Lowes Internal Audit Interview

Audit

1. Considered proficient within 3 months, one of which was training. 2. Top 10 in my department of 250 in satisfaction rating 3. Handled audits from Joe Shmo to CEOs. Each audit needed to be handled with different levels of prep and communication levels. I resolved audits within my deadlines with almost no disputes that required correction (could not be justified by my explanation) in my two years. 4. Changed audit territories multiple times and had to familiarize myself with the

Points to hit

1. I am used to independently turning over large volumes of work without sacrificing quality. 2. I always try to find the solution myself before asking for help. 3. I put a focus on not making the same mistake twice. 4. I bring a good energy to the team and focus on engagement and inclusion within my teams.

Claims

1. Recommended to Lyft team within 4 months of starting 2. Handled an extremely high volume of claims (12-18 per day) efficiently and within the same day deadline presented by the team 3. No issue with customer satisfaction and quick resolution

Jarell Johnson and Michael (Mike) Donnarumma

3.5 years at lowes, Lead Senior to audit manager, basically the same timeline. What do you like about lowes compared to prior companies in the same role

Questions for them

Are there any key areas to focus on learning as a new hire that will help smooth that process and set a solid background. Who does the team generally interact with, and once an audit is complete, who sees the finished audit? 3.5 years at lowes, Lead Senior to audit manager, basically the same timeline. What do you like about lowes compared to prior companies in the same role Are there opportunities for engagement/teambuilding across the department? I have come from a completely unengaged team to a very engaged team at my current position. Anything I have mentioned or touched on that you feel like needs additional elaboration?

Ops

Batch Print: Noticed the inefficiency, reviewed risks with managers and developed a workflow. Controls include naming documents, reviewing for duplicates, encrypting a flash drive, emailing the password separately.

Why do you want the job/why am i the best fit

My experience has provided me the tools that are not easy to teach, such as how to write effectively and concisely, how to communicate with individuals at all levels and how to review quantitative and qualitative factors analytically. I have success using all of those tools, and I have no doubt that I can learn the risk side pertinent to this role with the support of my team.

Risk Assessment for audit

Risk: Travelers writes policies that have higher exposure than were written Control: Audit within audit----- Risk: customer provides incorrect payroll Control: validate against tax forms filed with the IRS Risk: customer does not have all class codes represented Control: Auditor samples job duties and confirms operations through company website and interview with customer

Collects data and conducts analysis

I collect data from insureds and would have to analyze their reports based on quantitative factors such as payroll types converted to exposure totals, and qualitative such as the scope of duties handled by each department/job title.

Identifies and documents aspects of organization's systems and processes that do not comply with regulation/law/standards

I currently review 40+ applications a day which i need to analyze for things that do not "line up". I document my findings afterwards

Time you dealt with risks/controls

Claims: Traffic is designed to operate like any other process, assuming everyone follows the steps like they are supposed to, then the process should run smoothly without incident. The first risk is someone driving who does not know how, so we educate them in driving school, then they pass their license test. We know at that point they are deemed a capable driver, but are not again tested on the road. Risks once they are on the road include things like texting while driving and not obeying traffic laws. The control in that situation is making laws against those behaviors, then policing them. These are ineffective controls and therefore we still see plenty of auto accidents. An example of a new control would be to police via video cameras, etc which would require more accountability from drivers and ideally discourage risky behavior as it would be surveilled more regularly.

Prioritization

Everything is approached with the same prioritization method: beginning of day: what do i have to do, what cannot be moved, what can be moved. "swallow the frog" Working an audit, get a call from another customer wanting to complete appointment they missed. I understand contact and service the priority. I will put my work on pause, sometimes with a note of what im doing then address that conversation, sometimes essentially the entire audit. I will then return to the task I was initially working on

Talk about a decision you made that required some analysis; walk me through the analytical process you engage in to make the decision.

I do find that my brain has been trained to be analytical and I was drawn to finding efficiencies in things because it was something my Dad praised growing up. Everything from big life choices to the path I walk back to my car from the office is thought of efficiently when I do something. To reference an analytical decision in my past, we can refer to just about any claim I handled that wasn't a clear rear-end accident. For example, If I had a T-bone accident in the road presented to me before I interview the claimants, I am immediately thinking of the variables I need to consider: Was there anyone also moving either in front or behind the turning car. What type of traffic signal did they have, was the weather nice or was it dark with no lights. Where is the damage on the cars? Eventually, if someone or both people are lying to you, you need to use the evidence available to make your decision, and as I am sure you all know, people's ability to remember can be shaky, especially if they are defensive over their actions or in a traumatic event. I wanted to use this example over an audit because I wanted to display that this line of thinking for me is not just quantitative, but I have a depth of experience in qualitative analysis as well.

