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Our Client a privately held, well-established, mid-size company in Central Arkansas is actively seeking a strong Business Unit Controller to lead, organize, and report on the financial aspects of the business in support of the strategic financial growth of the company. The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate strong evidence of working as a Controller in a company where growth and improvement are measured. The Controller will have both a day-to-day and ongoing impact on company operations, helping the company to organize, analyze and report on the financial position. Controller candidates should have proven and demonstrated capability to support the long-term goals of the company. This accomplished financial leader should not only understand current accounting practices and trends but demonstrate proven experience supporting a strategic CEO to ensure informed strategic decisions for the company.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Management and Training

• Maintain a documented system of accounting policies and procedures that meet internal control requirements
• Manage outsourced functions, where necessary
• Manage the accumulation and consolidation of all financial data necessary for an accurate accounting of consolidated business results
• Oversee the operations of the accounting department, including the design of, and organizational structure adequate for achieving the department’s goals and objectives
• Recruit, hire, train, supervise, evaluate, retain and make decisions on long-term viability of department staff, utilizing stated expectations. When needed, make decisions on changes necessary to support the company objectives and values.
• Provide accounting policy orientation for new staff along with liaising with all departments on updated accounting policies and procedures and associated timelines and deliverables.

Transactions

• Establish and follow a monthly closing process and preparation of monthly schedules to calculate closing journal entries with a checklist to ensure all accounting entries are complete, accurate and in the appropriate reporting period
• Prepare and execute month-end closing journal entries and review of entries which may include accruals, amortizations, and depreciation
• Ensure that accounts payable are paid in a timely manner and that all reasonable discounts are taken on accounts payable
• Ensure that accounts receivable is invoiced accurately and collected promptly
• Work with Human Resources, and across locations, to ensure payroll is processed in a timely and accurate manner. Likewise, oversee all recordation in accounting as required and submit payroll taxes to local, state and federal authorities according to deadlines
• Establish and maintain an expense reporting protocol and submission process subject to internal controls and company integrity
• Manage all company issued credit cards and reconciliations
• Oversee and review completion of periodic bank reconciliations and variance analyses in all entities
• Schedule and follow-up that required debt payments are made on a timely basis
• Maintain the chart of accounts
• Develop, implement, and preserve an orderly accounting filing system in support of company retention and regulatory compliance
• Maintain a system of controls over accounting transactions including automated accounting and reporting systems

Reporting

• Issue timely and complete financial statements on a monthly and annual basis
• Coordinate the preparation of the corporate annual report working with external auditors
• Oversee the production and reporting of sales and use tax, including fuel tax submissions to all states where the company operates
• Manage and oversee the accounting computer systems to assure ongoing accuracy, updates, and use for company directed information needs
• Recommend benchmarks against which to measure the performance of the company operations for income, expenses and cash flows
• Calculate and issue financial and operating metrics internally and to external parties as necessary
• Working with the CFO, manage the production of the annual budget and forecasts and make available across the organization as directed
• Calculate variances from the budget and report significant issues to management
• Provide for a system of management cost reports

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Skills and Attributes

• Strong working knowledge of accounting, audit, and financial processes
• Ability to interact effectively with banks, vendors, stakeholders, and internal teams
• Ability to work independently, and when necessary, autonomously, with minimal supervision
• Strong and effective decision making and problem-solving skills
• Leadership skills with the ability to delegate, motivate and inspire team members
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions based on accurate and timely analyses
• High level of integrity and adherence to a code of business ethics
• Excellent skills in MS Office Suite
• Dependability with a strong sense of urgency and results-orientation
• Ability to communicate and manage well at all levels of the organization
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong working knowledge of processes, systems, and controls including accounting, retail, and wholesale
• Ability to complete other job-related duties as assigned by management

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business or related field, MBA or advanced accounting degree is highly desirable
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license highly desirable with at least 5 years’ experience as a Controller and progressively responsible financial experience. Without CPA, at least 10 years’ experience as a Controller is preferred
• Proven leadership and management experience is essential
• Solid communication skills (written and verbal).
• Mergers and Acquisitions experience, a plus
• Retail experience, a plus
• Demonstrated time management and prioritization skills with a focus on timeliness and accuracy
• PDI software experience is preferred but not required