Financial Controller - Dr Brown's Group of Companies

JOB DESCRIPTION

Financial Controller — USA

Work Location: USA — Hybrid
Business: Dr. Brown’s Group International

ROLE SUMMARY

The Financial Controller will be responsible for building, implementing and overseeing the financial infrastructure, reporting systems, tax coordination, controls and operational finance framework for Dr. Brown’s Group International’s US and international operations.

This is a senior, hands-on controllership role suited to a qualified accountant with strong technical accounting capability, prior audit experience, and demonstrated experience operating in entrepreneurial, high-growth, small-to-medium-sized or start-up environments.

The role is not limited to traditional bookkeeping or accounting.

The Financial Controller will act as a financial architect and commercial partner, helping to build a scalable finance function to support the Group’s expansion across product sales, ecommerce, distribution, healthcare, education, technology and app/platform-based revenue streams.

A key part of the role will be managing the financial and tax-control framework associated with:

• US federal, state and local tax compliance coordination
• Multi-state sales and use tax considerations
• Shopify-based ecommerce product sales
• VAT/GST implications for international sales
• Cross-border tax coordination
• Revenue and tax treatment for the TrichoExam app/platform sold globally
• Inventory, landed cost, product margin and distribution finance

The successful candidate must be commercially minded, able to add value beyond compliance, and capable of demonstrating where they have improved reporting, controls, margins, cash flow, pricing decisions or operational performance in previous roles.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES

The Financial Controller will be responsible for:

• Building a scalable US and international finance function.
• Establishing robust controllership, reporting and internal control frameworks.
• Implementing institutional-grade financial reporting and governance.
• Ensuring financial visibility across all business units, entities, channels and markets.
• Coordinating US federal, state and local tax compliance with external advisors.
• Managing sales tax, use tax, Shopify tax, ecommerce and VAT/GST processes.
• Supporting financial and tax readiness for physical product sales and digital/app-platform revenue.
• Providing commercial insight to leadership on profitability, pricing, cash flow, margin, tax exposure and working capital.
• Supporting executive decision-making through high-quality financial analysis.
• Preparing the organization for scalable US and international growth.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Financial Controllership & Reporting

The Financial Controller will own the controllership framework and ensure the business has accurate, timely and decision-useful financial information.

Responsibilities include:

• Lead month-end, quarter-end and year-end close processes.
• Prepare and oversee monthly management accounts.
• Establish accurate balance sheet reconciliations, accruals, prepayments, revenue recognition and inventory accounting.
• Develop entity-level and consolidated reporting packs.
• Support US GAAP reporting discipline and group-level IFRS or international reporting requirements where applicable.
• Build executive dashboards covering revenue, gross margin, EBITDA, cash flow, working capital, inventory, channel performance and tax exposures.
• Provide timely financial reporting across retail, ecommerce, distribution, clinics, education, SaaS/app platform and international operations.
• Support audit preparation, statutory reporting and external advisor coordination.
• Ensure all reporting is accurate, consistent, scalable and suitable for executive decision-making.

1. US Federal, State & Local Tax Coordination

The Financial Controller will coordinate the company’s US tax compliance framework in partnership with external tax advisors.

Responsibilities include:

• Coordinate US federal tax compliance, including income tax, estimated tax, employment tax and any activity-specific tax obligations.
• Maintain a US tax compliance calendar covering federal, state and local filings.
• Coordinate state income/franchise tax, sales tax and other state-level obligations with external advisors.
• Monitor state registrations, nexus triggers, tax reporting requirements and filing deadlines.
• Support sales and use tax compliance across relevant US states.
• Maintain documentation for resale certificates, exemption certificates, customer taxability and filing support.
• Ensure tax-related accounting entries, accruals and reconciliations are properly maintained.
• Partner with advisors on transfer pricing, intercompany charges, royalties, withholding tax and cross-border tax matters.
• Support tax audits, notices, enquiries and documentation requests.
• Identify tax risks and communicate them clearly to leadership.

1. Shopify, Ecommerce, Sales Tax & VAT/GST Oversight

The Financial Controller will own the finance and tax-control framework for Shopify and ecommerce sales channels.

Responsibilities include:

• Oversee Shopify tax settings, product tax categorization, sales reporting and tax reconciliations.
• Reconcile Shopify sales, refunds, discounts, shipping, duties, taxes, payment gateway fees and bank settlements to the general ledger.
• Ensure accurate accounting for Shopify revenue, refunds, chargebacks, failed payments, customer credits and payment processor fees.
• Monitor sales tax nexus exposure for ecommerce and direct-to-consumer sales.
• Distinguish between marketplace, Shopify, wholesale, direct-to-consumer and distributor sales for reporting and tax purposes.
• Coordinate VAT/GST considerations for international ecommerce sales.
• Review the tax treatment of shipping, handling, discounts, bundled products, product categories and subscriptions.
• Work with tax advisors to assess product taxability by jurisdiction.
• Ensure ecommerce tax reports reconcile to accounting records and tax filings.
• Implement controls to reduce risk around ecommerce tax compliance and revenue recognition.

