Associate Director/Director, Accounting (Controller)

At Agenus, we are advancing innovative immunotherapies to improve outcomes for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers. We are seeking a hands-on Associate Director/Director, Accounting (Controller) to support our growing public biotechnology organization. Reporting to the Vice President of Global Financial Operations, this role will partner across Finance, HR, Legal, and external advisors to help ensure the integrity of our financial reporting while supporting the continued growth of the organization.

This role is required to be onsite in Lexington 5 days a week

In the role you will:

Accounting Operations and Close Process

• Lead the monthly, quarterly, and annual accounting close processes, ensuring timely and accurate preparation of financial statements.
• Oversee general ledger accounting, journal entries, account reconciliations, consolidations, accruals, and financial statement analysis.
• Manage accounting for key biotechnology-related areas, including R&D expenses, clinical trial accruals, CRO and CMO costs, manufacturing-related costs, collaboration agreements, licensing arrangements, milestones, royalties, grants, and cost-sharing arrangements.
• Oversee accounting for equity, stock-based compensation, debt, warrants, leases, restructuring activities, and other complex financial instruments.
• Ensure appropriate accounting treatment for significant corporate transactions, including financing arrangements, licensing agreements, strategic collaborations, acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, and other business development transactions.
• Maintain and improve accounting policies, procedures, close calendars, and documentation standards to support operational efficiency, accuracy, and scalability.

SEC Reporting and Public Company Compliance

• Lead or support the preparation and review of SEC filings, including Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, proxy statements, registration statements, earnings releases, and other investor-facing financial disclosures. Agenus maintains public SEC filings, quarterly reports, annual reports, current reports, proxy filings, and registration statements through its investor relations reporting platform.
• Ensure financial statements and disclosures comply with U.S. GAAP, SEC rules, Nasdaq requirements, and company policies.
• Partner with Legal, Investor Relations, FP&A, external counsel, and external auditors on financial disclosures, MD&A, risk factors, non-GAAP measures, subsequent events, and other reporting matters.
• Prepare and review technical accounting memos supporting significant accounting conclusions, including revenue recognition, collaboration accounting, debt and warrant accounting, equity transactions, leases, impairment analyses, going-concern considerations, restructuring charges, and fair-value measurements.
• Monitor new accounting standards and SEC developments, assess their impact on Agenus, and lead implementation as needed.

Internal Controls and SOX Compliance

• Lead or support Agenus' Sarbanes-Oxley compliance program, including control design, documentation, testing, remediation, and ongoing monitoring.
• Maintain an effective internal control environment over financial reporting.
• Identify process gaps, control deficiencies, and opportunities to strengthen financial governance.
• Partner with internal and external auditors to support control testing, audit requirements, and remediation activities.
• Promote a culture of accountability, accuracy, compliance, and continuous improvement across the finance organization.

Audit, Tax, Treasury, and External Advisors

• Serve as a primary contact for external auditors and manage audit timelines, deliverables, requests, and issue resolution.
• Coordinate with tax advisors on income tax provision, tax compliance, R&D tax credits, transfer pricing, state and local tax matters, and other tax-related activities.
• Support treasury activities, including cash management, investment accounting, debt compliance, covenant reporting, and financing transaction support.
• Partner with valuation specialists and technical accounting advisors on complex areas such as warrants, convertible or structured debt, equity instruments, fair-value measurements, collaboration arrangements, and impairment analyses.
• Support board and audit committee materials, as needed.

Qualifications: About you

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• CPA required.
• 10+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience.
• Public-company accounting and SEC reporting experience required, preferably with a Big Four or national accounting firm.
• Prior experience as a Controller, Assistant Controller, Director of Accounting or similar senior accounting role.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP, SEC reporting, SOX compliance, and internal controls over financial reporting.
• Experience working with external auditors and managing quarterly reviews and annual audits.
• Experience with complex accounting areas such as equity, stock-based compensation, warrants, debt, leases, revenue recognition, collaboration agreements, clinical trial accruals, and restructuring activities.
• Strong technical accounting skills and ability to prepare and review accounting position papers.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, manage competing priorities, and meet tight deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex accounting matters to non-accounting stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Biotechnology, pharmaceutical, life sciences, or healthcare industry experience strongly preferred.
• Experience in a clinical-stage or commercial-stage public biotechnology company.
• Prior experience in public accounting, preferably with a Big Four or national accounting firm.
• Experience with collaboration, licensing, royalty, milestone, grant, manufacturing, or cost-sharing arrangements.
• Experience supporting capital markets transactions, debt financings, warrant issuances, strategic collaborations, or business development transactions.
• Familiarity with ERP systems such as Oracle and SAP
• Experience with equity administration platforms and SEC reporting tools.
• Experience supporting audit committee materials and executive-level financial reporting.

The targeted salary range for this position is $145,000 - $186,000 per year. Agenus is making a good faith effort to be transparent and accurate around our hiring ranges. The salary offered is commensurate with Agenus's compensation philosophy and considers factors including, but not limited to, education, training, experience, external market conditions, critical needs of the role, and internal equity.

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