Senior Director of Accounting & Assistant Controller

Role Summary

Senior Director of Accounting and Assistant Controller, reporting to the Vice President of Finance and Controller, to lead key aspects of accounting operations and oversee the integrity of financial reporting. This role is 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 role is based in San Francisco, CA with occasional travel, and plays a critical role in audit readiness and cross-functional collaboration across finance, FP&A, legal, and other departments.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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 development and roll-out of accounting policies and procedures that meet SOX requirements, including driving 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 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.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance.
• Preferred: MBA or Masters.
• Required: CPA License.
• Required: SEC reporting, technical accounting experience, and deep subject matter expertise in SOX404(b).
• Required: Demonstrated experience leading monthly, quarterly and year end closing processes.
• Required: Expertise in Excel and Word and ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Required: 10+ years of accounting experience in publicly traded companies.
• Required: Public company experience in the Biotechnology industry.
• Preferred: Big 4 public accounting experience.
• Required: Experience in NetSuite, procurement system and stock administration system.
• Preferred: Experience in SEC reporting tools/platforms such as ActiveDisclosure.
• Required: Detail-oriented with the ability to analyze and synthesize large amounts of data for reporting and problem-solving.
• Required: Excellent organizational skills and an ability to prioritize effectively to deliver results within reasonably established timelines.

Skills

• Analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to adapt communication styles to varied internal and external partners.
• Teamwork and collaboration skills; ability to balance team and individual responsibilities and share expertise.
• Get-the-job-done attitude and initiative to identify solutions.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and deadlines; strong ethics, integrity, and judgment.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance; MBA or Master’s degree is a plus.

Additional Requirements

• Occasional travel.