1. TrichoExam App / Platform Revenue & Global Tax Implications

The Financial Controller will support the financial, tax and reporting infrastructure for the TrichoExam app/platform as it is commercialized globally.

Responsibilities include:

• Establish revenue recognition processes for app/platform sales, subscriptions, licences, renewals and professional/clinical use cases.
• Develop reporting by country, customer type, currency, product/service type, subscription tier and tax treatment.
• Coordinate tax treatment for SaaS, digital services, app access and platform revenue across relevant jurisdictions.
• Work with advisors to assess VAT/GST implications for international B2B and B2C digital sales.
• Reconcile app/platform revenue between payment platforms, app stores, Shopify or other sales channels, customer databases and accounting systems.
• Support pricing decisions by incorporating payment fees, VAT/GST, withholding tax, foreign exchange, customer location and local registration considerations.
• Maintain appropriate financial documentation for digital services, subscriptions and cross-border platform revenue.
• Partner with legal and commercial teams on invoicing, contracts, tax clauses, entity structures and customer billing flows.

1. Inventory, Distribution & Retail Finance

The ideal candidate should bring practical finance experience from product, retail, distribution, ecommerce or related operating environments.

Responsibilities include:

• Oversee inventory accounting, landed cost, freight, duties, warehousing and product costing.
• Implement inventory controls across product lines, warehouses, third-party logistics providers and fulfilment channels.
• Reconcile inventory systems to accounting records and management reports.
• Analyze gross margin by product, channel, region, customer type and sales platform.
• Monitor slow-moving stock, stock adjustments, shrinkage, write-offs and inventory provisions.
• Build costing models for imported products, Shopify sales, wholesale customers and international distribution.
• Support product pricing decisions with clear margin and tax-impact analysis.
• Improve reporting around inventory valuation, stock movement, fulfilment cost and profitability.

1. Financial Systems, Processes & Controls

The Financial Controller will be expected to build scalable finance systems and controls rather than simply maintain existing processes.

Responsibilities include:

• Implement and optimize financial systems, including Xero, SAP integrations, Shopify integrations, inventory platforms, ApprovalMax, expense management systems and reporting tools.
• Build approval workflows for procurement, supplier payments, employee expenses, refunds, discounts, credit notes, contracts and capital expenditure.
• Develop finance policies, SOPs, month-end checklists, tax calendars and reporting templates.
• Establish segregation of duties and internal controls appropriate for a growing SME/start-up environment.
• Automate recurring finance processes where appropriate.
• Ensure clean integration between ecommerce, inventory, accounting, banking, payroll, tax and reporting systems.
• Support audit readiness and internal control reviews.
• Create scalable finance processes that can support multi-entity and multi-country expansion.

1. Multi-Entity & Cross-Border Finance

The Financial Controller will support financial coordination across US and international operations.

Responsibilities include:

• Oversee financial operations across US entities and future international entities.
• Support consolidated reporting and group-level financial visibility.
• Manage intercompany reconciliations and cross-border financial coordination.
• Support transfer pricing documentation and intercompany agreement processes with advisors.
• Track royalties, management fees, shared costs and intercompany balances.
• Manage multi-currency reporting and foreign exchange considerations.
• Coordinate with external accountants, auditors, tax advisors, legal teams and banking partners.
• Ensure consistency of reporting across products, markets, entities and business units.

1. Commercial Finance & Value Creation

This role requires someone who can add measurable value beyond accounting compliance.

Responsibilities include:

• Provide commercial insight to the CEO and executive leadership team.
• Support pricing, margin, customer profitability and channel profitability analysis.
• Prepare business cases for new products, markets, platforms, distribution partnerships and expansion opportunities.
• Identify opportunities to improve cash flow, working capital, gross margin and operational efficiency.
• Challenge assumptions in budgets, forecasts and expansion plans.
• Evaluate the financial impact of taxes, duties, VAT/GST, logistics, payment fees, fulfilment costs and foreign exchange on profitability.
• Support investment decisions, resource allocation and commercial prioritization.
• Translate financial data into clear, practical business recommendations.
• Demonstrate a proactive approach to improving financial performance and operational discipline.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

The successful candidate should have:

