Controller

About the Company

We are a worldwide environmental technology company headquartered in the Chicago area, built through the combination of several long-established industrial businesses that together represent over a century of domain expertise. We deliver measurement and instrumentation, safety equipment, automation, and software to customers in over 100 countries across energy production and storage, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, water and wastewater, aviation fuel, aerospace and defense, food and beverage, and other regulated, high-stakes end markets. We are private equity-backed and growing, both organically and through acquisition.

About the Role

The Controller owns the company's accounting and financial operations and is responsible for building them into a professional, well-controlled function during a period of significant growth. You will lead the monthly close, multi-entity consolidation, internal controls, and the accounting side of our Business Central migration, while cleaning up legacy reconciliations, stale accruals, and inconsistent processes inherited from prior ownership. The business needs financial statements that leadership, our private equity sponsor, lenders, and auditors can rely on, delivered on time, every time.

This is a builder role, not a caretaker role. With AI handling reconciliation matching, variance flagging, and first-draft reporting, you will spend your time on technical judgment, controls, team development, and partnership with the CFO. We see this seat as a step toward a future CFO role, and we are looking for someone with the judgment and initiative that path requires.

Responsibilities

Financial Reporting and Close

• Own an accurate, timely monthly, quarterly, and annual close and the financial statements that come out of it.
• Ensure GAAP is applied correctly and consistently, including percentage-of-completion revenue recognition where it applies.
• Manage the relationship with external auditors and lead the annual audit from planning through final report.
• Prepare regulatory reports and compliance documentation as required.

Accounting Operations and Consolidation

• Direct the general ledger, journal entries, and account reconciliations so every balance is supported and explainable.
• Oversee accounts payable, accounts receivable, and cash management across all entities and facilities.
• Own intercompany transactions and multi-entity consolidation, including international entities.
• Identify and resolve legacy balance sheet issues, stale accruals, and reconciliation backlogs inherited from prior periods.
• Write and maintain accounting policies and procedures that make the close repeatable.

Internal Controls and Risk

• Design, implement, and maintain a strong internal control environment, including appropriate segregation of duties.
• Assess risk, identify control gaps, and close them with clear corrective action plans.
• Monitor compliance with company policies and applicable regulations, and remediate audit findings promptly.

Systems and Financial Technology

• Own the financial module of our ERP (Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central), including the accounting side of the ongoing migration.
• Partner with IT on implementations, upgrades, and process automation, including AI tools that remove manual close work.
• Protect accounting system security, access controls, and data integrity.

Tax Compliance

• Coordinate with external tax advisors on income tax compliance, planning, and strategy.
• Manage sales tax, payroll tax, and other tax compliance obligations.
• Maintain tax records and track changes in tax law that affect the business.

Team Leadership and Strategic Partnership

• Hire, develop, and coach the accounting team, building cross-training so knowledge does not sit with one person.
• Partner with the CFO and leadership team on financial strategy, planning, and board and investor communications.
• Support M&A diligence and post-close accounting integration as the company grows.
• Work closely with Operations, Sales, and other teams so accounting supports the business rather than slowing it down.

Required Qualifications

• Licensed CPA (active or inactive status accepted).
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Deep technical command of GAAP and a real interest in the craft of accounting.
• Meticulous attention to detail and a willingness to work hands-on through legacy issues and ambiguity to build the function.
• Advanced Excel and financial analysis skills.
• Clear communication and the ability to work independently in a fast-paced, private equity-backed environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• 3+ years of public accounting (audit or assurance) experience at a national or large regional firm or Big 4; candidates coming directly from public accounting are welcome.
• International or multi-entity consolidation experience, or experience leading audits of multinational companies.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, or leading or supporting an ERP implementation.
• Manufacturing or industrial products experience, ideally in a multi-entity or private equity-backed business.
• Knowledge of SOX and internal control frameworks, percentage-of-completion revenue recognition, or M&A integration work.

How You Work

• You are a builder: you see a gap and fix it instead of saying it is not in your job description.
• You take ownership of the numbers and stand behind them with leadership and auditors.
• You develop the people around you and want to grow toward a CFO role over the next several years.
• You are curious about how AI and automation can take manual work out of accounting.