Lyft Head of Internal Audit Interview Preparation Guide

If you’re preparing for an interview for the Lyft Head of Internal Audit position, you’re applying for a senior leadership role that involves overseeing the company’s internal audit function, ensuring the effectiveness of internal controls, risk management processes, and compliance. This is a crucial role for ensuring that Lyft operates efficiently, transparently, and in compliance with relevant regulations. As someone who has gone through a similar process, I’ll provide you with a detailed breakdown of the interview process, typical questions you can expect, and how to best prepare for the position.

Overview of the Role

As the Head of Internal Audit at Lyft, you will lead the internal audit function and report directly to the audit committee and CFO. You will be responsible for managing internal audits across Lyft’s operations, ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, assessing the effectiveness of internal controls, and recommending improvements to mitigate risk. The role is highly strategic and requires deep expertise in audit processes, risk management, and financial controls.

Key responsibilities include:

• Internal Audit Leadership: Leading and managing Lyft’s internal audit team, defining the annual audit plan, and overseeing audit activities.
• Risk Management & Compliance: Identifying key business risks, assessing the effectiveness of internal controls, and ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
• Reporting & Communication: Providing clear and actionable insights to Lyft’s leadership and board on audit findings, risks, and control weaknesses.
• Process Improvement: Identifying opportunities for process improvements within the company’s financial reporting, operations, and compliance functions.
• Team Management & Development: Leading and mentoring a team of internal auditors, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional development.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process for the Head of Internal Audit at Lyft typically consists of several rounds designed to assess your technical audit knowledge, leadership abilities, strategic thinking, and fit with Lyft’s culture. Below is an overview of the interview stages you can expect:

1. Application Review & Recruiter Screening
2. Phone Interview (Technical and Leadership)
3. On-Site or Virtual On-Site Interviews
4. Final Leadership Interview (Cultural Fit and Behavioral)

1. Application Review & Recruiter Screening

After submitting your application, Lyft’s recruiting team will review your resume. If they find that your background aligns with the role, they will contact you for an initial phone screening. This conversation typically lasts 30-45 minutes.

What to Expect:

• Review of Experience: The recruiter will discuss your background in internal auditing, financial controls, and any relevant leadership roles you’ve held.
  • Can you walk me through your experience leading internal audit teams?
  • What types of audits have you managed (e.g., financial audits, operational audits, compliance audits)?
• Role Fit and Motivation: The recruiter will assess your motivation for applying to the role and how your experience aligns with Lyft’s objectives.
  • Why are you interested in the Head of Internal Audit position at Lyft?
  • What excites you about Lyft’s mission and the opportunity to lead the internal audit function?
• Logistics & Expectations: Expect a brief discussion on job logistics, including location, team structure, and expectations for the role.
  • This role requires a high degree of collaboration with senior leadership. Are you comfortable working in a leadership role that involves strategic decision-making and influencing key stakeholders?

2. Phone Interview (Technical and Leadership)

The next stage is typically a phone interview with the hiring manager or a senior member of the finance team. This interview lasts around 45-60 minutes and focuses on both your technical expertise in auditing and leadership experience.

What to Expect:

• Technical Audit Knowledge: You will be asked about your experience with audit frameworks, risk management, compliance standards, and internal controls.
  • Can you explain the steps you would take to assess the effectiveness of an internal control system?
  • How do you ensure that your audits are in compliance with SOX and other regulatory requirements?
• Risk Management & Compliance: Expect questions about your experience identifying and managing risk within an organization.
  • Describe a time when you identified a significant risk within a business. How did you mitigate it?
  • How do you evaluate the risk exposure of different business units?
• Leadership Questions: As the Head of Internal Audit, you will be expected to lead a team. You may be asked about how you manage and develop your team.
  • How do you manage a diverse audit team to ensure high performance and alignment with organizational goals?
  • Tell me about a time when you had to mentor a junior auditor. What approach did you take to guide their development?
• Behavioral Questions: Expect behavioral questions designed to assess your leadership skills, problem-solving abilities, and decision-making capabilities.
  • Deliver Results: Tell me about a time when you had to deliver audit findings under tight deadlines. How did you ensure accuracy and timeliness?
  • Customer Obsession: How do you ensure that your audit findings are actionable and clearly communicate value to senior leadership or stakeholders?

3. On-Site or Virtual On-Site Interviews

If you pass the phone interview, you will be invited to an on-site or virtual on-site interview. This typically lasts 4-5 hours and includes several rounds with various team members, including senior leadership, and will likely focus on your technical expertise, team leadership, and problem-solving abilities.

What to Expect:

• Case Study or Audit Simulation: You may be asked to review a case study or audit scenario. The goal is to evaluate your problem-solving and auditing skills in real time.
  • Imagine you’ve been tasked with auditing a department that has shown irregularities in financial reporting. How would you approach the audit, and what steps would you take to gather evidence and present your findings?
• Systemic Auditing and Compliance Management: Expect to discuss your approach to managing compliance and implementing audit findings.
  • How do you ensure that audit findings lead to meaningful improvements in business processes? Can you describe a time when your audit led to a significant operational or compliance change?
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: You will be asked how you manage collaboration with other teams, such as finance, operations, and legal, to ensure audits are comprehensive and aligned with business objectives.
  • Describe a time when you worked closely with a cross-functional team to resolve a compliance or audit issue. How did you ensure everyone was aligned?
• Behavioral Leadership: You will also be asked about how you lead and manage teams within the audit function.
  • Tell me about a time when you had to lead your team through a challenging audit. How did you motivate them and ensure the audit was completed successfully?

4. Final Leadership Interview (Cultural Fit and Behavioral)

The final interview often focuses on Lyft’s cultural fit and how your leadership style aligns with Lyft’s values. This may involve a meeting with senior leadership, the CFO, or HR.

What to Expect:

• Lyft’s Leadership Principles: Expect to answer questions about your alignment with Lyft’s Leadership Principles, such as Customer Obsession, Bias for Action, and Deliver Results.
  • Tell me about a time when you had to influence senior leadership to take action based on audit findings. How did you ensure the audit recommendations were accepted and implemented?
  • Describe a time when you had to quickly adapt to a significant change in audit regulations or business priorities. How did you lead your team through this change?
• Cultural Fit: Lyft places a strong emphasis on cultural fit, particularly in how leaders work across departments and ensure alignment on objectives.
  • How do you foster an environment of trust and transparency within your team, especially when dealing with sensitive audit findings?

Preparation Tips for Success

• Master Internal Audit Frameworks: Be thoroughly familiar with SOX compliance, internal controls, risk management, and other auditing frameworks. You should be able to speak confidently about these concepts and how they apply to Lyft.
• Understand Lyft’s Financial Landscape: Understand Lyft’s business model, financial structure, and recent financial performance. This will allow you to tailor your answers and insights to Lyft’s specific needs.
• Be Ready for Case Studies: Prepare for audit-related case studies where you’ll need to demonstrate how you would manage an audit process, identify risks, and communicate findings effectively.
• Leadership Preparation: Be ready to discuss how you lead teams, particularly in high-pressure audit situations. Use examples that showcase your strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and team development skills.
• Cultural Fit: Be prepared to discuss how you align with Lyft’s values and how you ensure that your leadership style fosters transparency, accountability, and collaboration.