Assistant Controller

Position Summary:

The Assistant Controller supports the Controller in overseeing the company’s accounting operations, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, internal controls, and compliance activities. This role helps ensure accurate and timely financial information, strengthens accounting processes, and provides practical financial insight to business leaders in the United States of America, Canada, and Europe. The ideal candidate combines strong technical accounting knowledge with a hands-on, collaborative, continuous-improvement mindset, and leadership expertise. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Financial Reporting and Close:

• Collaborate with leadership to prepare and analyze monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements, management reports, and recurring financial reporting.
• Assist in the coordination of month, quarter, and year end close activities, including journal entries, reconciliations, accruals, and variance analysis, while reviewing results for accuracy, completeness, policy compliance, and U.S. GAAP consistency.
• Explain financial results, trends, risks, and unusual activity to finance leadership and business partners, and support the development and monitoring of key performance indicators.

Manufacturing/Cost/General Accounting and Operational Support:

• Oversee and support general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets, cash, cost accounting, inventory valuation and reserves, and related reconciliations.
• Partner with operational and functional leaders to resolve and explain accounting issues and product related costs; improve financial accuracy; and standardize, automate, and enhance accounting processes, cutoff ad transaction discipline, systems, and reporting.

Budgeting, Forecasting, and Analysis:

• Support annual budgeting and periodic forecasting, analyze actual performance against plans, investigate significant variances, and communicate findings.
• Compile and interpret financial data and perform modeling, scenario, capital expenditure, and margin analyses to support strategic and operational decisions.

Internal Controls, Compliance, and Audits:

• Help maintain a strong internal control environment by documenting, monitoring, and improving accounting controls and procedures while ensuring compliance with company policies and applicable regulatory and reporting requirements in all geographical locations.
• Coordinate information and schedules for external audits, tax filings, and other financial reviews; identify financial, process, and control risks; and promptly communicate concerns to the Controller.
• Maintain confidentiality of financial, employee, customer, and company information.

Leadership and Collaboration:

• Provide day-to-day guidance, coaching, and support to accounting team members, and serve as backup to the Controller for selected accounting and reporting responsibilities.
• Build effective cross-functional relationships and promote accountability, accuracy, ethical conduct, continuous improvement, and collaboration across Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, Human Resources, and other functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position may provide function direction and/or direct supervision to accounting team members regarding performance management, employee relations, and other supervisory responsibilities, depending upon business needs and organizational structure.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or a related field required.
• Five or more years of progressive accounting or finance experience, including experience with month-end close, financial reporting, and account reconciliations.
• Experience in a manufacturing or multi-entity environment is preferred.
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, internal controls, and audit support preferred.
• CPA or CMA certification, or active progress toward certification, preferred.
• Experience with an enterprise resource planning system; Sage X3 experience preferred.

Required Skills:

• Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP and general accounting principles
• Advanced analytical, reconciliation, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
• High attention to detail with the ability to meet deadlines and manage competing priorities.
• Ability to communicate financial information clearly to financial and non-financial audiences.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office; experience with financial reporting tools and ERP systems.
• Strong interpersonal skills, sound judgment, high integrity, and a collaborative leadership style.
• Results-oriented and comfortable working in a dynamic, hands-on environment.

Physical/Mental Demands:

Position requires a high degree of concentration to manage frequent interruptions while meeting strict deadlines. This position requires the ability to perform duties using both typical office equipment such as computers, cell phones, and printers as well as the ability to communicate and perform tasks in a manufacturing/workshop environment. Must be able to perform physical and mental tasks associated within multiple environments. This position also requires travel for meeting with customers, attending tradeshows, and participating in other business-related activities.

Other Duties:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.