Interim Controller

Confidential Controller-Level Consulting Engagement Multi-Location Retail / Grocery Organization | Southern California We are partnering with a highly successful, established multi-location grocery and retail organization with a significant operating footprint and a well-recognized presence in its markets. The company has grown substantially and is entering a period of increased financial and operational discipline. Executive leadership is looking for an experienced, hands‑on financial consultant who enjoys getting beneath the numbers, identifying opportunities for improvement, and bringing greater visibility, consistency, and control to a complex organization. The Opportunity This is not a traditional “sit behind the desk and review the financials” Controller assignment. We are seeking a Controller-level consultant who is highly analytical, exceptionally detail-oriented, and willing to roll up their sleeves and dig into the transactions. Working closely with the CEO and senior leadership, this individual will examine financial activity, purchasing, expenses, inventory, vendor relationships, contracts, and internal controls to understand where money is being spent, where assets and products are going, and where processes may be breaking down. There is also an important forensic accounting / investigative component to the engagement. Leadership has identified discrepancies, unexplained spending, inconsistencies across locations, and transactions that require deeper investigation. The consultant will be expected to follow the details, reconcile activity back to supporting documentation, identify root causes, and provide leadership with fact‑based findings and recommendations. The ideal person is naturally curious and persistent—the type of financial professional who sees something that doesn't make sense and keeps digging until they understand why. Key Responsibilities Perform a detailed review of financial activity across a complex, multi-location retail organization. Analyze expenses, purchasing activity, vendor payments, inventory transactions, and balance sheet accounts to identify discrepancies, unusual activity, leakage, and opportunities for savings. Investigate instances of purchased inventory, products, equipment, or other assets that cannot readily be accounted for, tracing transactions from purchase through receipt, deployment, transfer, or disposition. Review supporting documentation and transaction-level detail to determine the root causes of financial discrepancies. Conduct targeted forensic-style financial analysis where transactions, spending patterns, or account activity warrant additional investigation. Evaluate purchasing and accounts payable processes, including authorization levels, supporting documentation, vendor setup, payment controls, and segregation of duties. Review vendor relationships and contracts across individual locations and identify opportunities to consolidate, renegotiate, or standardize agreements. Identify situations where stores or departments are independently contracting for services—such as copiers, equipment, maintenance, telecommunications, or other recurring expenses—that could be more effectively managed through centralized procurement. Analyze recurring expenditures and contracts to uncover unnecessary, duplicative, or excessive spending. Assess inventory controls, including purchasing, receiving, transfers, adjustments, write-offs, shrink, and reconciliation between operational and financial records. Perform detailed balance sheet reconciliations and investigate aged, unusual, unsupported, or unexplained balances. Evaluate existing accounting procedures and internal controls and identify control gaps or processes that create unnecessary financial risk. Develop practical recommendations to improve financial controls, accountability, purchasing discipline, reporting, and visibility. Help establish standardized policies and procedures that can be consistently implemented across multiple locations. Quantify identified savings opportunities and financial exposure where possible. Clearly communicate findings to the CEO and senior leadership, distinguishing confirmed issues from items requiring further investigation. Partner with accounting, operations, purchasing, store leadership, and other departments while maintaining the independence and objectivity necessary for the assignment. Assist with implementation and remediation—not simply identify problems and hand over a report. Ideal Background 10+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience, ideally including Controller, Corporate Controller, Divisional Controller, Director of Accounting, or equivalent consulting experience. CPA strongly preferred; CMA or comparable credentials are also valuable. Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related discipline required. Strong technical accounting foundation with significant experience in general ledger accounting, reconciliations, accounts payable, purchasing, inventory, and financial controls. Experience working within a multi-location, high-transaction-volume environment is highly desirable. Retail, grocery, distribution, consumer products, food, or other inventory-intensive industry experience strongly preferred. Demonstrated ability to work at the transaction level and trace financial activity through multiple systems and supporting documents. Prior experience with forensic accounting, internal audit, fraud investigations, financial remediation, or special projects is highly desirable. Strong understanding of inventory accounting and controls, including receiving, transfers, shrink, adjustments, and physical inventory reconciliation. Experience evaluating vendor contracts, procurement practices, and decentralized purchasing environments. Advanced Excel and financial data analysis skills; comfortable working with large volumes of transactional data. ERP experience required; experience navigating multiple or imperfect systems is particularly valuable. Ability to identify patterns and anomalies within financial data and determine where additional investigation is warranted. Strong judgment, discretion, and ability to handle highly confidential information. Comfortable working directly with executive leadership while also spending significant time with accounting staff and operational teams. Able to enter an organization quickly, ask thoughtful but direct questions, and independently determine where to focus. Must be willing to be hands‑on. This assignment requires someone who is as comfortable reviewing invoices, purchase orders, contracts, inventory records, and reconciliations as they are presenting findings to the CEO. Who Will Thrive in This Role This opportunity is particularly well suited for an experienced interim Controller, financial transformation consultant, forensic accountant, or former audit/internal controls leader who enjoys complex assignments. You should be someone who likes figuring out why the numbers don't make sense, can separate process problems from accounting problems, and isn't satisfied with surface-level explanations. You will have executive sponsorship and an opportunity to make a meaningful financial and operational impact in a large, established organization. #J-18808-Ljbffr