• Qualified accountant status — CPA, CA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent strongly preferred.
• Prior audit experience, ideally from public accounting or an audit-trained background.
• Previous experience as a Financial Controller, Senior Accountant, Accounting Manager, Finance Manager or similar senior finance role.
• Strong hands-on controllership experience.
• Experience working in a start-up, scale-up, SME or entrepreneurial environment.
• Experience in distribution, retail, ecommerce, consumer products, healthcare, technology or SaaS preferred.
• Strong exposure to US federal, state and local tax coordination.
• Sales tax and use tax experience, preferably across multi-state ecommerce or retail operations.
• Experience with Shopify or similar ecommerce platforms highly advantageous.
• Understanding of VAT/GST implications for international sales preferred.
• Experience with app, SaaS, subscription or digital platform revenue beneficial.
• Multi-entity and multi-currency finance experience.
• Experience working with external accountants, auditors, tax advisors, legal counsel and banking partners.
• Demonstrated experience improving systems, reporting, controls, processes or profitability.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

The ideal candidate should demonstrate:

• Strong US GAAP knowledge.
• IFRS or international reporting exposure beneficial.
• Strong understanding of controllership, financial reporting and internal controls.
• Working knowledge of US federal, state and local tax processes.
• Sales tax, use tax, nexus and ecommerce tax awareness.
• VAT/GST exposure for international sales preferred.
• Shopify finance and tax reporting experience advantageous.
• SaaS/app-platform revenue recognition experience beneficial.
• Inventory costing, landed cost and margin analysis capability.
• Strong cash flow forecasting and working capital management skills.
• Advanced Excel and financial modelling capability.
• Experience with Xero, SAP, Shopify, inventory systems, approval workflows and reporting tools.
• Ability to develop dashboards, KPIs and management reporting packs.

LEADERSHIP & PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

The successful candidate will be:

• Hands-on, practical and execution-focused.
• A qualified finance professional with strong technical discipline.
• Commercially minded and able to add value beyond compliance.
• Comfortable operating in an evolving, fast-moving environment.
• Able to build structure where limited structure exists.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented and deadline-driven.
• Strong in controls, governance and audit discipline.
• Strategic enough to support leadership, but practical enough to manage day-to-day finance operations.
• Confident working independently and taking ownership.
• Able to communicate finance, tax and operational issues clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
• Proactive in identifying risks, inefficiencies and improvement opportunities.
• Able to demonstrate examples of measurable value created in previous roles.

NON-NEGOTIABLE REQUIREMENTS

Candidates must have:

• A recognized accounting qualification or equivalent senior finance background.
• Prior audit experience.
• Prior controllership or senior accounting ownership experience.
• Strong US accounting and tax coordination experience.
• Hands-on experience in an SME, start-up, scale-up or entrepreneurial environment.
• Exposure to product, retail, ecommerce, distribution or similar operating environments.
• Commercial capability, with evidence of improving reporting, margin, cash flow, controls or profitability.
• Ability to work with external tax advisors on federal, state, sales tax and international VAT/GST matters.

PREFERRED BACKGROUND

Preference will be given to candidates who have worked in one or more of the following environments:

• Distribution
• Retail
• Ecommerce
• Consumer products
• Healthcare or medical products
• Technology or SaaS
• App/platform businesses
• International trading businesses
• Start-ups, scale-ups or founder-led SMEs
• Multi-entity or multinational businesses

SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE LOOKS LIKE

Within the first 12–24 months, success will include:

• A reliable US and international finance function established.
• Monthly reporting produced accurately and on time.
• Shopify, ecommerce and product revenue fully reconciled and tax-supported.
• Sales tax, nexus, registration and filing processes coordinated and under control.
• VAT/GST considerations for international product and app/platform sales identified and managed with advisors.
• TrichoExam app/platform revenue reporting established by country, currency, customer type and tax treatment.
• Inventory, landed cost and gross margin reporting materially improved.
• Executive dashboards and KPI reporting implemented.
• Cash flow and working capital visibility improved.
• Finance systems, approval workflows and internal controls embedded.
• Audit and tax advisor processes professionally managed.
• Leadership receives useful commercial insights, not just historical accounting reports.
• The finance function is positioned to support scalable US and international growth.

EXECUTIVE POSITIONING

The Financial Controller will serve as the financial architect responsible for building the operational finance infrastructure of Dr. Brown’s Group International’s US and global operations.

This role is foundational to the company’s ability to scale responsibly across product sales, ecommerce, healthcare, education, technology and app/platform revenue streams. The successful candidate will combine technical accounting strength, audit discipline, US tax coordination experience, systems capability and commercial judgment to create a finance function that supports growth, governance and strategic decision-making.