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Finance Director, Alliance Accounting

AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Full time · Finance

Posted Aug 12, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

You would supervise a team of ten including two direct reports. How do you manage through a layer rather than around it?

What they are checking: Managing managers, which is the leadership step at this level.

Tell me about supporting an audit where the auditors did not initially accept your treatment.

What they are checking: Defending a position with documentation rather than authority.

This asks for seven to ten years with prior supervisory experience, prefers a CPA or MBA, and sits in North Chicago alongside several other AbbVie finance openings. Why alliance accounting rather than commercial finance?

What they are checking: That they chose the specialty deliberately among the cluster.

What would you do

You would maintain an inventory of commercial milestones and reassess expected achievement timing with internal stakeholders. How do you get a realistic date out of a business team that is optimistic by nature?

What they are checking: Forecasting an event that depends on other people's judgment.

You serve as the finance lead for joint commercial and strategic committee groups with partners. How do you represent AbbVie's position while keeping a partnership working?

What they are checking: External partner diplomacy at a level where the relationship is the asset.

You oversee collection of inbound royalties and milestone payments. What do you do when a partner's reported figures do not look right?

What they are checking: Challenging a partner's numbers without damaging the alliance.

About the work

This role leads month-end close for a portfolio of commercialized licensing arrangements, recording global royalty income and expense. What makes royalty accounting harder than ordinary revenue accounting?

What they are checking: Real depth in a specialized area — contract terms, timing, estimates, partner data.

Walk me through how you would read a new licensing agreement and identify the accounting risks in it.

What they are checking: Contract literacy, which the posting names as a partnership with business development.

The posting names Workiva alongside SAP and BPC. What do you use a tool like Workiva for, and what does it not solve?

What they are checking: Whether the named tools are ones they have actually used.

How do you forecast global royalty expense for a commercial planning cycle when the underlying sales are partner-driven?

What they are checking: Forecasting on data they do not control.

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The full job description

As published by AbbVie.

As the Director, Alliance Accounting, you will lead a team responsible for providing accounting and finance support for AbbVie’s portfolio of commercialized licensing arrangements. In this role, you will partner closely with various functions, including Alliance Management, Therapeutics, Aesthetics, Legal, Tax, Business Development, and R&D Finance to ensure accurate reporting, timely processing of payments, and strong financial stewardship of alliance-related activities. Responsibilities: • Lead month-end close activities for a portfolio of commercialized licensing arrangements, ensuring accurate and timely recording of global royalty income and expense, as well as completion of balance sheet reconciliations. • Oversee the accurate and timely processing of royalty, profit-share, and milestone payments, including the collection of inbound royalties and milestone payments. • Maintain and regularly update an inventory of commercial milestones, reassess expected achievement timing with key internal stakeholders, prepare milestone cash flow forecasts across planning cycles, and oversee milestone payment package preparation. • Support Commercial planning cycles by forecasting global royalty expense and responding to ad hoc requests. • Partner with Alliance Management to coordinate the collection, consolidation, and review of internal non-R&D financial information and facilitate the exchange of information with external alliance partners and internal stakeholder groups. • Serve as the finance lead for joint commercial and strategic committee groups. • Act as the subject matter expert for the financial aspects of licensing agreements. • Support Legal by completing ad hoc requests related to licensing agreements. • Support internal and external audits by providing auditors with requested data and documentation. • Partner with Business Development to review new licensing agreements and identify opportunities to mitigate accounting and reporting risks. • Supervise, mentor, and develop a team of 10, including two direct reports. • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance; CPA and/or MBA preferred but not required. • 7–10 years of progressive experience in Finance and/or Accounting. • Prior supervisory experience leading and developing a team. • Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills. • Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with a proven ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively across functions and with external partners. • Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, meet tight deadlines, and balance competing stakeholder demands. • Strong attention to detail and proactive, independent thinking. • Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Workiva. • Experience with large-scale ERP and planning systems such as BPC and SAP preferred. Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​ • The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. ​ • We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​ • This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs. Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.​ AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more: https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html

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