Director, Finance & Accounting

Skyline Furniture is a family-owned and operated wholesale furniture manufacturer based just outside Chicago. For more than 80 years, Skyline has combined handcrafted manufacturing with fashion-forward design to produce custom-made upholstered furniture for leading retailers across the country.

Skyline is seeking a hands-on, technology-minded Director of Finance & Accounting to lead our accounting and financial operations while driving improvements to the systems, data, and processes that support our business.

This is a highly visible role that will work directly with Skyline’s executive leadership team and collaborate across manufacturing, operations, supply chain, sales, HR, and IT. We are looking for someone who combines a strong finance and accounting foundation with an operational, systems-oriented mindset.

This is a hands-on leadership position and is well suited for an experienced Finance or Accounting Manager or Senior Manager ready to take the next step in their career. The ideal candidate enjoys understanding how a business works, digging into data and processes, and finding better ways to accomplish work through technology, automation, and continuous improvement.

Primary Responsibilities

Finance & Accounting Leadership

• Lead the company’s accounting and finance operations, including general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, fixed assets, payroll oversight, and financial reporting.
• Ensure timely and accurate monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting in accordance with GAAP.
• Lead the monthly close process and continually identify opportunities to improve its accuracy, consistency, and efficiency.
• Maintain appropriate internal controls, accounting policies, and financial procedures.
• Lead budgeting and forecasting processes and regularly evaluate actual performance against expectations.
• Develop financial reporting, KPIs, and analysis that provide management with clear and actionable insight into company performance.
• Coordinate annual review and tax activities and manage relationships with external accounting and tax partners.

Financial Analysis & Business Partnership

• Work directly with the executive team to provide financial analysis and support strategic and operational decision-making.
• Partner closely with manufacturing and operations leadership to understand production costs, labor performance, margins, and other key drivers of profitability.
• Develop reporting and analytical tools that improve visibility into business performance and help leaders make better, faster decisions.
• Support analysis of pricing, customer and product profitability, capital investments, and other business initiatives.
• Collaborate across operations, supply chain, sales, HR, and IT to ensure financial information and processes effectively support the broader organization.

Systems, Technology & Process Improvement

• Serve as a key business owner and power user of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Skyline’s core accounting and financial ERP platform.
• Identify opportunities to better utilize Business Central and related systems to improve financial workflows, reporting, data accuracy, and overall efficiency.
• Partner with IT and functional leaders to improve the flow and integration of financial and operational data across systems.
• Identify manual, repetitive, or inefficient processes and develop practical solutions to simplify or automate them.
• Evaluate and implement AI-enabled tools, automation platforms, system integrations, and other emerging technologies that can improve finance and accounting productivity.
• Develop more automated and scalable approaches to financial reporting, reconciliations, forecasting, data analysis, and other recurring processes.
• Maintain a strong focus on data integrity and ensure systems and processes produce accurate and reliable information for management.
• Bring a continuous-improvement mindset to financial and operational processes and be willing to challenge existing methods when a better solution is available.
• Manage cash flow forecasting and support liquidity and working capital planning.
• Manage banking relationships, credit facilities, lender reporting, and covenant compliance in partnership with executive leadership.
• Support capital planning and other significant financial decisions.
• Help identify and manage financial and operational risks.
• Work with banks, insurance providers, auditors, and other external financial partners as needed.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the accounting and finance team.
• Establish clear expectations, accountability, and effective processes across the department.
• Identify opportunities to automate lower-value administrative work and increase the team’s focus on analysis, problem-solving, and business support.
• Foster a collaborative culture focused on accuracy, responsiveness, continuous improvement, and accountability.
• Effectively communicate financial concepts and results to both financial and non-financial leaders throughout the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, Engineering, or a related field.
• Approximately 7–12 years of progressive finance, accounting, or related business experience, including experience managing people and leading significant projects or cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong foundation in accounting principles, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, cash flow management, and financial controls.
• Experience within a manufacturing, engineering, industrial, distribution, or similarly operationally complex environment strongly preferred.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central preferred. Candidates with significant hands-on experience with comparable ERP systems will also be considered.
• Strong technology aptitude with demonstrated experience improving ERP systems, financial processes, reporting, data flows, or business workflows.
• Experience with, or a strong demonstrated interest in, AI, workflow automation, systems integration, business intelligence, and emerging technologies that can improve financial and administrative processes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to understand how financial and operational processes work from beginning to end.
• Comfortable working directly with systems, data, and detailed processes while also leading and developing a team.
• Ability to translate financial and operational data into practical recommendations for executive leadership.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate across departments and organizational levels.
• Hands-on, curious, and improvement-oriented mindset with a willingness to question existing processes and develop better solutions.
• Experience working within a privately held or family-owned business is a plus.

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for someone who is equally comfortable leading a finance team, digging into Business Central, analyzing manufacturing performance, and figuring out how technology can eliminate an inefficient process.

The successful candidate will be intellectually curious, analytical, and willing to get into the details. They should naturally look for opportunities to improve how information moves through the organization and be excited about the potential for technology, automation, and AI to change how traditional finance and accounting work is performed.

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who views this position as an opportunity to t ake the next step in their career, assume broader responsibility, and help build and improve the finance function , rather than simply manage an established one.

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation based on experience
• Comprehensive benefits package including BCBS PPO health insurance, dental, and vision
• 401(k) with company match
• A stable, family-owned company with long-term growth opportunities
• A collaborative work environment focused on craftmanship, efficiency, and quality

Note, this is a full time in-office position at our facilities in Thornton, IL.

Skyline Furniture Mfg. is an equal opportunity employer.