Arnold C. Hanish, has been ranked one of the most influential people in finance by both Business Finance and Treasury & Risk, and his efforts within the accounting and financial reporting community have shaped broader policy issues affecting the pharmaceutical, bio-tech and other industries.
Hanish recently retired from Eli Lilly and Company, where he was Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. He began his career at Lilly as manager of domestic tax operations in 1984. In 1987, he moved into a financial reporting role and was appointed chief accounting officer in 1994. Hanish was responsible for the global accounting process, including SEC reporting, Sarbanes-Oxley, as well as the U.S. payroll, shareholder and stock option services, and consulting on business development activities such as M&A and in- and out-license of compound technologies. He began his career at Arthur Young & Company (currently Ernst & Young). For nearly 14 years, Hanish served in several capacities in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, the last of which was director of tax in the firm’s Indianapolis office.
Hanish was appointed to the Board of Directors of Omeros Corporation in September, 2012 and chairs their audit committee. In May, 2013, he was appointed to the Deloitte Audit Quality Advisory Council. He is a past Chair of Financial Executives International’s (FEI) Committee on Corporate Reporting (CCR), which he served on from 2007 to 2010. Hanish also served on the FEI-SEC and FEI-Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) subcommittees. He was a member of the Standing Advisory Group of the PCAOB from 2004 to 2008, and again in 2011 and 2012. From 1999 to 2001, Hanish served on an AICPA Task Force that resulted in the publication of a white paper, “Accounting for In-process Research and Development Expenses.”
He had been particularly active in establishing the Lilly financial reporting group as a valued business partner in the company’s development and implementation of some of Lilly’s key strategic actions over a twenty-five years period, including in part: the worldwide implementation of the SAP software system and global shared service centers for processing financial transactions, the acquisition of and financial integration of ImClone in 2008 and of ICOS Corporation in 2007, the split off of major medical device subsidiaries into Guidant Corporation, restructurings of certain domestic and foreign operations, the purchase and subsequent sale of PCS, a major subsidiary, to Rite-Aid Corporation, and the sale of Elizabeth Arden, Inc. He was engaged in countless strategic discussions impacting Eli Lilly as well as over a hundred other business development activities involving the acquisition of companies, technologies and divestitures of businesses and pharmaceutical assets.
Additionally, he serves on the Business Advisory Council for the University of Cincinnati and was recognized as a distinguished alumnus in 2011. Hanish also serves on the UC Accounting Department Advisory Council and the Butler University MPA Advisory Board. He is currently chairman of the Dues and Assessments committee at Congregation Beth El Zedeck and a past president of the board of directors of the Indianapolis Opera Company of its Foundation as well as past chair of the Audit Committee of the United Way of Indianapolis.
Hanish was included in Treasury & Risk’s 2009 and 2008 “100 Most Influential People in Finance.” He has been recognized by Business Finance in their articles “Influencers 2007: Transparency Changes Everything,” “2006’s Influencers: 60 Authoritative Voices,” and “2005’s 50 Worth Watching Influencers.” The Indiana CPA Society named him “Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry” in 2009.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Hanish received a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from the University of Cincinnati in 1970. A CPA, he is a member of the Indiana and Ohio Society of CPAs, as well as the AICPA.