided technical oversight and mentorship to 2 direct reports and several other auditors across a matrix audit organization.

Franklin Templeton Investments, Senior Manager – San Mateo, CA 2010–2014

Led a team of 3 technology auditors and 2 financial/operational auditors to execute the SOX program for the Company and support the external financial statement audit and controls testing. Management responsibilities also included employee performance evaluation, compensation, hiring, and related administrative tasks.

Owned planning and execution of all phases of SOX compliance including risk assessment and scoping, documentation of process walkthroughs, identifying controls and key reports, testing, and reporting the results.

Managed and led walkthroughs with External Auditors and performed SOX testing of controls, including Financial, Business Process, and IT controls.

Collaborated with process owners to ensure corrective action plans were in place to remediate any gaps identified with internal controls. Reviewed findings documentation and tracked remediation progress through closure.

Reviewed reports summarizing SOX assessments for Management, the Audit Committee, and External auditors.

Coordinated with Internal Audit to leverage and maximize risk assessments, internal control reviews, and testing to reduce costs as well as the impact on the business.

Supported the Director in developing the Company Enterprise Risk Management program through review of documentation for accuracy, completeness, and transparency of risk mitigation.

Deloitte, Manager Enterprise Risk Services – Minneapolis, MN 2006-2010

Performed internal audit services and controls reviews for various clients contracted for internal audit co-sourcing and/or out-sourcing arrangements.

Developed the client process documentation and controls framework for SOX 404 requirements (primarily banking/wealth management) and further assisted clients with their full SOX implementation, initial controls testing, and the ongoing compliance program.

Provided advisory services to clients across various industries, primarily related to internal controls and Day 1 assessment for mergers/acquisitions.

Effectively managed client projects staffed with multiple senior managers and team members.

Coca-Cola Enterprises, Senior Internal Auditor – Atlanta, GA 2001-2006

Performed on-site operational audits of production facilities observing incoming, outgoing, and onsite inventory, and the related operational distribution and inventory storage, tracking, and related processes.

Worked with Sales Center Managers and Controllers for onsite operational audits as well as financial audits of sales and production and forecasts/budgets of predicted ads and marketing to projections.

Extensive audits involved physical travel to production sites and sales offices.

Additionally, 2.5 years of prior public accounting experience with Deloitte performing financial statement assurance audits.

Education, Professional Organizations

Clayton State University, BA – Accounting; CPA, MN (currently inactive, pending CPE hours in progress)

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