Director of Accounting - Accounting Director - Controller (Finance) - Onsite to Hybrid - Bartlett, TN (Memphis) or Chesterfield, MO (St. Louis)The Director of Accounting - Accounting Director - Controller is a part of our Finance Team and is focused on financial integrity, accounting capability, scalable controls, and accounting process ownership.
How you will make an impact:- Serving as the senior accounting leader reporting to the CFO.
- Partnering closely with FP&A, Operations, Project Management, Service, Sales, IT, HR/Benefits, and Executive Leadership.
- Leading the accounting organization and protecting the integrity of the Company's financial reporting.
- Overseeing accounting operations, internal controls, and audit readiness.
- Guiding project accounting and revenue recognition.
- Handling treasury operations, working capital processes, and risk/insurance administration.
Core Competencies of position:- Financial Integrity: High standards for accuracy, documentation, controls, audit readiness, and compliance.
- Executive Judgment: Ability to identify material issues, escalate appropriately, and provide clear recommendations.
- Process Discipline: Continuous improvement mindset with the ability to standardize and scale accounting processes.
- Cross-functional Partnership: Ability to communicate accounting implications to non-accounting leaders and work across Operations, Sales, Service, IT, HR, FP&A, Legal, and Executive Leadership.
- Leadership & Capability Building: Ability to develop people, clarify ownership, reduce key-person dependency, and build a durable accounting function.
- Technology Orientation: Comfort improving financial systems, data quality, process automation, and AI-enabled workflows while preserving controls.
What does the Director of Accounting - Accounting Director - Controller do? Success in this role is measured by timely and accurate financial reporting, a disciplined monthly close, clean audit execution, strong controls, sound revenue recognition and project-accounting practices, effective working-capital administration, scalable accounting processes, and the development of a high-performing accounting team.
Accounting Operations & Financial Reporting• Lead monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes, including review of journal entries, account reconciliations, accruals, reserves, and financial statement support.
• Ensure accurate and timely preparation of financial statements and supporting schedules in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
• Own the integrity of the general ledger, chart of accounts, accounting classifications, and financial reporting structure.
• Oversee core accounting operations including accounts payable, accounts receivable, credit and collections, cash application, general accounting, and project accounting.
• Maintain and improve accounting policies, procedures, close calendars, reconciliations, review protocols, and documentation standards.
• Ensure completeness and accuracy of revenue, cost, gross profit, working capital, reserves, and balance sheet reporting.
Project Accounting & Revenue Recognition• Oversee accounting for project-based and service-based business activities, including EPC projects, services, manufacturing, repairs, training, and other customer arrangements.
• Establish and maintain revenue-recognition policies and practices consistent with contract terms and applicable accounting standards.
• Partner with Operations, Project Management, Service, and FP&A to evaluate project financial results, cost-to-complete assumptions, margin anomalies, and accounting implications.
• Review complex or unusual customer contracts for accounting treatment, billing implications, retainage, lien waivers, milestone billing, and revenue-recognition considerations.
• Drive consistency in project accounting practices across business units, product lines, and operating teams.
Working Capital, Credit & Collections• Oversee accounts receivable, customer credit, collections, billing support, cash application, and related controls.
• Partner with Sales and Operations to reduce aged receivables, resolve billing disputes, and support disciplined credit practices.
• Monitor DSO, aged receivables, unbilled receivables, customer disputes, SLOB/inventory reserve matters, and related working-capital metrics.
• Support the CFO and FP&A Director with accounting inputs for cash-flow forecasting and working-capital analysis.
Audit, Controls & Technical Accounting• Serve as primary management contact for the annual financial statement audit and other external financial reviews.
• Coordinate audit requests, schedules, supporting documentation, management responses, and review of audited financial statements and footnotes.
• Lead technical accounting analysis and documentation for revenue recognition, ESOP accounting, leases, reserves, inventory, project accounting, and other complex matters.
• Design, implement, and maintain effective accounting controls, segregation of duties, review protocols, approval workflows, and audit-ready documentation.
• Identify accounting risks, process gaps, and control deficiencies; recommend and implement corrective actions.
Treasury Operations & Banking• Oversee treasury operations, bank administration, cash management controls, bank user access, and related approval authorities.
• Coordinate borrowing-base certificates, covenant calculations, quarterly bank reporting, credit references, letters of credit, and other banking requirements.
• Support the CFO with line-of-credit renewals, financing arrangements, term loan matters, and lender reporting.
