Director of Accounting / Controller

At Ideal Living, we believe everyone has a right to pure water, clean air, and a solid foundation for wellness. As the parent company of leading wellness brands AirDoctor and AquaTru, we help bring this mission to life daily through our award-winning, innovative, science-backed products. For over 25 years, Los Angeles-based Ideal Living has created wellness brands and effective products trusted by millions that positively impact people's health and well-being. Today, as a privately held, fast-growing company with a passionate and diverse team of over 100 people, we strive to make our wellness-tech solutions accessible to everyone through a collaborative, respectful, supportive workplace. We foster a friendly, down-to-earth culture where every team member's contributions are recognized and valued. We approach our work with drive, purpose, and passion while celebrating creativity, innovation, and teamwork. Key Responsibilities: Month-End Close and Financial Reporting The Controller oversees the close through the Senior Accounting Manager, who manages the day-to-day close work. The Controller sets the standards, reviews the output and owns the final numbers. Lead and develop the Senior Accounting Manager and close team; set the close calendar, deadlines and quality standards. Review and approve close deliverables: journal entries, accruals, reserves, allocations and flux analysis. Hold final sign-off on consolidated and brand-level financial statements under US GAAP. Drive the close to 5-7 business days through process improvement and automation. Own technical accounting judgments: revenue recognition (ASC 606 and ASC 842), inventory reserves, intercompany and consolidation, including foreign entities and currency translation. Present the monthly reporting package and variance explanations to leadership. Reconciliations and Balance Sheet Integrity The Senior Accounting Manager owns preparation of reconciliations; the Controller owns the standard, the review and the escalation. Hold the team accountable for complete, timely reconciliation of every balance sheet account: cash, processor clearing, receivables, inventory, fixed assets, accruals, payables, intercompany and deferred revenue. Set reconciliation policy: review cadence, materiality thresholds, documentation and sign-off. Personally review high-risk reconciliations each month, including sales channel to GL to cash, inventory (ERP vs 3PL vs counts) and intercompany. Track aged reconciling items through a status dashboard; **escalate** and drive root-cause fixes rather than recurring manual adjustments. Sponsor automation of high-volume reconciliations. Vendor Management, Part 1: Financial Controls and Compliance Audit Lead periodic vendor audits: invoice accuracy against contracts and purchase orders, pricing and rebate compliance, duplicate payments and overbilling. Own the vendor master file: onboarding, W-9 and banking verification, change controls and periodic clean-up. Oversee accounts payable controls, including three-way match, approval workflows and payment-run review. Partner with Operations and Procurement on contract terms, payment terms and cost-saving opportunities. Work with the payments and fraud function to prevent vendor fraud, including bank-change verification and segregation of duties. Manage 1099 reporting and vendor tax compliance. Vendor Management, Part 2: Vendor Performance Audit and Analytics Beyond paying vendors correctly, the Controller assesses whether vendors deliver value. This analytical audit compares each key vendor's deliverables against contracted scope and agreed KPIs. Define KPIs and service levels with budget owners for each key vendor, tied to contract and statement-of-work terms. Audit deliverables against scope: what was contracted, what was delivered, whether it was on time and at the agreed cost. Build and maintain vendor scorecards and dashboards that show spend, performance and business impact by functional area. Quantify vendor ROI and flag spend with no measurable outcome. Run quarterly vendor business reviews with budget owners and recommend whether to renew, renegotiate, consolidate or exit. Feed vendor performance into annual budgeting and contract renewal decisions. Partner with Marketing, Creative, Operations and Supply Chain to source performance data from ad platforms, attribution tools, 3PL reports and supplier records. Analytics and Business Insight Build and maintain reporting and dashboards on margin, contribution, unit economics, cost of goods sold and operating expenses by brand and channel. Analyze landed cost, freight, duties, returns and warranty costs, and identify the drivers behind margin movement. Support FP&A with actuals, budget-versus-actual analysis and forecast inputs. Provide ad hoc analysis for leadership on new products, new channels, pricing, retail expansion and international growth. Translate accounting results into clear, concise insights for non-finance leaders. Audit, Tax and Compliance Serve as primary contact for the annual external audit or review; prepare schedules and the PBC list and manage the timeline. Coordinate with outside tax advisors on income tax provision, sales and use tax, property tax and international tax filings. Monitor multi-state sales tax nexus and marketplace facilitator rules, and ensure accurate filing. Support compliance for foreign entities, including statutory reporting, payroll tax and transfer pricing with local advisors. Stay current on accounting standards and assess their impact on the business. Internal Controls and Policy Design, document and maintain internal controls over financial reporting, scaled to a growing company. Maintain accounting policies and procedures, including capitalization, revenue recognition, inventory reserves and expense policies. Oversee controls for corporate cards, expense reimbursement and approval limits. Ensure proper segregation of duties and system access controls. Leadership and Team Development Lead, coach and develop the accounting team; set clear goals, review work and build bench strength. Build a culture of accuracy, accountability, documentation and continuous improvement. Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing, E-commerce, Legal and HR. Support special projects, including new entities, new channels, new product launches and acquisitions. Required Qualifications CPA license is desired but not required Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or a related field. 3+ years in a Director of Accounting or Controller role, with full ownership of the close and financial statements. 8+ years of progressive accounting experience overall; public accounting background preferred. Strong command of US GAAP, including revenue recognition (ASC 606), leases (ASC 842) and inventory accounting. Proven experience leading external audits and working with outside tax advisors. Track record of building and enforcing internal controls and documented processes. Hands-on experience with vendor audits, AP controls and vendor master governance, plus analytical reviews of vendor performance against KPIs. Highly tech-savvy: advanced Excel (pivot tables, lookups, Power Query), comfort with ERP systems, extensive AI utilization, and a habit of automating manual work. Experience managing and developing an accounting team. Preferred Qualifications Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Background in consumer products, e-commerce or direct-to-consumer companies with multiple sales channels. Experience with Shopify, Amazon Seller Central, payment processors and third-party logistics data. Multi-entity and international accounting, including foreign currency, intercompany and Mexico or Latin America operations. Experience with subscription, rental or lease revenue models. Familiarity with BI and planning tools such as Power BI or Vena, and with AP automation and expense platforms. Experience in a high-growth or private equity-backed environment. This is primarily an office-based role with standard computer work and extended periods at a desk. Additional hours may be needed during close, audit and budget cycles. What We Offer Competitive Compensation Full benefits including PTO and 401(k) A collaborative and inclusive work environment Hybrid work environment - 3 days in office, 2 days remote #J-18808-Ljbffr Ideal Living