What's the Short Version?
The Vice President, Controller leads SanMar's finance operating platform and is accountable for the effectiveness, scalability, service quality, and integrity of accounting, AP, AR, shared services, payroll, and transactional cash-management activities. This leader will modernize the finance and accounting operating model to strengthen controls, improve service, increase automation, and build capabilities for SanMar's continued growth and increasing complexity. This executive partners closely with the Chief Financial Officer and provides leadership to the Technical Accounting, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, and Banking Operations functions.
The Vice President, Controller also serves as the finance integration owner for acquisitions. The role provides executive leadership to the organization while preserving controller independence and direct escalation authority over accounting policy, financial reporting, close, balance-sheet integrity, reconciliations, and control matters.
What Will You Be Doing?
- Lead and develop a large, multifunctional Finance Operations organization with a culture of accountability, collaboration, service, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
- Establish operating priorities, governance, service levels, controls, and performance measures for Finance Operations.
- Build scalable processes, systems, and leadership capabilities to support continued growth and increasing business complexity.
- Provide executive oversight to the Technical Accounting organization while maintaining a clear Controller charter and direct escalation rights for material accounting, reporting, audit, and control matters.
- Ensure timely, accurate, and well-controlled monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting processes.
- Oversee balance-sheet integrity, inventory accounting, cash accounting, reconciliations, internal controls, audit support, and compliance with U.S. GAAP and company policy.
- Promote effective use of BlackLine, Oracle EPM and other finance technologies to improve close automation, quality, transparency, and accountability.
- Provide executive leadership for Accounts Payable, Credit and Accounts Receivable, Cash Application, Payroll, and Vendor and Customer Master Data.
- Establish end-to-end ownership and improvement roadmaps for Procure-to-Pay, Order-to-Cash, Payroll, and related transaction processes.
- Improve service quality, cycle times, straight-through processing, productivity, controls, and ensure an excellent customer and vendor experience.
- Monitor DSO, aging, collections effectiveness, cash-application performance, payment performance, payroll accuracy, and other working-capital and service metrics.
- Partner with the Tax function to provide organizational support across income, sales and use, property, international, and other applicable tax matters.
- Partner with the Tax leader, CFO, legal counsel, and external advisers on planning, risk management, business initiatives, acquisitions, legal-entity matters, and international subsidiaries.
- Oversee transactional banking activities, including payment execution, bank-account administration, portal access, positive pay, daily cash reporting, and related controls.
- Maintain appropriate segregation between the transaction team's cash movement and the Technical Accounting-owned bank reconciliation, cash accounting, independent review, and control-design responsibilities.
- Lead cross-functional finance transformation, standardization, automation, workflow redesign, and finance-data improvement initiatives.
- Partner with Technology and business leaders on ERP, finance applications, master data, reporting, controls, and process integration.
- Serve as finance integration owner for potential acquisitions, coordinating accounting, transaction services, payroll, banking, systems, working capital, and local finance workstreams.
- Partner with the Director of Technical Accounting on purchase accounting and opening-balance-sheet integrity, with Tax on cross-border structuring and compliance, and with FP&A on synergy and value-capture measurement.
- Establish scalable finance and accounting operating models for the business and international entities, including local statutory finance capability where required.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
- Comply with all policies and standards.
What Are We Looking For?
- Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
- 12+ years of progressive finance and accounting leadership experience, including senior responsibility for multiple finance disciplines in a large, complex organization
- Prior experience as a Vice President of Finance, Controller, Chief Accounting Officer, Divisional CFO, or senior Finance Operations leader with meaningful responsibility for both accounting/control and operational finance is preferred
- Demonstrated success leading large, multifunctional teams and developing senior leaders.
- Deep knowledge of financial reporting, U.S. GAAP, accounting controls, shared services, working capital, and end-to-end operational finance processes, combined with the ability to operate at an enterprise level.
- Experience leading organizational change, process transformation, automation, and technology-enabled improvement.
- Executive-level communication, judgment, collaboration, and change-leadership skills.
- CPA strongly preferred; MBA or other relevant advanced degree preferred.
- Experience in distribution, wholesale, manufacturing, apparel, consumer products, or another supply-chain-intensive business is preferred.
