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    BusAcTa Advisors, Business Accounts and Tax Advisors
    Biotech, Pharma & Med-Device

    R&D-Aware Accounting for Life Sciences Innovators

    Clinical trial accruals, R&D capitalization, grant accounting, and cap-table discipline, handled by a team that knows the regulated path from bench to market.

    Talk to a Life Sciences CPAExplore Solutions

    25+

    Life Sciences Clients

    $120M+

    R&D Tracked

    FDA

    Aware Workflows

    Audit

    Ready Year-Round

    We Know Your Pipeline

    The Financial Realities of Life Sciences

    Long development cycles, clinical trial CROs, and grant funding create an accounting profile no generic bookkeeper handles well.

    R&D

    Clinical Trial Accruals

    CRO, site, and patient-level accruals must reflect enrollment progress, not just invoice timing.

    GAAP & Tax

    R&D Cost Capitalization

    ASC 730 and IRC §174 amortization rules diverge and both must be tracked from the start.

    Revenue

    Grant & Milestone Revenue

    NIH grants and licensing milestones each carry unique revenue recognition rules under ASC 606.

    Equity

    Stock-Based Compensation

    Long vesting cycles and frequent re-pricings demand precise ASC 718 expense tracking.

    Controls

    FDA & Audit Readiness

    Investor and partner scrutiny demands SOX-quality controls long before a public listing.

    Inventory

    Inventory & Pre-Launch Costs

    Pre-approval inventory expensing and post-approval capitalization decisions must be documented.

    Tailored Solutions for Life Sciences

    Pipeline-Aware Accounting for Biotech & Med-Device

    Every service is built around the regulated, capital-intensive, milestone-driven realities of life sciences operations.

    Clinical Trial Accruals

    Build defensible monthly accruals based on enrollment, milestones, and CRO contract terms, not just invoice timing.

    CRO Accrual Models: Building per-trial accrual models based on contract milestones, enrollment, and visits performed.
    Site & Investigator Tracking: Tracking site initiation, per-patient costs, and investigator payments accurately.
    Period-End Coordination: Coordinating with clinical operations to confirm accrual inputs each close.

    R&D Tracking & §174 Compliance

    Track R&D expenditures by project for both ASC 730 financial reporting and IRC §174 tax amortization purposes.

    Project-Level R&D: Allocating wages, materials, and CRO spend to specific R&D projects each period.
    §174 Amortization Schedules: Maintaining the schedules required to amortize R&E expenditures over five-year (US) or fifteen-year (foreign) lives.
    R&D Tax Credit Documentation: Capturing QREs and contemporaneous documentation supporting the federal R&D credit.

    Grant & Milestone Revenue Recognition

    Apply ASC 958-605 to grant revenue and ASC 606 to licensing and milestone revenue with documented judgment.

    NIH & SBIR Grant Accounting: Recognizing grant revenue as conditions are satisfied and tracking against allowable cost categories.
    Milestone & Royalty Revenue: Documenting variable consideration constraints and recognition triggers under ASC 606.
    Collaboration Agreements: Distinguishing collaborative arrangements from customer revenue under ASC 808 vs. ASC 606.

    Cap Table & Stock Compensation

    Maintain ASC 718 stock comp expense, manage cap table records, and produce equity reporting investors expect.

    ASC 718 Expense Schedules: Calculating monthly stock comp expense using Black-Scholes or other approved models.
    409A & Cap Table Reconciliation: Reconciling Carta or Pulley records to the GL and to 409A valuations.
    Equity Roll-Forward Reports: Producing equity activity roll-forwards for board and investor materials.

    Audit & Diligence Readiness

    Maintain books at the level a Big Four audit or strategic partner diligence would expect, not the level a small startup typically does.

    Workpaper Discipline: Maintaining standardized account reconciliations and supporting workpapers each close.
    SOX-Style Controls: Implementing key controls so a future S-1 or partner audit doesn't require rebuilding history.
    Diligence Data Rooms: Maintaining current financial diligence packages so transactions don't stall on document requests.
    The BusAcTa Advantage

    Why Life Sciences Companies Choose Our Team

    We bring the audit-grade discipline life sciences finance needs, without the price tag of a Big Four engagement: accounting, virtual CFO support, and audit-ready books from bench to market.

    Audit-Grade Books

    Every reconciliation, every accrual, every estimate documented to support a Big Four audit.

    100%Audit Ready

    R&D Discipline

    Project-level R&D tracking that supports both GAAP reporting and §174 / R&D credit documentation.

    $500M+R&D Tracked

    Cost-Effective Controllership

    Senior controllership and technical accounting expertise without an in-house hire.

    55%Cost Savings

    Sector-Native Team

    Pre-clinical biotech, clinical-stage pharma, med-device, and diagnostics: all part of the daily work.

    60+Clients Served
    Your Life Sciences Stack, Integrated

    We Plug Into the Tools Your Pipeline Already Uses.

    From cap table to ERP to clinical platforms, we work inside the systems life sciences teams already trust.

    Accounting / ERP

    • NetSuite
    • Sage Intacct
    • QuickBooks Online

    Cap Table & Equity

    • Carta
    • Pulley
    • Shareworks

    AP & Procurement

    • Bill.com
    • Tipalti
    • Coupa

    Reporting

    • Sage Intacct Dashboards
    • Excel Models
    • Power BI
    FAQs

    Questions About Life Sciences Accounting

    What CFOs, controllers, and audit partners ask before outsourcing the back-office for biotech and med-device.

    Still have questions? Contact us
    Clinical Accruals
    §174 / R&D
    Grants & Milestones
    ASC 718
    Audit Ready
    Multi-Entity

    Let's Talk

    Focus on the Science. We'll Hold the Books to Audit Standard.

    Schedule a call with our life sciences leads. We'll review your stage and show you how to industrialize the back-office without compromising audit readiness.

    Free, no-obligation consultation
    Clinical accrual and §174 expertise
    Big Four audit-ready books
    ASC 718 and cap table fluency
    30-day risk-free pilot available

    Life Sciences Inquiry

    Reply within one business day

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