Biohaven Pharmaceuticals Takes Control of SOX, SEC Reporting

Biohaven Pharmaceuticals Inc. has grown rapidly since its establishment in 2013. That fast growth and a 2017 initial public offering created significant demands on the company’s finance group.

“Working in a small, pre-revenue public company, you find yourself wearing a number of hats,” said George Clark, who oversees the company’s SEC reporting and technical accounting group. His responsibilities have grown to include some Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance, internal controls, investor relations, and more.

George and his team needed a financial reporting solution that matched the way they function—hardworking, flexible, and scalable. They found it in the Workiva cloud platform.

A platform for growth

George began using the Workiva platform for SEC reporting and quickly saw the potential for expansion. “We recognized right away in the SEC reporting solution that the platform was built with certain principles in mind to address risks and operational issues that are not exclusive to a finance group,” he said.

Other Biohaven departments were also looking for best practices to manage version control, mitigate risk, and improve collaboration. “We saw a number of cases where we can collaborate better. We could ensure that version control issues and risks are mitigated by using the software. So, it was an easy choice to expand our use of Workiva solutions throughout the organization," George said. "I really appreciate how easy it is to scale."

Now Biohaven also leverages the Workiva platform for SOX and investor relations. In addition, other business lines are using the platform to streamline processes, track time, and manage resources.

“The greatest problem that we face—and one that Workiva is helping us solve—is putting structure around our operations,” George said. “Workiva allows us to put that structure in and have the technological tools to manage tasks, workflows, and how we collaborate together. It does it better than any company that I’ve seen.”

His favorite aspect of the platform is the control he gets over the reporting process, particularly the permissions that help him ensure that the correct people review the right parts of a document. “Looking at a 200-page 10-K can be daunting,” George said. “To be able to focus certain groups cuts the turnaround time for our deliverables substantially.”

Most of Biohaven's financial team works remotely, but the cloud platform bridges the distance between them. “It allows us to be in the same place, at the same time, looking at the same live document that’s going to go out to stakeholders,” he said.

The platform’s versatility complements the way the Biohaven reporting and technical accounting team works. “Workiva allows us to have a great deal of flexibility in how we change processes outside of our primary use case," George said.

Why the company chose the Workiva platform:

• Provides control and scalability
• Helps teams work together more effectively
• Provides structure to processes and workflows