Divisional Controller

Description

Divisional Controller

Location: Greensburg or Amite, Louisiana, based on assigned division
Position Type: Full-Time | Onsite
Reports To: Company President
Dotted-Line Reporting: Chief Financial Officer
Education Required: Bachelor's Degree
Position Summary

The Divisional Controller serves as the primary financial and operational business partner to the Company President, reporting directly to the President with a dotted-line relationship to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The position owns the assigned division's accounting and financial close, delivers accurate and timely reporting, and works closely with production, project management, and commercial leadership to improve profitability, cost performance, and working capital.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on financial leader who understands manufacturing and project economics, works regularly with operating teams, and turns financial analysis into practical recommendations. This role combines full ownership of the divisional books with active participation in operating decisions, while implementing corporate accounting policies and internal controls.
Reporting Relationships

The Company President directs day-to-day priorities and leads the performance evaluation with CFO input. The President and CFO jointly participate in selection of the controller.

The CFO sets accounting policies, close requirements, reporting standards, and internal controls, and has final authority over technical accounting and financial reporting decisions. The controller has direct access to the CFO to raise reporting or control concerns.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Operational Finance and Business Partnership

• Participate in regular production, project, and operating reviews, with time in the shop to understand the activities driving financial results.

• Analyze labor hours against estimates, overtime, material usage, scrap, rework, subcontract costs, and overhead absorption; identify issues and recommend corrective actions.

• Explain how throughput, capacity utilization, staffing, and production delays affect profitability and cash, and provide timely updates to the President throughout the month.
Financial Management and Reporting

• Lead divisional budgeting, rolling forecasts, financial reporting, and analysis in partnership with the President and operating leaders.

• Prepare and present divisional financial results, explaining material variances to budget, forecast, and prior periods and recommending corrective actions.

• Translate backlog, production schedules, staffing plans, and expected project margins into revenue, earnings, and cash forecasts.

• Support pricing, capital expenditures, staffing, and make-versus-buy decisions with financial analysis.
Month End Close and Accounting Operations

• Own and complete the divisional month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close in accordance with the corporate close calendar.

• Prepare and review journal entries, account reconciliations, accruals, and supporting schedules; resolve discrepancies promptly.

• Deliver a complete divisional close package, including the income statement, balance sheet, work-in-progress (WIP), inventory, intercompany balances, and explanations of material variances, for corporate review and consolidation.

• Maintain accurate divisional books under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and corporate policies. Coordinate centralized processing support while retaining accountability for the completeness and accuracy of the divisional close.
Cost Accounting and Revenue Recognition

• Oversee job costing, production cost reporting, budget monitoring, and forecasts of estimated costs to complete.

• Validate contract information and maintain job budgets and approved changes in accounting systems.

• Prepare and review monthly WIP schedules and revenue recognition calculations under corporate accounting policies and CFO guidance.

• Review actual and forecast job margins with project management and production; challenge unsupported estimates and identify cost overruns, margin deterioration, and corrective actions early.
Accounts Receivable Accounts Payable and Cash Management

• Oversee divisional billing accuracy and timing, receivables, and collection follow-up; coordinate with project managers and commercial teams to resolve billing and payment issues.

• Ensure vendor invoices, purchase commitments, accruals, and payment recommendations are accurate and supported by required approvals.

• Prepare divisional cash forecasts and funding requests; monitor billing milestones, unbilled work, receivable aging, and other working-capital requirements.

• Coordinate bank reconciliations, transaction processing, and payment execution with corporate accounting under CFO-established responsibilities and approval limits. The CFO retains authority over treasury and banking.
Inventory and Operational Finance

• Own divisional inventory accounting, allocations, reconciliations, and valuation under corporate policies, including raw materials, work in process, and finished goods.

• Partner with production and purchasing on physical counts, material usage, inventory accuracy, and excess or obsolete inventory.

• Analyze inventory turns and material availability, and recommend actions that improve working capital while supporting production requirements.
Compliance and Internal Controls

• Implement and enforce corporate accounting policies and internal controls; establish supporting divisional procedures and maintain appropriate segregation of duties.

• Provide divisional information and support for tax compliance, including sales and use taxes, under the CFO's tax oversight and assigned filing responsibilities.

• Support internal and external audits, maintain documentation, and resolve divisional findings.

• Promptly escalate material reporting issues, control weaknesses, or accounting disagreements to the CFO and keep the President informed.
Leadership and Process Improvement

• Lead, train, and mentor assigned divisional accounting staff, with clear responsibilities and deadlines.

• Improve financial and operational systems, reporting, and workflows in coordination with corporate accounting and IT.

• Build effective working relationships across operations, project management, purchasing, commercial teams, and corporate finance; track agreed corrective actions with responsible leaders.

• Support special projects and other duties as assigned.
Measures of Success

• Timely, accurate divisional closes with complete reconciliations and minimal post-close corrections.

• Reliable forecasts and early identification of job-margin, cost, and working-capital issues.

• Useful operating analysis, follow-through on agreed improvements, and effective internal controls.
Qualifications
Required

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.

• 2-5 years of experience in a Controller, Assistant Controller, Accounting Manager, or similar leadership role, with demonstrated ownership of a complete financial close.

• Hands-on accounting experience in manufacturing, fabrication, construction, or a comparable project-based industrial environment, including job costing, WIP, and inventory accounting.

• Strong knowledge of GAAP, financial statements, budgeting, forecasting, revenue recognition, and internal controls.

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and proficiency with accounting systems and Microsoft Office applications.

• Ability to explain financial results clearly, work effectively with shop and project teams, and translate analysis into practical operating recommendations.

• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills, sound judgment, and the ability to manage priorities and meet close deadlines.
Preferred

• Experience supporting steel fabrication or other industrial manufacturing operations.

• Experience with Sage 300 Construction & Real Estate or Sage Intacct.

• Experience improving cost reporting, accounting processes, and integration between financial and operational systems.
Why Join Us

This role offers the opportunity to be a key member of the divisional leadership team, working directly with the Company President and CFO. The Divisional Controller will help shape operating decisions, strengthen financial discipline, and support profitable growth.

Management Discretion: The duties and responsibilities described above are not intended to be all-inclusive and may be modified or supplemented at any time at the sole discretion of the Company.

Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug Free Workplace

Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening and background check.