Associate Director, Accounting

Flagship Pioneering, Inc.; Watertown (MA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

ProFound Therapeutics seeks an experienced Associate Director, Accounting to lead our accounting operations and U.S. GAAP reporting.

Reporting to the SVP of Finance, this role will shape the close process, policies and internal controls in a lean, fast-paced biotech environment, partnering with leadership and the Board. The ideal candidate will have 8+ years of progressive accounting experience, strong technical judgment, and hands-on ownership of month-end close, with familiarity in

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance required.
• CPA preferred or required.
• 8+ years of progressive accounting experience in biotech or life sciences.

Responsibilities

• Lead monthly, quarterly and annual close and U.S. GAAP financial reporting.
• Oversee general ledger, journal entries, reconciliations and schedules.
• Own accounting areas: revenue recognition, R&D accruals, equity and stock-based compensation.
• Manage audit readiness, internal controls and documentation.
• Design scalable accounting processes and systems, including NetSuite.

Skills

GAAP accounting

US GAAP

Big 4 experience

Finance partnership

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance

Tools

NetSuite OneWorld

Job description

ProFound™ Therapeutics is a biotechnology company discovering novel proteins across the expanded human proteome to unlock first-in-class medicines and transformative drug targets. The company’s proprietary ProFoundry™ Platform integrates state-of-the-art protein detection, validation, and computational technologies to systematically identify and characterize previously inaccessible proteins and validate their therapeutic potential. This approach has generated a rapidly expanding portfolio of novel targets and drug discovery programs advancing toward the clinic, enabled by strategic collaborations with leading pharmaceutical partners. Together, these efforts support the development of breakthrough treatments across a broad range of disease areas.

The company is now poised to define the disease-relevant function of these proteins at scale using advanced proteomics technologies, high throughput experimental biology, and causal agentic AI, enabling rapid identification and characterization of the most promising protein drugs and drug targets.

Founded by Flagship Pioneering, ProFound works with pharmaceutical partners including Novartis, Pfizer and GSK, and with the Gates Foundation, which has committed up to $35 million to a ProFound program focused on preeclampsia.

Position Summary

Reporting to the SVP, Finance, the Associate Director, Accounting will be ProFound’s first dedicated accounting leader. This person will help lead the company’s accounting operations, financial reporting and internal control environment, and will be responsible for accurate, timely U.S. GAAP reporting, a disciplined and scalable close, and the systems, policies and controls that support ProFound’s continued growth.

This is a rare opportunity to build an accounting function rather than inherit one. The Associate Director will shape how accounting operates at ProFound: the close process, policies, systems, controls and, over time, the team. The foundation they lay will carry the company through future financings and corporate milestones.As ProFound’s lead oncology program advances toward an IND and the company adds pharma, foundation and other partnerships, the accounting for these arrangements will become more complex and more important.The role reports to and works directly with the SVP, Finance and has regular visibility with the CEO, the leadership team and the Board. The ideal candidate is a hands‑on, low‑ego leader with strong technical judgment who enjoys building in a lean, fast‑moving biotech environment.

Scope

• Monthly, quarterly and annual close and U.S. GAAP financial reporting
• Technical accounting, including collaboration revenue, grants, equity and accruals
• Internal controls and audit readiness
• Accounting technology, automation and responsible AI deployment
• ERP and accounting systems (NetSuite OneWorld)
• Tax, insurance and treasury support

Key Responsibilities

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following.

Accounting operations and close

• Lead the monthly, quarterly and annual close, including the close calendar, review standards and timely delivery of accurate U.S. GAAP financial statements.
• Oversee general ledger accounting, journal entries, account reconciliations, flux analyses and supporting schedules.
• Own key accounting areas, including revenue recognition, R&D and CRO/CMO accruals, prepaids, fixed assets, leases, equity and stock‑based compensation, and debt.
• Account for pharma collaboration and licensing agreements, including upfront, milestone and cost‑sharing terms (ASC 606 and ASC 808). Account for grant and foundation funding, including tracking restricted funds and preparing financial reports for funders.
• Oversee day‑to‑day accounting operations, including accounts payable, payroll accounting, expense management and cash.
• Establish and maintain accounting policies, procedures and documentation, and make sure technical conclusions are consistently applied in the close.

Audit readiness, controls and reporting

• Build and lead the company’s audit‑readiness program, establishing the accounting processes, documentation and supporting schedules required for a future financial statement audit.
• Design, document and maintain an internal control environment right‑sized for a private company and built to scale.
• Prepare internal financial statements and the accounting inputs to leadership, Board, investor and lender reporting.
• Partner with external technical accounting advisors and valuation specialists on complex or non‑routine transactions.
• Coordinate tax compliance and filings with external tax advisors.

Systems, infrastructure and scale

• Continue the accounting design of NetSuite OneWorld, and continue to optimize ERP, close, AP and expense workflows.
• Manage the company’s insurance program with brokers, including renewals, coverage reviews and certificates.
• Support treasury and cash operations, banking relationships, and debt compliance and covenant reporting.
• Manage outsourced accounting, tax, payroll and other service providers, bringing work in‑house as the company scales.

Team and cross‑functional partnership

• Partner with FP&A, Legal, HR, R&D and CMC on accruals, contracts, source data and the accounting implications of business activities.
• Work with FP&A on budget‑to‑actual analysis, spend tracking, and the accounting data behind burn and cash runway.
• Support financing transactions, business development and other strategic initiatives as needed.

What Success Looks Like in the First Year

• Continued build‑out of an audit ready environment, including documented, repeatable close with a defined calendar, clear review standards and on‑time delivery.
• NetSuite OneWorld live and supporting the close, AP and expense processes.
• Written accounting positions in place for each collaboration, licensing and grant agreement.
• A practical AI and automation roadmap for the accounting function, with priority use cases deployed to improve close efficiency, data quality and reporting while maintaining appropriate review and controls.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance required.
• CPA required.
• 8+ years of progressive accounting experience, including Big 4 or national firm public accounting. We care more about the depth of what you have owned than the number of years.
• Biotechnology, pharmaceutical or life sciences experience strongly preferred, ideally in a venture‑backed or growth‑stage company.
• Hands‑on ownership of the monthly, quarterly and annual close and of GAAP financial statements.
• Prior management experience leading accounting staff and external providers.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP and internal controls, with technical depth in R&D and clinical accruals, stock‑based compensation, equity and debt transactions, and leases.
• Experience leading external audits, ideally including a first‑year audit or an audit‑readiness effort.
• NetSuite experience; OneWorld implementation experience strongly preferred.
• A builder’s mindset, with a proven ability to establish scalable processes, controls and systems in a lean organization.
• Clear communication and business partnering skills, including translating accounting matters for non‑finance leaders.
• A high degree of integrity, strong attention to detail and advanced Excel proficiency.

Preferred

• Multi‑entity accounting, intercompany and consolidation experience.
• Public company, SOX or IPO‑readiness experience.
• Experience in the Flagship Pioneering ecosystem or a similar venture‑creation model.
• Experience with collaboration and licensing arrangements.

ProFound Therapeutics is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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