- Experience with ERP and finance technology modernization, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 or comparable enterprise platforms and driving adoption after implementation is preferred
- Experience with acquisitions, post-close integration, international operations, statutory reporting, VAT/GST, transfer pricing, or multi-entity finance operations is preferred.
What's Our Offer?
Salary Range: You`ll earn between $275,000 - $375,000 annually, depending on experience.
Bonus: This role is eligible for a scalable bonus based on company metrics.
Paid Time Off: You`ll accrue paid time off on a bi-weekly basis based on hours worked up to 112 hours per year to start. Employees also receive 8 paid holidays and 1 paid family day off.
Additional Benefits:
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits
- 401k plan and matches $1 for $1 up to 4% of earnings, matched & vested at every pay cycle
- Life insurance
- Short/long-term disability coverage
- Paid maternity/paternity leave
- Pet insurance
What Should You Expect?
Hybrid: SanMar's Eastpointe office is located in Issaquah, WA in the Seattle metropolitan area. Employees are required to work in our offices Tuesday through Thursday each week and additional days may be added based on business needs. Our standard working hours are 8:00-5:00 PST. Periodic travel may be required. The employee is regularly required to sit for extended periods while working on a computer and participating in virtual and in-person meetings. Frequent use of hands for keyboarding and standard office equipment is required. Occasional standing, walking, and reaching may be needed to attend meetings or collaborate in an office setting. The role requires the ability to perform close visual work on a computer for extended periods. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 10–15 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be available to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field
- 12+ years of progressive finance and accounting leadership experience
- Senior responsibility for multiple finance disciplines in a large, complex organization
- Experience leading large, multifunctional teams and developing senior leaders
- Deep knowledge of financial reporting, U.S. GAAP, accounting controls, shared services, working capital, and end-to-end operational finance processes
- Experience leading organizational change, process transformation, automation, and technology-enabled improvement
- Executive-level communication, judgment, collaboration, and change-leadership skills
- Vice President of Finance, Controller, Chief Accounting Officer, Divisional CFO, or senior Finance Operations leadership experience
- CPA certification
- MBA or other relevant advanced degree
- Experience in distribution, wholesale, manufacturing, apparel, consumer products, or another supply-chain-intensive business
- Experience with ERP and finance technology modernization, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 or comparable enterprise platforms
- Experience driving technology adoption after implementation
- Experience with acquisitions, post-close integration, international operations, statutory reporting, VAT/GST, transfer pricing, or multi-entity finance operations
SanMar Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about SanMar and has not been reviewed or approved by SanMar.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical, dental, vision, life and disability, alongside an EAP and digital mental‑health and chronic‑condition tools. Benefits are often characterized as solid for the company's size, supporting positive views of total rewards.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) plan with company match and per‑pay‑period vesting is repeatedly highlighted, reinforcing retirement support as a core element of the package. This straightforward match is framed as competitive within the company’s industry context.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off with holiday schedules and a dedicated family day are emphasized, alongside documented paid parental leave. Role‑specific postings also indicate PTO accrual that begins early and grows with tenure.
SanMar Insights
What We Do
SanMar’s success and growth can be attributed to one thing - outstanding employees who provide superior services and products to our customers. We promote a culture that recognizes the importance of a healthy work-life balance. Recognizing that happy and relaxed employees make better ambassadors for SanMar, we encourage initiative and participation by creating a casual environment that taps full employee potential. Family owned since 1971, SanMar is an award-winning supplier of over 20 retail and private brands of imprintable apparel and accessories, including Port Authority, America’s No. 1 preferred private label. SanMar is the exclusive distributor of Nike Golf, Eddie Bauer®, OGIO® and New Era®. SanMar is based outside Seattle, WA, with eight national distribution centers. We invest in your future with life-enhancing opportunities and benefits including: • Competitive pay and bonuses • Competitive benefits • Company paid time off (PTO) • Life insurance • 401(k) plan with matching fund • Flexible spending program • Anniversary awards • Discounts on brand name clothing • Diverse and laid-back atmosphere • One floating family holiday every year • Monthly employee events • Charitable giving of your choice • Flexible schedules We’re growing and encourage you to find out what over 4,000 employees call the “The SanMar Difference.” SanMar is currently accepting resumes for those who have the necessary skills. SanMar is an Equal Opportunity Employer.







