Sensible Bio: accounting for a biotech with a group structure and investor requirements

Context

Sensible Bio is building a platform for producing cleaner mRNA, opening up new possibilities for therapeutic approaches. The company partners with the likes of NVIDIA and Sartorius. It has three entities — Slovak, US, and UK.

The Slovak entity holds the main operation. This is where the research sits, where most of the people are, and where most of the cost lives. Slovak accounting is therefore the most complex of the three — from supplier invoices through payroll and statutory contributions to tax matters, grants, and investor communication. The US and UK entities have a simpler agenda but make up part of the overall picture of the company.

Sensible Bio has its own CFO and an in-house finance team. Capila works closely with them — and with the rest of management — covering the parts of the agenda where the in-house team needs a partner that will take ownership of the Slovak books and of reporting across the group.

Where things stood before

The Slovak entity carries the most complex agenda. Being the main operation means the most documents, the most payroll work, and the most tax obligations. The in-house finance team needed a partner that would take over this agenda fully and at a professional standard.

Investor expectations from the earliest stage. With a biotech company, the investor's main questions are about cash — when and how much the company will spend, and how long the runway is. Those views have to be ready on a rolling basis, not only ahead of an investment round.

Tax and regulatory matters on the Slovak side. Slovak VAT, annual statutory accounts, the corporate tax return, payroll and contributions. Every mistake has a price — under a tax inspection, in a grant review, in investor communication.

Working alongside an in-house team. The company has its own CFO and finance team. They were looking for a partner that would work closely with them and with the rest of management — taking ownership of running the Slovak books and group reporting, and being a reliable backstop for the in-house team on questions from investors and the authorities.

The solution

Slovak accounting as the foundation — digital from day one. The Slovak accounting runs digitally. A document is photographed on a phone, sent by email, or uploaded through a web interface. The system captures it, extracts the data, and routes it into approval and posting.

Approvals with a full audit trail. For every document, it's defined who approves it and in what order. Everything is recorded — who, when, why — and everything is traceable in the system. In investor due diligence, the answer to "who approved this cost?" is the record in the system, not an email thread.

Cost and revenue centres tracked separately. The accounting structure is set up so that every cost and every revenue line can be assigned to a centre, project, or activity. The research programme, infrastructure, operating costs, specific projects — all visible separately and as a whole.

Continuous posting and fast error detection. Sensible Bio doesn't post in bursts at month-end. Documents move through the system on a weekly cadence, posting runs on a rolling basis. When something doesn't add up in the books — wrong counterparty, wrong VAT rate, a duplicate document — the error surfaces on the way, not at the year-end close.

Reporting across all three entities — focused on cash. Capila runs the reporting for the Slovak, US, and UK entities, and at Sensible Bio it focuses on the cash metrics investors track. These views were built directly to investor specifications and are available at any time, not only before an investment round.

Payroll and HR administration. Slovak payroll and statutory contributions run on a standardised process. Payslips by email, monthly filings, year-end tax reconciliation.

The outcome

Slovak accounting — without improvisation. The main operation has accounting that holds up in front of the investor and under a tax inspection. No manual digging ahead of a meeting, no last-minute fixes.

Errors are spotted and corrected within days. No waiting for the year-end close, no surprises during an inspection.

The in-house finance team has a reliable partner. Sensible Bio's CFO and finance team can focus on strategic questions. The monthly accounting operation for the Slovak entity is handed over to a team that owns it.

The investor always has current cash metrics. Cash metrics are available at any time. The views are built directly to what the investor tracks.

Separately tracked centres mean visibility. Leadership sees how much research costs, how much operations cost, how much specific projects cost.