Overview of Role:
The Accounting Manager, R&D (Non-Clinical) plays a critical, hands-on role in owning and managing R&D accruals and expense accounting for non-clinical trial activities across a global footprint (U.S., Europe, China). This role is central to ensuring R&D expenses are accurately accrued, analyzed, and supported, with close collaboration across vendors, internal project managers, and cross functional teams.
This position requires a hands-on accounting leader who goes beyond transactional accounting to critically assess R&D activity and ensure accruals accurately represent the business. Working cross functionally with R&D, vendors, and project stakeholders across the U.S., Europe, and China, this role plays a key part in supporting global audits and statutory financial reporting in a dynamic, high growth environment.
Role and Responsibilities:
- Own the end-to-end R&D accrual and expense accounting process for nonclinical activities, ensuring costs are accurately captured and reflect underlying business activity
- Prepare and review monthly journal entries and account reconciliations, exercising judgment to assess completeness, accuracy, and overall reasonableness
- Partner closely with vendors, internal project managers, and cross functional R&D teams to obtain data, validate assumptions, and support accrual calculations
- Support R&D cost areas including manufacturing, patient safety, biostatistics, CMC, supply chain, and non-trial clinical operations expenses
- Play a key role in the monthly close process, contributing to continuous improvement, documentation, and close efficiency
- Support global audits and statutory financial statements across the U.S., UK, and Switzerland by preparing schedules, analyses, and audit support
- Contribute to internal controls, SOX readiness, and accounting process development as the company continues to scale
- Ad-hoc tasks as assigned
- All other duties as assigned
Experience, Education and Specialized Knowledge and Skills:
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, related field
- A minimum of 5+ years of experience in accounting or finance with demonstrated ownership of accruals
- Hands‑on experience with R&D accruals in a biotech or pharmaceutical setting, including familiarity with complex R&D cost structure
- Demonstrated ability to apply judgment, evaluate assumptions, and assess the reasonableness of accruals in situations where inputs are incomplete or evolving
- Experience working cross functionally to interpret activity, resolve issues, and ensure accurate financial outcomes
- Exposure to global accounting environments, including supporting audits and statutory reporting across multiple jurisdictions
- Working knowledge of internal controls and close processes, with experience helping build, refine, and improve accounting practices in a growing organization
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to operate effectively in a fastmoving, high growth setting
- Experience with NetSuite, close management and reconciliation tools (e.g., FloQast), and contract management systems (e.g., Agiloft) preferred
- Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, etc)