Closing Sentence

I just want to close out by saying that I am a quick learner as demonstrated in each of my past roles, and what you cannot teach is the way I interact with other departments and the relationships I will build and maintain. I also like to think I bring a really strong and optimistic personality to the team, without being a distraction. I am really excited about this job as I believe it will be a challenging and more aligned with how I naturally think, and when I reviewed the duties outlined on the job posting, I have relevant experience with everything listed. Thank you so much for your time and I hope to be working with you soon

Participates in rational committee work such as quality reviews, issue follow up, training coordination

I lead trainings, each of my roles in the past 3 have had some version of quality review so I am very used to the standards and depth they look for, and in audit i used to have the occasional dispute with the customer which I would resolve by contacting them and reviewing their issue, sometimes making changes

Time when you had to sacrifice on behalf of time

In audit, because so much was reliant on contact with the insured, we would sometimes have more than a handful left near the end of their due dates. It all goes back to prioritization.

Assists Senior in detailed report and summarization

In each of my last 3 jobs, I have been required to notate my process in such a way that anyone could pick up my work and be able to understand where I am in the process and justify my findings. In my most recent role, I have more experience in the formal summarization versus note-taking.

Talk about a time you were pulled in multiple different directions at once. How did you handle that.

In my 2 roles prior to my current job, I handled an inventory of open claims/audits entirely on my own. It honestly happened more times than any given example was worthy of. Completing a review of data and sampling to ask insured about, called back by Joes plumbing, review his operations and complete the audit, return to the not time-sensitive one

How do you motivate yourself?

Independently honestly. In my past roles, the harder I work and more efficient I am at closing claims, audits, and now "cases", then I can earn my own low volume periods. I do enjoy working with a team, and was always the leader, specifically remember in college a meeting. I like deadlines and I hit them.

Gather information from a customer

This happened every single day for two years at my internal audit position. assuming no prior audit (i can ask for documents by name as provided for easier lookup), I would review the type of audit, the possible exceptions and exclusions they would have based on states in the audit, and describe the forms over the phone, confirming they had an understanding of what I was looking for. After that, I would send a follow up email outlining again, each of the documents and why I needed them, and specifically what needed to be on the documents in order to complete the audit. For example, I handled CA audits for about half of my time in audit. For a WC policy, I would need to request a payroll report which had the employee name, job title/department, Gross Wages, OT, DT, HSA contributions, ESPP, Owners included on articles of incorporation and more. You also needed subcontractors used and their certificates of insurance. Then I would need appropriate quarterly tax forms. I would then review the payroll report, apply the appropriate exclusions and deductions, then sample the job duties to confirm everyone does what they say they do, and write up the audit.

Critical Thinking

This is going to be a bit abstract but I hope it still lands. I have recently gotten into film photography away from digital. With film, you need to make every shot count bc there are only so many shots to a roll. When I am out walking around with photos as my goal, I am looking around at everything, for something to catch my eye, taking in everything. Once I find a composition, I will try and see everything that could be included in the picture, then I walk around and try and find a few other ways I could shoot other than the one that first appeared to me. I think this is a good metaphor for my thinking process. When I have my goal, i will try and take everything possible in. Then, when I think i have a solution, I will still look at it from a few other ways to make sure I am happy with that decision before "pulling the trigger"

Provides support for coordinating with the client and management to ensure deadlines are met

This is literally all I did for two years, I would work with contacts with the customers to schedule appointments and obtain documents to complete their audits.

Risk Assessment for Ally Role

Within the role----------------------- Risk: applicant is not a real identity control: review the submitted information against a source with confirmed known information. If a match, go to step two, if not investigate flags further (no trade history, multiple associated to SSN, etc) Risk: is the customer potentially applying on behalf of another party Control: review business connections, number of open autos, applicant dropped on a prior app Risk: are they misrepresenting income or employment control: review the applications for variances (girl with grandma as employer)