This is a key leadership position for an accounting professional who understands the complexities of cost accounting, inventory tracking, and operational finance within agriculture, manufacturing, or another inventory-intensive environment.
The Controller will oversee the farming accounting function while partnering closely with finance and operational leadership to improve financial visibility, analyze operating performance, strengthen controls, and provide meaningful information to support business decisions.
This opportunity is ideal for someone who enjoys being close to the operations and can balance hands-on technical accounting expertise with leadership, analytics, and strategic partnership.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead and develop the farm accounting team, ensuring timely and accurate accounting and financial reporting across a multi-entity environment.
- Oversee crop and farm cost accounting, including cost accumulation, allocations, standard rates, raw product entries, inventory tracking, and planting/listing activities.
- Oversee and review inventory accounting and reconciliations, ensuring accurate tracking, valuation, balance sheet reporting, and financial integrity.
- Monitor and analyze financial information related to harvesting and packout operations to ensure accurate cost allocations.
- Analyze financial and operational results, identify trends, explain variances, and forecast costs.
- Partner with operations and finance leadership on budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, and strategic decision support.
- Develop and utilize ERP reports, data queries, dashboards, and reporting tools to improve operational and financial visibility.
- Strengthen internal controls, accounting processes, and procedures while identifying opportunities for greater efficiency.
- Participate in budgeting and planning for farming operations.
- Ensure compliance with GAAP and company accounting policies and support financial audits.
- Lead special projects focused on improving financial reporting, operational transparency, and accounting processes.
- Build a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and staff development.
What They're Looking For:
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance.
- 5+ years of directly related accounting or finance experience within agriculture, manufacturing, or another inventory-intensive environment.
- Cost accounting experience is required, including cost accumulation, allocations, and cost forecasting.
- Inventory accounting and tracking experience is required, including reconciliations, valuation, tracking, and related financial reporting.
- Strong understanding of operational accounting and the ability to translate financial information into actionable business insights.
- Demonstrated experience leading, mentoring, and developing accounting professionals.
- Strong budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and financial reporting capabilities.
- Experience working with ERP systems and developing reports or data queries for financial and operational analysis.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
- Exposure to data visualization and analytics tools such as Power BI or Tableau is highly desirable.
- Strong knowledge of GAAP, internal controls, and accounting best practices.
- Excellent communication, critical-thinking, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
- Ability to succeed in a fast-paced, changing, operationally focused environment.
- Ability to work fully onsite in Shafter, CA and travel to regional facilities as needed.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance
- 5+ years of directly related accounting or finance experience in agriculture, manufacturing, or another inventory-intensive environment
- Cost accounting experience, including cost accumulation, allocations, and cost forecasting
- Inventory accounting and tracking experience, including reconciliations, valuation, tracking, and financial reporting
- Strong understanding of operational accounting
- Experience leading, mentoring, and developing accounting professionals
- Budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and financial reporting capabilities
- Experience with ERP systems and developing reports or data queries
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills
- Exposure to Power BI or Tableau
- Strong knowledge of GAAP, internal controls, and accounting best practices
- Excellent communication, critical-thinking, problem-solving, and organizational skills
- Ability to work fully onsite in Shafter, California
- Ability to travel to regional facilities as needed
What We Do
GHJ is an accounting and advisory firm that specializes in nonprofit, food and beverage, entertainment and media and health and wellness companies. Previous recipient of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Employee Champion For Life Work Harmony Award and named a “Best Places to Work” by the Los Angeles Business Journal eight times since 2008, GHJ is passionate about helping clients and its people #BeMore by focusing on building thriving businesses and creating a better future. GHJ works as a business advocate for its clients — providing personalized service and building long-term relationships to help position our clients for growth. Through its affiliation with HLB International, a global network of independent professional accounting firms and business advisers, GHJ is able to partner with other top firms across major cities throughout the U.S. and the world. GHJ’s audit, tax and advisory teams leverage the HLB network to better serve its clients and give clients access to member firms in over 158 countries across the globe and over 775 offices worldwide. Also ranked as a top-20 largest accounting firm on the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Book of Lists, GHJ has 15 partners and more than 160 staff members that serve over 3,000 clients. GHJ is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the AICPA Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC), the California Society of CPAs and the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofit).
