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BRIDGE Innovation & Business Development, at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (UMMS Chan) is recruiting for a Manager, Accounting

What do we do? BRIDGE team ideates and executes a comprehensive business strategy to commercialize UMMS Chans IP portfolio through the development of NewCos, alliances, licensing agreements and partnerships. BRIDGE team is accountable for structuring, negotiating, and implementing a variety of transactions with external entities, including investors, leading as well as new pharma/biotech companies, incubators and other research organizations.

Success at BRIDGE & UMMS Chan: BRIDGE @ UMMS Chan reported licensing revenue of approximately $146 million during FY2018 and ranked fourth among all U.S. institutions and third among universities in terms of licensing revenue. BRIDGE and UMMS researchers have also co-founded multiple successful companies – Alnylam, Atalanta Therapeutics, ApicBio, Voyager Therapeutics, GenerationBio, Acworth & Bacainn to name a few.

UMMS Chan is a research powerhouse: UMMS Chan is a vibrant research enterprise that spends >$250M per year in research activities and consistently produces noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. In 2006, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to UMMS Chan professor Craig C. Mello, PhD for discoveries related to RNA interference (RNAi). UMMS Chan researchers have made pivotal advances in HIV, cancer, diabetes, infectious disease, and in understanding the molecular basis of disease. UMMS Chan Programs and centers include the RNA Therapeutics Institute, the Gene Therapy Center, Program in Gene Function and Expression, Systems Biology and Neurotherapeutics.

POSITION SUMMARY: 

The Accounting Manager is responsible for reporting, budgeting, royalty revenue and distribution, database management, accounts payable, accounts receivable, invoicing, patent cost reimbursement, purchasing, financial analysis, operational data analysis, audit support, and information systems support for BRIDGE/ Innovation and Business Development.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Reporting

• Compile and generate Quarterly Report based on financial and operational data collected from Wellspring, financial database, Addgene, and other sources.
• Collect, analyze and report Medical School data for the annual AUTM National Licensing Survey.
• Real-time online data: Maintain standard reports and screens accessible in real-time by Case Managers and others. Keep files up to date re: docket and licensing info, CMM decisions, law firm, and expense and cap info.
• Report monthly revenue accruals to Financial Services.
• Collect, analyze and report annual utilization data for iEdison.
• Other ad hoc and regular reporting including A/R aging, revenue and expense summaries, selected license analyses.

Budgeting

• Prepare annual departmental budget request using the Adaptive Insights cloud application. Analyze past spending and ascertain future funding needs of department to generate budget line-items.  Justify budget requests with written explanations as required.
• Prepare Revenue Budget projecting 5 years of expected revenue. Perform license-by-license analysis of past performance and future license obligations.

Revenues & Receivables

• Manage the receipt, deposit, recording, and reconciliation of license revenues in accordance with the Medical Schools cash receipting policy. Monitor application of receipts against license agreement terms and conditions to ensure proper and complete payment. Monitor Summit activity to identify and record wire transfers and to ensure proper accounting of deposited funds. Communicate with MBL to obtain timing and amount of MBL receipts.
• Analyze terms and conditions of licenses and selected IIAs to establish an Accounts Receivable record for each license in effect.
• Generate and transmit invoices.
• Post electronic and check receipts to A/R and close out invoices. Follow-up with licensee to resolve payment discrepancies as needed.
• Rebill past due receivables. Generate monthly aging report.

Royalty Distributions

• Distribute license revenues to inventors, departments, and affiliated organizations. Ensure that distributions are consistent with University policy, inventorship, license agreements, inter-institutional agreements, tax requirements, and other relevant criteria.  Research and settle criteria as required.
• Set up first-time distributions by confirming list of inventors and inventors departments. Contact inventors and obtain W-9 tax forms. Introduce inventors who are foreign nationals to the Glacier tax reporting system used by the Medical School. Periodically obtain updated tax forms from Inventors as required.
• Establish rules for each license for distributing royalty revenue. Rules include the list of inventors, inventor depts., IIAs; as well as a breakdown of the percentage of royalty revenue going to each.
• Determine the dollar amount of any unrecovered patent expenses that must be deducted from royalty revenue prior to distribution. Review and update Expense History worksheets accordingly.
• Generate distribution paperwork: DSW form for JPM signoff, which is forwarded to General Accounting, Check requests which are forwarded to A/P, and the electronic Summary Journal Entry which is forwarded to Financial Services/Recharge Entries.
• Monitor status and movement of distributions through the approval and payment process. Reconcile payments to Summit. Update financial database to reflect reconciliation and current status. Talk with A/P or others to resolve discrepancies.

Legal Expenses

• Manage the receipt, adjudication, processing, payment, and recording of legal invoices. Maintain database to effectively track legal expenses by docket, law firm, and date with links to pdf copies. Monitor available balances by law firm.
• Receive invoices after data entry, post to invoice tracking worksheet, consolidate and catalog pdf copies, obtain signoff on invoice hardcopies, and follow up with law firms on any questions raised during the approval process.
• Reconcile payments to Summit.

Legal Expense Reimbursement

• Seek reimbursement of certain patent expenses from licensees and IIAs.
• Identify reimbursable patent expenses. Generate invoice, summary listing, and copies of relevant law firm billings. Assemble invoice package and transmit to responsible licensee/IIA. Update A/R and Expense History worksheets.
• For dockets with multiple reimbursors, use alternative procedures.

Departmental Responsibilities

• Monitor Summit activity to ensure proper accounting of departmental expenses and open commitments. Using Summit, reconcile monthly legal expenses, royalty revenues, and distributions to inventors and IIAs. Identify and resolve discrepancies.
• Audit: Responsible as lead contact to outside audit groups. Coordinate audit requests for information and responses.
• Conduct periodic and ad hoc analyses supporting operations, license negotiations, and special projects as required
• Wellspring: Create and manage queries using Wellspring query tools for analysis and reporting of patent and invention disclosure activity.
• Systems: Peoplesoft, Summit, BuyWays, Wellspring, Adaptive Insights, Sharepoint, CPI, iEdison, Addgene, MS Access, MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, Google Patents, EDGAR.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelors degree in Accounting, Finance, or equivalent experience
• 7 years in accounting operations, budget development, and cost analysis or related experience
• Knowledge of general business and accounting principles
• Demonstrated advanced computer skills in Microsoft Excel and Access
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain accounting systems for not for profit entities

• CPA Preferred
• Expertise with the following Systems is a plus: Peoplesoft, Summit, BuyWays, Wellspring, Adaptive Insights, Sharepoint, CPI, iEdison, Addgene, MS Access, MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, Google Patents, EDGAR.

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