Associate Director of Finance

Overview

This role is responsible for US accounting and compliance, including owning the US close and producing the monthly group consolidation and month-end pack. As programs move toward IND-enabling work and the clinic, the position will also help bring R&D and clinical trial accruals in-house and support ongoing R&D tax credit and compliance activities.

The position is fully remote, with occasional travel to San Francisco and Switzerland as required.

Responsibilities

• Own the relationship with the outsourced US accounting firm
  • Set scope and deadlines, review deliverables, and ensure quality and timeliness
  • Review and approve work prepared by the firm
  • Assess whether the provider remains the right fit as the business grows, including leading a change of provider if needed
• US close, books, and month-end
  • Ensure the quality of US books and month-end close processes
  • Own day-to-day close activities while leveraging the outsourced firm for selected activities
• Audits
  • Prepare for and manage audits as required
  • Keep US books audit-ready with clear schedules, policies, and controls
• Group consolidation and month-end pack
  • Produce the monthly group consolidation across US, UK, Swiss, and Italian entities under US GAAP, including intercompany eliminations and currency translation
  • Deliver the month-end pack on an agreed timetable for review by the Executive Director of Finance
• R&D and clinical trial accruals (bring in-house)
  • Establish milestone- and enrollment-based accruals
  • Manage CRO and investigator invoice recognition and pass-through cost tracking
  • Track and account for program costs accurately and consistently, working directly with program leads
  • Work with program teams as accrual processes transition in-house
• US tax compliance and R&D tax credits
  • Work with US tax advisers on required federal and state filings and maintain a US tax compliance calendar
  • Coordinate documentation and support for applicable R&D tax credit claims
• Budgeting, business partnering, and FP&A support
  • Act as the local finance contact for US budget holders
  • Run budget-versus-actual conversations, challenge spend that does not align with budget, and support discussions with budget owners
  • Provide US inputs to global budgeting and forecasting, including analysis and variance commentary
  • Assist the Executive Director of Finance with budget-versus-actual reporting and forecast updates
• Process improvement and ad hoc projects
  • Support FP&A and reporting streamlining using AI and advanced Excel to reduce manual work and error risk
  • Contribute to systems decisions as needed

Requirements

• Accounting qualification: a recognized accounting qualification (CPA preferred)
• Experience: 8+ years of finance and accounting experience, including significant time in a biotech company—ideally pre-revenue, IND-enabling, or clinical-stage
• US GAAP knowledge
  • ASC 730 (research and development costs)
  • ASC 842 (leases)
• Hands-on consolidation experience
  • Built group consolidations and month-end packs, including intercompany eliminations and currency translation
• R&D accrual experience
• Outsourced firm and adviser management
  • Track record managing outsourced accounting firms and external advisers, including changing provider where needed
• Tax adviser collaboration
  • Experience working with US tax advisers on federal and state compliance
• Autonomy in a distributed setup
  • Proven ability to work independently as the senior finance person in a location, with the wider finance team in a different time zone, in a fully remote role
• Travel
  • Willingness to travel occasionally to San Francisco and Switzerland
• Work authorization
  • Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States and must be able to maintain that authorization without employer sponsorship.

Preferred Qualifications

• Clinical trial accounting experience:
  • milestone- and enrollment-based accrual methodology
  • CRO and site invoice review
  • pass-through cost tracking
• Experience in a global business across multiple countries, currencies, and statutory regimes, including working within a US parent/holding company structure
• Experience identifying and claiming US R&D tax credits
• FP&A experience, including supporting budget cycles and partnering with non-finance budget holders
• Experience working outside the US or embedded with non-US teams

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary: $190,000 – $250,000 per year
• Annual bonus and equity: commensurate with experience

Location

• Remote (fully remote)
• Travel required: occasional travel to San Francisco and Switzerland
• Switzerland: Bellinzona (Swiss site)
• Note on office/travel expectations: currently no office in San Francisco; it is unlikely there will be more than 2 trips to Switzerland a year, and a quarterly trip to San Francisco is anticipated once the office is opened.