Buying Simplified
Website:
buyingsimplified.com
Job details:
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 hiring@buyingsimplified.com 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.
Click on Apply to know more.