Manager I, Payroll Accounting Specialist

Working with Us
Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us.

Manager I, Payroll Accounting Specialist is a senior individual contributor responsible for end-to-end US payroll accounting with deep technical expertise across payroll GL accounting, payroll taxes, fringe benefits, and equity compensation (RSUs). This role serves as a subject matter expert (SME) within Controllership, ensuring accurate accounting, strong controls, and compliant financial reporting, while partnering closely with Payroll, HR, Tax, and Corporate Accounting teams.

Qualifications & Experience

• CA / CPA / CMA / MBA (Finance) or equivalent qualification.
• Minimum 3+ years of experience as a Payroll Accounting Specialist, with demonstrated SME-level expertise.
• Strong end-to-end US payroll accounting experience, including:
  • Payroll GL accounting
  • Payroll taxes (federal, state, local)
  • Fringe benefits accounting
  • Equity compensation / RSU accounting
• Solid understanding of US GAAP and controllership requirements.
• Experience with SAP S4 Hana and leading payroll platforms (e.g., ADP, Workday) preferred.

Key Responsibilities and Major Duties:

Payroll Accounting & Close Ownership

• Own end-to-end US payroll accounting including journal entries, accruals, reconciliations, and monthly close deliverables.
• Ensure accurate accounting and reporting of earnings, deductions, employer taxes, benefits, and equity compensation in the general ledger.
• Perform and review balance sheet and P&L reconciliations, investigate variances, and ensure timely resolution.
• Support quarter-end and year-end close activities, including audit support and statutory requirements.

Payroll Taxes, Benefits & Equity Accounting

• Oversee accounting for federal, state, and local payroll taxes, including accruals, settlements, and reconciliations.
• Account for fringe benefits, including healthcare, retirement plans, imputed income, and other employee-related benefits.
• Manage accounting for equity compensation, including RSU vesting, forfeitures, and related tax impacts, in accordance with US GAAP.

SME, Controls & Compliance

• Act as a payroll accounting SME, providing technical guidance on complex payroll accounting matters.
• Ensure strong internal controls and SOX compliance across payroll accounting processes.
• Partner with Internal Audit, External Audit, and Corporate Accounting to support reviews, audits, and issue remediation.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Process Excellence

• Partner closely with Payroll Operations, HR, Tax, FP&A, and Technology teams to ensure data accuracy and end-to-end alignment.
• Drive process standardization, documentation, and continuous improvement, including automation and simplification initiatives.
• Support payroll-related transformations, system enhancements, and transition activities as a key SME.

Relationship management and teaming 

• Holds self and others to timelines, quality, and accuracy  

Risk management 

• Articulates material risks and opportunities and takes an active role in designing and executing response or contingency plans 

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers
With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol

BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:

Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to [email protected]. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

Data Protection

We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection.

Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.

If you believe that the job posting is missing information required by local law or incorrect in any way, please contact BMS at [email protected]. Please provide the Job Title and Requisition number so we can review. Communications related to your application should not be sent to this email and you will not receive a response. Inquiries related to the status of your application should be directed to Chat with Ripley.