Ready to scale the financial foundation of a fast-growing biotech startup

Changing the worldone fruit fly at a time.

Were unleashing the next biorevolution.

Come find your purpose with Future Fields.

About the role

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the full-cycle accounting process ensuring strict adherence to ASPE standards.
• Manage the month-end and year-end close processes producing accurate and timely financial statements.
• Navigate accounting treatments unique to our operations including inventory accounting valuations (interfacing with our custom MRP system) and blended manufacturing/service revenue recognition.

• Lead the build-out of structured working papers clear reconciliation schedules and meticulous audit trails.
• Design implement and document internal controls and standardized workflows across the department to transition the company smoothly into its first formal audit.

• Take ownership of grant tracking financial compliance and reporting for large-scale ad-hoc and multi-year programs (e.g. IRAP Emission Reductions Alberta etc.).
• Ensure all funder guidelines are strictly met maximizing non-dilutive funding while mitigating clawback risks.
• Assist the team with new grant applications.

• Act as a technical accounting resource to the broader operational and cross-functional teams.
• Optimize workflows between our cloud accounting ecosystem (Xero) and our proprietary MRP software to ensure data integrity.

• Take ownership of cost accounting functions including tracking inventory valuation (raw materials WIP finished goods) reviewing batch/project costing and analyzing production cost variances.

About you

• Designation: CPA Designation held or actively pursuing/near completion (e.g. successfully written the CFE and completing practical hours).
• Experience: 35 years of progressive corporate accounting or public practice audit experience. Experience in manufacturing inventory management or lab/biotech environments would be an asset.
• Technical Standards: Strong foundational knowledge of ASPE and Audit.
• Systems Tech: Experience with Xero (or similar cloud systems like QBO) and familiarity with MRP/ERP inventory systems. High proficiency in Excel is required.
• Grant Capability: Comfort reading complex legal/funding agreements and translating them into compliant financial tracking models in a dynamic environment.
• Soft Skills: Exceptional communication skills with an innate ability to explain financial concepts to non-finance operational staff; a proactive builder mindset.

Your future (with Future Fields)

Within 1 month you will:

• Develop a basic working understanding of the companys technology terminology and end-to-end operating processfrom R&D and strain development through insect rearing production purification testing and customer delivery.
• Build working relationships with the finance operations R&D and commercial teams and provide the VP Finance with a prioritized assessment of the financial reporting control and systems improvements needed to support audit readiness.
• Complete onboarding across Xero the custom MRP system banking payroll accounts payable and receivable inventory revenue and grant workflows. Understand how transactions originate in the business and flow into the financial statements.
• Participate in and with support execute an end-to-end month-end close. Review existing reconciliations recurring entries revenue-recognition practices inventory valuation and year-end working papers to establish a clear baseline.
• Review active grant agreements reporting requirements and claim schedules. Validate current tracking against eligible-cost rules and identify any immediate compliance or documentation gaps.

Within 3 months you will:

• Own the month-end close and produce accurate ASPE-compliant financial statements within the agreed reporting timeline supported by a standardized close checklist and reconciliations for all material balance-sheet accounts.
• Apply understanding of the companys technology and end-to-end operations to accounting and reporting decisions including inventory valuation project and batch costing revenue recognition capital expenditures and grant reporting.
• Design document and operate key internal controls across cash purchasing and payables payroll revenue inventory grants the close process and financial reporting with the highest-risk control gaps substantially remediated.
• Implement an organized working-paper and document-retention structure that provides a clear audit trail for revenue inventory payroll capital assets grants and other significant accounting estimates.
• Assume day-to-day ownership of grant tracking and reporting including claim support compliance calendars and coordination with project owners. Submissions are completed on time and reconcile clearly to the general ledger.
• Identify the most significant inventory costing and Xero-to-MRP data-integrity gaps; implement initial corrections; and begin providing recurring analysis of batch or project costs and production variances.
• Establish a reliable monthly process for valuing raw materials work-in-progress and finished goods and for analyzing batch or project costs. Variance reporting provides operations with actionable insight into material usage labour yield and other production-cost drivers.

Within 6 months you will:

• Run the monthly close with minimal intervention from the VP Finance. Material accounts are reconciled each month unusual items are investigated promptly and required accounting adjustments are identified proactively.
• Deliver a credible inventory and costing framework that provides useful product and project margin visibility and supports pricing production planning capacity and Analysis of ad hoc financial decisions.
• Lead the core audit-readiness work including preparation of key schedules accounting memoranda for complex ASPE matters a prepared-by-client support package and an external readiness review where appropriate.
• Manage the grant portfolio proactively so claims and reports are accurate and timely available funding is maximized within the terms of each agreement and clawback or disallowance risk is materially reduced.

Within 12 months you will:

• Act as a technical accounting resource to the broader team helping non-finance staff understand coding documentation cut-off inventory and grant-compliance requirements.
• Have the company fully audit-ready with complete year-end working papers reconciliations accounting policies control documentation and source records that support an efficient first formal audit without significant avoidable issues or last-minute reconstruction.
• Establish a dependable financial-reporting cadence in which statements are delivered on time material variances and technical accounting matters are clearly explained and the VP Finance can rely on the Controller for the accuracy and completeness of the underlying financial records.

About our team

FAQs

Sound like something you are interested in Here are the next steps:

• We will contact you for a casual 15-minute video call.
• We will set up an interview to dive into your technical skills and motivation.
• Well arrange another interview to figure out how you fit with our team and culture and better understand your career trajectory.
• We will set up a coffee chat with you and a team member. This is your chance to dig in and find out what its really like to work for Future Fields. This is for you!
• We will speak with two of your references to confirm our assumption that you are in fact our next great hire.
• We offer you a job!