Assistant Finance Controller US Biopharma Client

Buying Simplified · Remote, India (Bengaluru or Chennai preferred) · US-hours overlap · Full-time

About Buying Simplified

Buying Simplified is a specialist finance and procurement operations firm serving US life-sciences companies. Our teams in India and the US run record-to-report, accounts payable, procurement and spend analytics for biotech and pharma clients, and our GenieWorks.ai platform brings AI into those workflows. We don't do back-office staffing; we embed people who become trusted members of our clients finance leadership.

The client and why this role matters

You will be embedded with a fast-growing, US-headquartered pharmaceutical company with its own commercial manufacturing in the US, a growing generics franchise, and R&D operations in China. The company is scaling quickly and holding itself to public-company standards of close, reporting and control.

That creates a finance environment that is genuinely interesting:

• Multi-entity, multi-currency: US and China entities (plus a UK subsidiary), with intercompany flows, eliminations and USD/CNY revaluation and translation.
• Manufacturing and R&D in one P&L: inventory and production costing alongside R&D and clinical accruals, licensing arrangements and milestone-driven activity.
• Controls maturity: SOX-style controls, segregation of duties and audit readiness are being built and evidenced now, not inherited.
• Modern stack: SAP S/4HANA Finance and SAP Concur.

This is not a back-office seat. You will be the finance voice the client's leadership team hears from every month.

The role in one line

Own the month-end story for the client's leadership: close it, control it, explain it, and make it better every cycle — while leading a small team of GL analysts.

What you will doLeadership partnership and communication (the heart of the role)

• Act as the primary finance point of contact for the client's leadership team on close, reporting and controls.
• Present monthly results, flux analysis and key risks in leadership calls with clear, concise commentary.
• Translate accounting detail into business insight leadership can act on — what moved, why, and what it means.
• Join regular US-hours meetings with the Finance Senior Manager, Treasury and the Controller, and own follow-ups through to closure.
• Escalate early, always with options and a recommendation — not just the problem.
• Write client-ready emails, close memos and status updates that need no rework.
• Question assumptions and push back respectfully when numbers or processes don't hold up.

Close, reporting and analysis

• Lead month-end and year-end close activities across entities.
• Prepare monthly management reporting packs: P&L, balance sheet, cash flow and KPIs.
• Partner with the client's FP&A team on budget, forecast and actual-vs-budget analysis.
• Deliver ad hoc analysis for the Finance Senior Manager and Treasury.

Multi-entity accounting

• Manage intercompany billing, matching, reconciliation and eliminations between US and China entities.
• Handle foreign currency revaluation and translation across USD, CNY and other currencies.

Controls, audit and governance

• Operate and evidence key financial controls (SOX-style), segregation of duties and approval workflows.
• Coordinate external audit and tax requests; prepare PBC schedules and audit support.
• Review AP/P2P outputs for accounting accuracy, including payment runs, virtual card (VCC) payments and vendor master changes.
• Support entity-level governance and compliance documentation as the company matures toward public-company standards.

Team leadership and improvement

• Lead, review and coach GL analysts; allocate work and track SLAs and KPIs.
• Drive process improvement, automation and SOP documentation across the record-to-report cycle.
• Bring ideas for where AI and automation can take manual effort out of close and reconciliation.

Who you areMust have

• Chartered Accountant (CA) — qualified, with a strong academic record.
• 6–10 years of post-qualification experience in record-to-report, controllership or financial reporting, with at least 2 years leading or reviewing others work.
• Hands-on US GAAP close and reporting experience, ideally for US-headquartered companies.
• Multi-entity experience: intercompany, consolidation, eliminations and FX revaluation/translation.
• Controls and audit: SOX or SOX-style controls, PBC preparation and working directly with external auditors.
• Executive-grade communication: polished, confident and articulate with senior US finance and business leaders. You can present a flux in five minutes and handle the follow-up questions without notes.
• Analytical bent: you look at a trial balance and see the story, the risk and the question to ask.
• Comfortable working regular US-hours overlap (Eastern Time).

Strongly preferred

• Preferred also Company Secretary (CS) in addition to CA — the CA + CS combination is what we are really looking for, bringing governance, entity compliance and board-level documentation discipline alongside accounting depth.
• Big 4 audit or advisory background, followed by in-house or client-facing controllership.
• SAP S/4HANA Finance (FI/CO) as a power user; SAP Concur exposure.
• Life sciences, pharma or manufacturing accounting: inventory and standard costing, R&D and clinical accruals, licensing and milestone revenue.
• Exposure to China entity accounting or US–China intercompany.
• IPO-readiness, PE-backed or high-growth company experience.
• Advanced Excel; Power BI or similar reporting tools.

How you work

• You consult, not just execute — you ask the question behind the request.
• You take ownership of outcomes and close the loop without being chased.
• You are at ease directing a conversation with a US client, and equally at ease coaching an analyst through a reconciliation.
• You hold a high bar for accuracy and presentation; nothing leaves your desk half-finished.

Location and working model

• Remote within India, with a preference for candidates based in Bengaluru or Chennai.
• Chennai-based candidates work with our Chennai team in person as needed.
• Candidates outside Chennai travel to our Chennai office for one week every two months, at company expense, to stay connected with the delivery team.
• Regular overlap with US Eastern Time for client meetings.

What we offer

• A visible, leadership-facing role with a growing US pharma company — real exposure to the CFO organisation, not a ticket queue.
• Clear growth path into client controllership and account leadership within Buying Simplified.
• Work alongside our GenieWorks.ai team as we bring AI into finance operations.
• Competitive compensation, company-paid health insurance for self (family can be added through the company plan) and company-paid life insurance.

How to apply

Send your CV to [HIDDEN TEXT] with the subject line Assistant Finance Controller — US Biopharma, and include a short note (150 words or less) on the most complex month-end or audit issue you explained to a senior leader, and what you recommended.