Senior Director of Accounting & Assistant Controller

About the Role >>> Senior Director of Accounting & Assistant Controller 

As the Senior Director of Accounting and Assistant Controller reporting to the Vice President of Finance and Controller, you will lead key aspects of our accounting operations and support the Controller in overseeing the integrity of our financial reporting. This role will be responsible for managing day-to-day accounting functions, ensuring compliance with GAAP and SOX requirements, leading month-end, and year-end closing and SEC reporting processes, and driving process improvements across the accounting organization. You will bring a strong technical accounting background, leadership experience in a public company and high-growth environment, and the ability to scale systems and processes to support organizational growth. This position plays a critical role in supporting audit readiness, internal controls, and cross-functional collaboration across finance, FP&A, legal, and other departments.  

This role is based out of our San Francisco, CA office and will require occasional travel. 

Your work will primarily encompass: 

• Manage and provide oversight of day-to-day financial close related activities and accounting operations, including but not limited to cash reconciliation, treasury and investment, prepaid, fixed assets, expense accruals, and related reconciliations. 
• Manage the company’s equity administration to ensure proper process flow, including its calculation of equity-based compensation across the company’s equity instruments. 
• Drive the preparation and review of clinical trial-related accrual and prepayment entries and reconciliations, including working with software Auxilius (CRO accounting and accrual tool). 
• Review applicable CRO, CMO and other vendor contracts.
• Work closely with the Clinical Development team and proactively interact with vendors to gather and analyze relevant information and supporting documentation to ensure accurate accrual and prepaid information on a quarterly basis. 
• Spearhead conclusion on applicable new accounting literature, SEC rules and regulations, and significant or unusual transactions, as well as roll out related implementation. 
• Work with the Controller to ensure significant or complex accounting transactions are properly recorded in the general ledger. 

And will also include: 

• Manage the company’s monthly and quarterly accounting close process, quarterly and annual public filings with the SEC on Forms 10-K and 10-Q utilizing XBRL tools. 
• Support other SEC and regulatory filings as needed. 
• Maintain focus on continuous improvement by challenging status quo to accelerate financial accounting close and increase efficiency of accounting and reporting processes. 
• Develop and execute deliverables, and manage external audit and other parties, leading to the timely completion of the company’s quarterly review and annual audit. 
• Be a key process owner in the company’s development and roll-out of accounting policies and procedures that meet SOX requirements, including driving the company’s SOX 404 compliance and audit, implementation of new accounting systems and ongoing maintenance. 
• Assist with compilation of information for preparation of tax compliance items, including but not limited to annual provisions/returns and other tax-related items and review the external tax advisors’ deliverables. 
• Assist with other projects and process improvement initiatives as necessary. 

Ideal Candidate Profile >>> 

A love of challenging, important work. We are a pragmatic team, driven to imagine and develop meaningful therapies for improving lives. All employees within our company play a unique and crucial role in our success, both in accomplishing our mission and building a positive company culture. As such, we are looking for someone with the right combination of knowledge, experience, and attributes for this role. 

Knowledge: 

• Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance, MBA or Masters a plus. 
• CPA License required. 
• SEC reporting, technical accounting experience, and deep subject matter expertise in SOX404(b). 
• Expertise in Excel and Word and ability to learn new systems quickly. 
• Demonstrated experience leading monthly, quarterly and year end closing processes. 

Experience: 

• 10+ years of accounting experience in publicly traded companies. 
• Public company experience in the Biotechnology industry required.  
• Big 4 public accounting experience. 
• Experience in NetSuite, procurement system and stock administration system. 
• Experience in SEC reporting tools/platforms such as ActiveDisclosure (preferred). 
• Detail-oriented with the ability to analyze and synthesize large amounts of data for reporting and problem-solving. 
• Excellent organizational skills and an ability to prioritize effectively to deliver results within reasonably established timelines. 

Attributes: 

• Teamwork and collaboration skills: Balances team and individual responsibilities; gives and welcomes feedback; puts success of team above own interests; supports everyone's efforts to succeed; shares expertise with others. 
• Excellent written verbal and inter-personal communication skills and ability to adapt communication styles to varied internal and external partners. 
• Possesses a get-the-job done attitude and identifies not just challenges but takes the initiative to identify solutions. 
• Analytical thinking with problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt to changing priorities and deadlines. 
• Impeccable professional ethics, integrity, and judgment. 

The base pay range for this position is expected to be $245,000-$270,000 annually, however the base pay offered may vary depending on location, market, job related knowledge, skills and capabilities, and experience. The total compensation package for this position also includes equity, bonus, and benefits.

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