Associate Director, Technical Accounting and Controls

Position Summary:

Under the supervision of the Chief Accounting Officer and working closely with the Corporate Controller, the Associate Director, Technical Accounting and Controls will be responsible for managing technical accounting assessments, providing guidance on complex transactions, implementing new accounting standards, assisting with SEC reporting, and will be the subject matter expert in internal controls, responsible for overseeing the planning, execution and communication of the company’s assessment and testing of internal controls. The Director, Technical Accounting and Controls will supervise the work of outsourced internal audit and SOX consultants and coordinate internal control related matters with external auditors. 

 Key Responsibilities Include:

• Manage the technical accounting assessment of significant and/or complex transactions (e.g., leases, stock compensation arrangements, revenue recognition, debt and capital transactions, etc.) and provide guidance to various stakeholders and management.
• Prepare accounting memorandum to document the proper accounting treatment and impact of significant transactions and prepare executive summaries/presentations as needed.
• Manage the review of new accounting pronouncements to determine the impact to the company, and as applicable, assist with the implementation of new standards.
• Provide technical accounting support as needed.
• Evaluate the disclosure requirements for certain complex accounting transactions and prepare the required disclosures for the 10-Q/10-K as needed.
• Assist with preparing or reviewing the tie-out of footnotes and disclosures within the 10-Q/10-K.
• Evaluate, develop and/or implement accounting policies and procedures to respond to changes in SEC/GAAP or SOX 404 requirements.
• Maintain the SOX compliance framework and ensure SOX program is executed effectively.
• Responsible for understanding the design and implementation of the internal business controls environment, including documentation of processes, identification of risk areas and control gaps.
• Assist process owners in identifying control issues and assist the business in the design of effective and robust remediation plans to respond to audits, compliance reviews, or operational risk incidents. Effectively challenge plans to ensure that control gaps are resolved in a timely manner.
• Develop and maintain the company’s SOX documentation including risk assessment, process narratives and control matrices (in conjunction with process owners), test plans, summary of findings, and remediation plans.
• Work closely with IT to evaluate and monitor compliance of key financial systems from a business process / controls framework perspective and establish/maintain proper change management practices.
• Supervise the outsourced Internal Audit and SOX consultants.
• Assist with development and implementation of procedures and methodologies.

Education, Registration & Certification:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in accounting, finance, business or information technology. 
• CPA required.
• Experience in life sciences is preferred
• CISA or CIA is a plus. 

Experience:

• 8-10 years of relevant experience in public accounting, or a combination of public accounting and industry experience in internal audit or technical accounting in a publicly traded company.

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities:

• Knowledge of US GAAP accounting and SEC reporting requirements
• Knowledge of SOX and exposure to current IT technologies
• Detail oriented with the flexibility to meet reporting requests on short notice
• Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Teams, etc.
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills
• Working knowledge of SAP S4 Hana is a plus
• Working knowledge of Blackline is a plus
• Demonstrate ability to work independently and collaborate to resolve issues
• Strong skills in communicating ideas both verbally and in written form in a clear, concise, and professional manner and is candid and forthright in communicating issues, concerns to all levels of management
• Willingness to assume additional responsibility and learn new skills
• Proactive in streamlining processes and tasks
• Maintain and improve skills in accounting, information systems, and other areas as necessary to ensure compliance with professional standards.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

• This is largely a sedentary role; however, some filing is required. This would require the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets. This job operates in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Travel Requirements:

• Up to 15% travel expected. 

Benefits and Perks:

Apellis offers a comprehensive benefits package, including a 401(k) plan with company match, inclusive family building benefits, flexible time off, summer and winter shutdowns, paid family leave, disability and life insurance, and more! Visit https://apellis.com/careers/ to learn more. 

Company Background:

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global biopharmaceutical company that combines courageous science and compassion to develop life-changing therapies for some of the most challenging diseases patients face. We ushered in the first new class of complement medicine in 15 years and now have two approved medicines targeting C3. These include the first and only therapy for geographic atrophy, a leading cause of blindness around the world. With nearly a dozen clinical and pre-clinical programs underway, we believe we have only begun to unlock the potential of targeting C3 across many serious diseases.

For more information, please visit http://apellis.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn

EEO Statement:

Apellis is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state and local fair employment practices laws. Apellis strictly prohibits and does not tolerate discrimination against employees, applicants or any other covered persons because of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy), gender (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender or transsexual individual), age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, past, current or prospective service in the uniformed services, genetic information, marital status, AIDS/HIV status, smoker/nonsmoker, and occupational pneumoconiosis or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.

For San Francisco postings: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.  

Other Duties:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.