Controller

Controller

Location: Fort Lee, NJ

Job Type: Full-Time

Position Summary

A growing, high-volume organization is seeking an experienced Controller to lead its accounting and finance operations. Reporting to the CEO, the Controller will oversee financial reporting, accounting operations, cash management, budgeting, internal controls, compliance, and team leadership. This is a hands-on leadership role suited to a finance professional who can manage day-to-day accounting execution while also providing strategic financial insight to senior leadership. The ideal candidate will bring strong technical accounting skills, business judgment, process discipline, and experience operating in a fast-paced, transaction-heavy environment.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Reporting & Accounting

• Lead monthly, quarterly, and annual financial close processes, targeting a monthly close within 7–10 business days.
• Ensure accurate GAAP and tax-basis financial statements, reconciliations, schedules, and supporting documentation.
• Prepare monthly management reporting comparing actual results to budget, forecast, and prior year.
• Analyze revenue, COGS, gross margin, freight, rebates, commissions, credits, returns, and other key financial drivers.
• Identify financial trends, variances, risks, and opportunities and provide actionable recommendations to executive leadership.
• Maintain strong accounting policies, procedures, approval controls, and segregation of duties.

Budgeting & Business Analysis

• Lead annual budgeting and periodic forecasting/reforecasting in partnership with operating leaders.
• Provide financial analysis to support pricing, customer and vendor programs, contracts, new products, capital expenditures, hiring, and other investments.
• Support ownership, lenders, advisors, audits, transactions, and due-diligence requests as needed.
• Serve as a trusted financial advisor to the CEO and senior leadership.

Cash Flow & Working Capital

• Own a rolling 13-week cash-flow forecast and provide ongoing visibility into liquidity.
• Oversee bank reconciliations, treasury activities, payment controls, banking administration, and borrowing-base/covenant reporting.
• Improve working capital across accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, customer deposits, and vendor terms.
• Monitor and escalate significant liquidity, credit, collection, inventory, or financial risks.

Accounts Receivable & Credit

• Establish and enforce credit and collections policies, including customer onboarding, credit limits, exceptions, and escalation procedures.
• Monitor aging, DSO, past-due exposure, disputes, deductions, bad-debt reserves, and customer concentration.
• Oversee controls for cash application, credit memos, refunds, write-offs, and customer account changes.
• Partner with sales and executive leadership to resolve significant credit and collection issues.

Accounts Payable & Vendor Accounting

• Ensure timely and accurate AP processing, invoice approvals, three-way matching, vendor-master controls, and duplicate-payment prevention.
• Optimize payment terms and vendor-related cash-flow opportunities.
• Oversee accounting for vendor rebates, allowances, billbacks, freight programs, accruals, returns, and other supplier economics.
• Ensure amounts due from vendors are properly recorded, reconciled, and collected.

Inventory & Cost Accounting

• Oversee inventory valuation, product costing, and landed-cost accounting, including freight, duties, tariffs, and brokerage.
• Manage cycle counts, physical inventories, warehouse/3PL reconciliations, shrinkage, obsolescence, reserves, and write-offs.
• Reconcile inventory records, the general ledger, warehouse/3PL balances, and inventory in transit.
• Investigate inventory variances and protect gross-margin accuracy across stocked, imported, drop-ship, private-label, special-order, and branded products.

Payroll, Tax & Compliance

• Oversee payroll, commissions, incentive compensation, and related accruals with appropriate controls and confidentiality.
• Reconcile payroll to the general ledger and coordinate payroll tax filings and W-2/1099 reporting.
• Coordinate financial administration and reconciliation of employee benefit programs with external providers.
• Oversee multi-state sales and use tax compliance, exemption documentation, income/franchise tax support, property tax, and other required filings.
• Coordinate audits, tax engagements, insurance audits, lender reporting, and other external financial requirements.
• Maintain effective internal controls, documentation, record retention, and audit readiness.

Systems & Process Improvement

• Serve as the finance owner of the ERP environment and partner with IT to maintain accurate accounting configuration, workflows, permissions, and reporting.
• Ensure data integrity across ERP, e-commerce, EDI, tax, banking, payroll, warehouse/3PL, and other integrated systems.
• Monitor high-volume transactions and EDI activity and resolve interface or transaction issues.
• Standardize and document accounting processes, automate appropriate activities, reduce manual errors, and improve reporting and close efficiency.

Team Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop the accounting and finance team.
• Establish clear responsibilities, deadlines, performance expectations, and accountability.
• Build cross-training, documented procedures, and succession capabilities.
• Partner effectively with Sales, Purchasing, Operations, E-commerce, IT, and Human Resources while maintaining financial discipline and independent judgment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field required.
• 10+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience , including Controller, Assistant Controller, or comparable senior-level leadership experience.
• Strong knowledge of the full accounting cycle, financial close, financial statements, budgeting, forecasting, cash management, internal controls, audit, and tax coordination.
• Experience with inventory accounting, cost accounting, landed costs, freight, rebates, gross-margin analysis, and working capital.
• Distribution, wholesale, e-commerce, multi-location, or other high-volume transactional experience strongly preferred.
• NetSuite experience strongly preferred ; strong ERP and financial reporting capabilities required.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and problem-solving abilities.
• High integrity, attention to detail, sound judgment, and ability to work with confidential financial information.
• Comfortable operating as a hands-on leader in a lean, fast-paced environment.
• CPA and/or MBA preferred.

Benefits

Benefit offerings include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, additional voluntary benefits, EAP program, commuter benefits, and 401K plan. Our program provides employees the flexibility to choose the type of coverage that meets their individual needs. Available paid leave may include Paid Sick Leave, where required by law; any other paid leave required by Federal, State, or local law; and Holiday pay upon meeting eligibility criteria.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled

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The Company will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with federal, state,and local laws and/or security clearance requirements.