Role Summary
We are an international Clinical Research Organization (CRO) seeking a transformative Financial Manager/Controller to lead our newly acquired US subsidiary. This is a pivotal role for a finance leader who thrives at the intersection of technical accounting, systems implementation, and strategic growth. Reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer in Germany , you will act as the financial architect of our US expansion, overseeing the migration to a global ERP system, establishing rigorous internal controls, and building a world-class finance team. You will be the primary bridge between our US operational ambitions and our global financial standards, ensuring compliance, profitability, and scalability.
Key Responsibilities
1. Financial Leadership & Strategy
• Post-Acquisition Integration: Lead the financial integration of the US subsidiary into the global group. Harmonize local accounting policies with Group standards to be developed with the Head of Controlling while ensuring strict adherence to US regulatory requirements.
• Strategic Partnership: . Provide actionable financial insights to the Group management and the US CEO on study profitability, resource utilization, and pipeline conversion to drive business growth.
• Team Building: After a successful integration of the US subsidiary, design, grow and lead the US finance organization. The task is to build a small organization that supports rapid scaling of a dynamic organization that will be fostered with significant investments from the group.
2. Technical Accounting & Compliance
• Revenue Recognition (ASC 606): Oversee the complex revenue recognition process for long-term clinical trial contracts in cooperation with Group Accounting and the local external accounting firm. Determine performance obligations, allocate
transaction prices, and utilize input methods (cost-to-cost) to accurately measure progress and recognize revenue over time. This process will set the standard for the Group and also adopted in the German subsidiary.
• Project Accounting: Manage the lifecycle of study budgets. rigorously track "pass-through" costs and investigator grants to ensure accurate separation of revenue and reimbursable expenses. Monitor "budget vs. actual" performance at the study level.
• International Reporting: Prepare a monthly reporting system in collaboration with group controlling to ensure a homogeneous process, comparability and a meaningful analysis on group level.
• Tax & Regulatory Stewardship: Manage all US tax compliance in collaboration with a local tax accounting firm, including Federal, State, and Sales/Use tax nexus. Oversee Transfer Pricing documentation and the accurate filing of IRS Form 5472 for
3. Systems Implementation & Digital Transformation
• ERP Implementation Lead: Act as the Functional Lead for the migration from legacy software to our new global ERP platform (e.g., NetSuite/Oracle). Lead requirements gathering, data migration, and user training.
• Systems Integration: Champion the integration between the ERP and the Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS). Automate the flow of study milestones to financial triggers to reduce manual reconciliation and accelerate billing cycles.
• Process Engineering: Design and implement scalable processes for sales management, procurement, accounting and reporting that tie into Group polices with automated, audit-ready controls.
4. Treasury & Cash Management
• Cash Forecasting: Develop robust cash flow forecasts that account for the ongoing investments into the US subsidiary, the particular pattern of Clinical Trial payment schedules and the timing lag between investigator payments and sponsor reimbursements.
• Intercompany cash management: Manage intercompany funding requests and loan agreements.
• Banking Relations: Manage local US banking relationships and administer banking platforms in alignment with the German treasury department.
Candidate Profile
Education & Certification:
• Bachelor's Degree in Accounting or Finance required.
• CPA (Certified Public Accountant) active license is a preferred.
• Established right to work in the US and at least 3 years work experience in the US
Experience / Profile :
• 5-7+ years of progressive finance experience, with a minimum of 2 years in the CRO, or highly regulated professional services organization
• Technical Mastery: Deep hands-on experience with ASC 606 and project accounting in a service environment is non-negotiable. Advanced Excel skills preferred.
• Digital Leadership: Proven experience leading or playing a key role in an ERP implementation (eg. NetSuite, Dynamics 365, or Oracle). Experience with CTMS platforms is a strong plus.
• Global Exposure: Experience working in a subsidiary of an international company, managing intercompany transactions, transfer pricing, and multi-currency reporting.
• Can live physically with 1 hour of Webster Texas and be in the office at least 2 to 3 days a week.
Competencies:
• Builder's Mindset: Demonstrated ability to build processes from the ground up in a fast-paced, unstructured environment.
• Communication: Exceptional ability to translate complex financial concepts for non-financial stakeholders and to bridge the gap between US operations and the German HQ. Some German language skills a positive advantage.
• Resilience: Ability to manage multiple high-stakes priorities (audit, implementation, close) simultaneously with composure and independence.
