Financial Controller

Full job description

About Us

Savage Bros. Co. has designed and built industrial confectionery and bakery equipment for more than 171 years.

The Role

We're looking for an experienced Controller to own accounting and financial operations end to end. This is a hands-on leadership role in a build-to-order manufacturing environment — you'll run the close, own job costing for custom equipment, keep the ERP honest, and give leadership the numbers they need to price work and plan capacity. If you want a seat where your analysis visibly changes decisions, this is it.

What You'll Own

Financial Close & Reporting

• Lead the monthly, quarterly, and annual close; deliver GAAP-compliant financial statements on a predictable calendar
• Prepare management reporting packages and variance commentary for ownership and leadership
• Coordinate the annual external review/audit, 401(k) audit, and insurance audits

Cost Accounting & Inventory

• Own job costing across long-lead custom equipment builds, including WIP and progress billings
• Develop and maintain labor, fringe, and machine overhead rates; execute annual standard cost rolls
• Analyze purchase price, labor, and overhead variances and translate them into margin and pricing insight
• Oversee inventory accounting, cycle counts, and physical inventory

Tax & Compliance

• Administer multi-state sales and use tax compliance through Avalara, including exemption certificate management
• Calculate and document R&D tax credits
• Coordinate federal, state, and local filings with outside tax advisors
• Maintain fixed asset records and depreciation schedules

Treasury, Credit & Controls

• Perform bank reconciliations and manage cash positioning and credit card controls
• Review and approve customer credit applications; oversee collections and AR aging
• Design, document, and enforce internal controls across the transaction cycle

Planning & Analysis

• Lead annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, and cash flow projections
• Support pricing, make-vs-buy, capital expenditure, and capacity decisions with cost modeling

Systems & Team

• Own the financial modules of our Epicor Kinetic ERP and partner with operations on data integrity, BOM/routing accuracy, and reporting
• Support ongoing ERP optimization and integration work across finance, sales, and production systems
• Lead, coach, and develop the accounting team

First-Year Priorities

• Deliver a reliable close calendar with statements issued within 7 business days
• Rebuild and validate labor, fringe, and overhead rates against actuals
• Stabilize and extend financial reporting in Epicor Kinetic
• Tighten AR aging and credit review discipline

What You Bring

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance
• 5+ years of accounting experience in a manufacturing environment, including job costing and standard costing
• Demonstrated ownership of a full monthly close and GAAP financial statement preparation
• Hands-on ERP experience in a manufacturing setting; strong understanding of how transactions flow from the shop floor to the general ledger
• Multi-state sales and use tax experience
• Advanced Excel (pivot tables, lookups, modeling); comfort building reports from raw ERP data
• Ability to work effectively with non-financial colleagues in engineering, production, and sales

Preferred

• CPA or CMA
• Epicor Kinetic experience, or experience through an ERP implementation or migration
• Avalara or comparable sales tax automation
• R&D tax credit documentation experience
• Revenue recognition experience with long-lead or custom-build contracts
• Prior supervisory experience
• Power BI or comparable reporting tools

Work Environment

On-site in Elk Grove Village, with regular time on the manufacturing floor. Standard office environment with periodic exposure to plant conditions; must be able to move about a manufacturing facility.