Senior Associate - Audit Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences

AI in this role

Line of Service

Assurance

Industry/Sector

Not Applicable

Specialism

Assurance

Management Level

Senior Associate

Job Description & Summary

At PwC, our people in audit and assurance focus on providing independent and objective assessments of financial statements, internal controls, and other assurable information enhancing the credibility and reliability of this information with a variety of stakeholders. They evaluate compliance with regulations including assessing governance and risk management processes and related controls.

In financial statement audit at PwC, you will focus on obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes the auditor’s opinion.

Your Impact

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. As part of our Assurance team, you will support multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare clients in navigating increasingly complex financial reporting, regulatory, and audit environments.

You will work with some of the industry's leading organisations, contributing to audits of multinational groups, reviewing complex accounting estimates, evaluating financial reporting processes, and supporting clients through a rapidly evolving business and regulatory landscape.

Your Responsibilities

Lead and coordinate audit engagements for clients operating in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare and consumer health sectors.
Evaluate significant accounting judgments, including impairment assessments, intangible asset valuations and business combination accounting.
Review management forecasts, cash flow projections and key financial assumptions supporting asset recoverability and strategic investment decisions.
Analyse internal governance documentation, board and committee materials, and external market intelligence to assess financial reporting implications.
Perform and review testing of internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with Swiss and international auditing standards.
Support audits of multinational groups with exposure to US reporting requirements and complex regulatory environments.
Collaborate directly with senior client stakeholders including Finance Directors, CFOs and business unit leaders.
Coach and develop junior team members while supporting engagement planning, resource coordination and quality delivery.
Contribute to the continuous enhancement of audit methodologies and industry-specific insights within the Pharma & Life Sciences sector.

Your Profile

Degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics or a related discipline.
In progress towards, or completed, a professional accounting qualification (e.g. ACA, ACCA, CPA or equivalent).
Experience auditing multinational organisations within the pharmaceutical, life sciences, healthcare or consumer industries.
Strong understanding of financial reporting, accounting estimates and internal control frameworks.
Experience reviewing financial models, forecasts and valuation-related assumptions.
Exposure to audits of listed entities and multinational group environments.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage confidently with senior stakeholders.
Strong analytical mindset and attention to detail.
Fluent in English; additional languages are an advantage.

What We Offer

Exposure to leading pharmaceutical and life sciences organisations in Switzerland and internationally.
Opportunities to work on complex accounting and assurance matters in a highly regulated sector.
Continuous professional development and support for professional qualifications.
A collaborative and inclusive environment focused on innovation, learning and career growth.
Flexible working arrangements and the opportunity to build an international network within the PwC global organisation.

Education (if blank, degree and/or field of study not specified)

Degrees/Field of Study required:

Degrees/Field of Study preferred:

Certifications (if blank, certifications not specified)

Required Skills

Optional Skills

Accepting Feedback, Accepting Feedback, Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards, Accounting Policies, Active Listening, Analytical Thinking, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Platform, Auditing, Auditing Methodologies, Client Management, Communication, Compliance Auditing, Complying With Regulations, Creativity, Data Analysis and Interpretation, Data Ingestion, Data Modeling, Data Quality, Data Security, Data Transformation, Data Visualization, Embracing Change, Emotional Regulation, Empathy, External Audit {+ 24 more}

Desired Languages (If blank, desired languages not specified)

Travel Requirements

Available for Work Visa Sponsorship?

Government Clearance Required?

Job Posting End Date

How we score this

Senior Associate - Audit Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences at PwC scores 38 out of 100 on AI centrality, which makes it AI Level 1 of 4 (Little AI) on this board. The level measures how much of the work is AI, not seniority.

Classification

AI Level 1. The work itself involves no AI, or AI only appears as scenery, such as a company tagline.