Senior Manager, Technical Accounting and Reporting

Biotechnology is rewriting life as we know it, from the medicines we take, to the crops we grow, the materials we wear, and the household goods that we rely on every day. But moving at the new speed of science requires better technology.

Benchling’s mission is to unlock the power of biotechnology. The world’s most innovative biotech companies use Benchling’s R&D Cloud to power the development of breakthrough products and accelerate time to milestone and market. 

Come help us bring modern software to modern science.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Senior Manager, Technical Accounting and Reporting will be Benchling's leader in technical accounting and reporting excellence. You will serve as the go-to expert for the accounting organization and the business, proactively surfacing issues before they arise and elevating the entire function’s technical acumen. As we look to the future, you will own SEC reporting and will be a key leader in public company readiness. Not just SOX compliance, but partnering with other stakeholders to develop a world-class public company accounting function that enables Benchling to accelerate scientific discovery and transform biotech R&D.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as the trusted advisor on technical accounting matters that arise as we innovate and grow.  Issues range from new product offerings and associated revenue recognition models, to equity and other compensation arrangements, to M&A, leasing and beyond. Deep experience in these areas is needed.  You will partner within accounting and across the organization to help identify impacts, scenario plan, consider alternatives, and ensure conclusions are sound, scalable and (of course) documented.
• Actively engage with cross functional leaders to keep abreast of business priorities, strategies and developments, and proactively identify and advise on associated issues and solutions. Effective relationship and communication skills are key here to build on and expand the relationships accounting has established and demonstrating the value accounting can provide.
• Lead, coach, and train the broader accounting team to aid in their technical development, and raise the technical skill levels of the organization to the next level.  Serve as an active contributor to the organization’s growth and development of the next generation of leaders.
• Provide support for month/quarter/year-end close activities, ensuring higher-risk and higher complexity areas like EPS, equity, inter-company and consolidations, revaluation, etc., in addition to non-standard transactions, are accurately executed.
• Support external annual audit engagements and future quarterly reviews.
• Oversee the Company's financial reporting processes, including refining and optimizing with cross function partners to include SEC filings (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, S-8 etc.), XBRL processes, and other financial and governmental statutory reporting.  Experience in streamlining and scaling reporting processes will be important.
• Serve as a key leader in the company’s registration process, including partnering with internal and external stakeholders on the S-1, drafting responses to comment letters, leading pre-clearance issues, and clearing proxy, and proforma filing requirements.
• Serve as a leader in planning and executing IPO and SOX readiness tasks with other cross functional leaders. Collaborate with the 3rd party consultants and internal stakeholders to own day-to-day project management and deliverables. Lead the accounting org’s continued SOX compliance as we mature into public company operations.
• Lead or assist on special tasks and projects as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 8+ years of combined experience at Big 4 public accounting + technical accounting and SEC reporting at a public company 
• BS/BA in Accounting or equivalent and CPA designation required
• Significant experience with ASC 606, ASC 718, ASC 805, as well as GAAP and SEC (including XBRL) reporting and disclosure requirements required
• Project management experience required, including demonstrated savvy in working with cross functional partners through proactive prioritization of tasks to meet deadlines and balancing demands
• Hands-on experience in the preparation, review and filing of SEC reports; and SOX 404 design, implementation, and monitoring required
• Concise and effective communicator with teammates, leadership and a variety of other internal and external stakeholders.  Able to flex communication style, terms, and methods based on what is most effective, and distill (translate!) complex accounting issues for non-accounting audiences
• Analytical, skeptical and curious with excellent judgment.  Able to identify relevant risks and explain them to stakeholders, along with