Controller

About O.A. Newton

O.A. Newton is a diversified, growing organization with multiple business units serving the agriculture, retail, manufacturing, and material handling, as well as leased properties. The organization is experiencing significant growth and change. This is an exciting opportunity for a financial leader who can quickly understand the business, build strong relationships, and provide meaningful financial insight in a fast-paced environment.

Position Summary

O.A. Newton is seeking an experienced, analytical, and business-minded Controller to lead the organization's financial operations while serving as a strategic financial partner to the President. This is more than a traditional accounting leadership role. The successful candidate will combine strong technical accounting expertise with the business acumen to translate financial information into meaningful insights, recommendations, and decisions.

The Controller will ensure the integrity and effectiveness of the company's accounting and financial operations while proactively identifying trends, risks, opportunities, and ways to improve profitability and cash flow. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable managing the details of financial operations and stepping back to ask, "What are the numbers telling us, and what should we do about it?"

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Financial Leadership

• Partner directly with the President to support strategic and operational decision-making.
• Translate financial statements, trends, and data into clear business insights and actionable recommendations.
• Proactively identify financial risks, opportunities, trends, and emerging issues.
• Provide financial analysis and scenario modeling to support decisions involving growth, investments, staffing, inventory, pricing, capital expenditures, and operational changes.
• Help leadership understand the financial impact of operational decisions and identify opportunities to improve profitability, cash flow, and efficiency.
• Develop meaningful financial and operational KPIs and dashboards that help leadership manage business performance.

Financial Management & Reporting

• Manage and perform general accounting functions, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, general ledger, reconciliations, journal entries, and month-end close.
• Prepare and analyze accurate and timely financial reporting for multiple companies/entities.
• Prepare monthly financial statements by the 10th of the following month.
• Maintain the integrity and accuracy of the general ledger and balance sheet.
• Provide clear analysis of financial results, significant variances, trends, risks, and opportunities—not simply historical reporting.
• Ensure daily reconciliation of bank accounts to general ledger cash accounts.

Cash Flow, Forecasting & Treasury

• Develop and maintain a rolling 13-week cash flow forecast.
• Analyze and manage cash inflows, outflows, collections, and expenses and proactively identify potential challenges or opportunities.
• Evaluate actual performance against forecasts and provide recommendations to leadership.
• Work with the President to manage banking relationships, credit facilities, debt, and credit line renewals.
• Identify opportunities to improve cash management and financial efficiency.

Job Costing & Business Performance

• Manage and improve job costing and work-in-progress accounting.
• Partner with project managers to increase visibility into project performance, profitability, and cost trends.
• Develop and monitor KPIs relevant to each business unit.
• Analyze performance against goals and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Help connect financial results with operational activity so managers can make better business decisions.

Leadership & Process Improvement

• Build strong relationships with the President and staff across the organization.
• Communicate financial information clearly and effectively to both financial and non-financial audiences.
• Lead and develop members of the accounts payable and accounts receivable team.
• Evaluate and improve accounting, reporting, job-costing, and administrative processes as the organization grows.
• Learn and effectively utilize the Made2Manage ERP system and improve the flow and accessibility of financial and operational information.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, strengthen controls, improve efficiency, and provide management with better information.
• Work collaboratively with outside accounting, tax, banking, insurance, and other professional advisors.

Compliance & Administrative Oversight

• Oversee applicable tax filings, state reporting, and financial compliance requirements.
• Oversee organizational insurance programs and applicable benefit-related financial responsibilities.
• Maintain appropriate financial controls and ensure compliance with applicable requirements.

What We're Looking For

O.A. Newton is seeking a Controller who combines technical financial expertise with strong business judgment.

The successful candidate will be:

• Strategic thinker
• Analytical problem-solver
• Proactive
• Collaborative Leader
• Strong communicator
• Adaptable
• Highly Organized and Detail-Oriented
• Respectful Influencer

Qualifications & Experience

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive finance and accounting experience.
• Demonstrated Controller-level experience with responsibility for financial operations.
• Strong knowledge of general accounting principles and financial reporting.
• Experience with cash flow forecasting, financial analysis, and financial modeling.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret financial information and translate it into business recommendations.
• Strong analytical, communication, and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with executive and operational leadership.

Preferred:

• MBA or CPA
• Experience managing financial operations across multiple business units or entities.
• Experience with manufacturing, project accounting, job costing, work-in-progress, inventory, or material handling environments.
• Experience with ERP optimization or financial process improvement.
• Experience developing executive dashboards and business KPIs.
• Experience working directly with business owners or executive leadership in a privately held organization.

Physical Requirements

• This position is primarily office-based and requires the ability to work at a computer for extended periods, including frequent use of a keyboard, mouse, telephone, and other standard office equipment.
• The Controller must be able to communicate effectively in person, by telephone, and electronically. The position may occasionally require travel between company locations and movement through operational, manufacturing, warehouse, retail, or other business environments.

What Success Looks Like

During the first year, the successful Controller will:

• Build credibility and strong relationships with the President and leadership team.
• Develop a strong understanding of each business unit and its financial drivers.
• Deliver accurate and timely financial reporting.
• Establish a reliable 13-week cash flow forecasting process.
• Develop meaningful KPIs and dashboards that leadership uses to manage the business.
• Become a trusted resource to the President for financial analysis and decision support.
• Proactively bring forward insights and recommendations that help the organization make better business decisions.