Controller

CONTROLLER

POSITION SUMMARY

The Controller is a key leadership position responsible for the financial, accounting, HR, compliance, contract, legal-administrative, and business-control functions of the company.

This person must be exceptionally organized, sharp, independent, trustworthy, and capable of taking full ownership of their responsibilities. They must be able to understand complex information quickly, make sound decisions, identify problems before they escape, establish order, and follow matters through to completion.

The Controller works directly with executive leadership and serves as a central point of control for the company’s finances, records, contracts, employees, policies, compliance requirements, deadlines, and administrative obligations.

PERSONALITY + PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER

We are looking for a strong, capable professional with excellent judgment and a high degree of personal integrity.

The successful Controller will be:

• Highly independent and capable of working without constant direction
• A genuine self-starter who identifies what needs to be done and acts
• Exceptionally organized and disciplined
• Sharp, analytical, and quick to understand complex information
• Honest, ethical, and committed to doing the right thing
• High-integrity and trustworthy with money, confidential information, employees, contracts, and sensitive business matters
• Accountable for their work, decisions, deadlines, and results
• Confident and willing to take ownership
• Strong-minded and capable of having difficult conversations professionally
• Comfortable holding employees, vendors, customers, and others accountable to commitments
• Willing to question information, charges, decisions, or documentation that does not make sense
• Able to respectfully challenge leadership when facts, financial information, contracts, or compliance requirements indicate a concern
• Proactive and able to anticipate needs, deadlines, risks, and problems
• Resourceful and capable of finding answers independently
• Persistent and unwilling to allow important matters to remain unresolved
• Extremely detail-oriented without losing sight of the larger business objective
• Able to prioritize based on urgency, financial impact, legal exposure, risk, and business importance
• Calm, steady, and effective under pressure
• Decisive when action is required
• Professional and composed in difficult situations
• Highly confidential and discreet
• Clear, direct, and concise in communication
• Consistent and dependable
• Comfortable managing numerous responsibilities simultaneously
• Strong at creating systems, structure, organization, and accountability
• Able to recognize when something is wrong even when the problem is not immediately obvious
• Able to independently investigate issues and determine the appropriate next action
• Focused on outcomes and completion
• Someone who follows through until the matter is actually resolved

OWNERSHIP + INDEPENDENCE

The Controller is expected to take responsibility for their areas of the business rather than simply respond to individual assignments.

They must be capable of:

• Setting their own priorities based on company needs
• Maintaining their own deadlines and follow-up systems
• Knowing what is outstanding without being reminded
• Identifying missing information or documentation
• Following up persistently until required information is received
• Identifying financial, contractual, HR, compliance, or administrative issues independently
• Researching and resolving routine problems
• Bringing leadership organized information, options, and recommended actions when executive decisions are required
• Maintaining accurate records so important information can be produced quickly
• Managing recurring responsibilities without repeated instruction
• Establishing better systems when existing processes are insufficient
• Taking responsibility for mistakes and correcting them quickly
• Communicating problems immediately rather than allowing them to remain hidden
• Protecting the company’s money, information, contractual rights, employees, and interests

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

The Controller owns and administers:

• Accounting and bookkeeping
• Accounts Receivable
• Accounts Payable
• Cash management and forecasting
• Financial reporting
• Budgets and financial controls
• Payroll administration
• Human Resources administration
• Employee files and documentation
• Company policies and procedures
• Performance and disciplinary documentation
• Benefits administration
• Employment compliance
• Recruiting and hiring administration
• Onboarding and offboarding
• Contract administration
• Contract deadlines and obligations
• Legal-document and dispute administration
• Corporate records
• Business licenses and registrations
• Regulatory and administrative compliance
• Insurance administration
• Claims and Certificates of Insurance
• Vendor and subcontractor administration
• W-9s, 1099s, releases, and required documentation
• Banking and lender documentation
• Coordination with CPAs, attorneys, insurance professionals, payroll providers, lenders, and other professional advisors
• Office and business administration
• Company filing and document-management systems
• Administrative calendars, renewals, notices, and deadlines
• Executive financial and administrative reporting
• Internal processes, controls, and accountability systems

REQUIRED CAPABILITIES

The Controller must be capable of independently:

• Managing the complete AR and AP cycle
• Maintaining accurate accounting records
• Understanding and producing financial statements
• Reconciling financial accounts
• Forecasting cash flow
• Monitoring company obligations and commitments
• Reading and understanding business contracts
• Identifying important contractual requirements, deadlines, and risks
• Maintaining HR records and administering company policies
• Maintaining compliance calendars and required documentation
• Coordinating legal and contractual documentation
• Maintaining insurance and risk-management records
• Managing multiple companies, projects, accounts, and cost centers
• Investigating financial and administrative discrepancies
• Maintaining complete and audit-ready records
• Handling sensitive and confidential information appropriately
• Managing competing priorities without losing important details
• Creating efficient systems and processes
• Learning new software and business processes quickly
• Using QuickBooks or comparable accounting software proficiently
• Using Microsoft Excel proficiently
• Communicating effectively with employees, customers, vendors, subcontractors, executives, accountants, attorneys, lenders, insurers, and government agencies

PERFORMANCE STANDARD

The Controller is expected to maintain control of the company’s financial and administrative obligations and provide leadership with accurate, current information.

The Controller should maintain reliable visibility into:

• Cash
• Receivables
• Collections
• Payables
• Upcoming obligations
• Financial performance
• Project costs
• Payroll
• Employees and HR matters
• Contracts and contractual obligations
• Compliance requirements
• Policies
• Insurance
• Licenses and renewals
• Corporate records
• Vendor documentation
• Legal and administrative matters
• Important deadlines
• Outstanding risks and unresolved issues

Success in this position requires exceptional organization, intelligence, independence, honesty, integrity, judgment, accountability, urgency, discretion, resilience, and follow-through.