• Monitor daily liquidity and near-term working-capital needs in partnership with the CFO and FP&A Director.
Risk Management & Insurance• Coordinate annual property and casualty insurance renewal processes, including data gathering, applications, analysis, and broker/carrier communication.
• Support coverages such as general liability, umbrella, executive risk, crime, property, auto, workers' compensation, flood, earthquake, professional liability, contractors' liability, surety bonds, cyber, and Technology E&O.
• Partner with IT, Engineering Services, Operations, Legal, and HR/Benefits on specialized insurance submissions and coverage requirements.
• Oversee certificates of insurance, surety bond support, customer contractual insurance requests, claims coordination, and risk-control follow-up as appropriate.
• Assist the CFO in evaluating coverage levels, deductibles, limits, insurable risks, and changes in the Company's risk profile.
ESOP Financial Administration & Accounting• Support ESOP accounting, contribution/distribution funding, valuation data requests, trustee/TPA financial coordination, and reconciliation of ESOP-related financial activity.
• Provide financial data and analysis supporting ESOP valuation and repurchase-obligation studies.
• Partner with Benefits & Payroll on employee-facing ESOP administration and with FP&A/CFO on long-term repurchase-obligation modeling.
Accounting Systems, Data & Process Improvement• Serve as functional owner of accounting processes within IFS Cloud and related financial systems.
• Partner with IT, FP&A, and Data/BI teams on financial master data, reporting structures, integrations, and accounting-related data governance.
• Lead accounting process automation, workflow improvement, documentation, standardization, and reduction of manual spreadsheet dependency.
• Develop scalable procedures and control standards that support organizational growth, audit readiness, and accurate reporting.
• Identify opportunities to apply automation and AI-enabled accounting processes while maintaining appropriate controls and review standards.
Leadership & Team Development• Lead, coach, and develop the accounting organization, including the Accounting Manager and accounting operations team.
• Set expectations for close discipline, reconciliation quality, review standards, responsiveness, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Build organizational capability rather than relying on heroic individual effort or undocumented tribal knowledge.
• Foster cross-functional relationships with Operations, Project Management, Service, Sales, IT, FP&A, Legal, HR/Benefits, and Executive Leadership.
• Participate in leadership discussions where accounting, controls, treasury, risk, or financial integrity considerations are material.
This position is part of our Accounting team within the Finance organization with the specific title of Director of Accounting - Accounting Director - Controller. Level of position will be based on relevant experience.
Required Skills, Experience & Abilities:- Bachelor's degree or higher in Accounting or similar relevant area.
- Active CPA license.
- Ten or more years of progressive accounting experience, including demonstrated responsibility for close, financial reporting, audit, technical accounting, controls, and accounting operations.
- Ability to manage audit, GAAP, revenue-recognition, ESOP, and technical accounting.
- Five or more years of people leadership experience in accounting and/or finance.
- Advanced Excel/reporting skills.
- Ability to fully utilize BI, workflow, and automation tools.
- Two or more years of experience working in an ERP system or an equivalent combination of experience in various ERP systems.
- Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP, financial statement preparation, balance-sheet reconciliations, internal controls, and audit processes.
- Strong expertise in revenue recognition and project-accounting.
- Working knowledge of leases, reserves, inventory/SLOB, ESOP accounting, insurance/risk administration, and bank reporting.
- Ability to work Monday through Friday from 8am-5pm and to occasionally work additional hours upon request AND ability to work the first 4-6 months onsite
- Monday through Friday AND upon demonstrating full competency and ability to work independently shifting to Hybrid schedule working from home two days per week.
- Ability to lift and move up to 10 lbs.
- Ability to independently travel up to 10% of the time including overnight stays as needed to visit other sites, attend company gatherings and participate in training activities.
- Ability to drive for the company with a valid driver's license and the ability to pass driving record background check.
- Ability to utilize personal vehicle for occasional work travel AND ability to rent a car when requested for work travel.
- Strong out-front communication skills (written and verbal). This role collaborates externally and internally with cross-functional teams. Must be able to take and give direction clearly over the phone and in person.
- Track record of accepting responsibility for: workflow, competing priorities, projects, assigning tasks, and monitoring activities in a positive manner while coordinating timelines and communicating status updates in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to follow established procedures while looking to provide input and ideas for improvement.
- Ability to understand and assign tasks, monitor activities, and mentor others in a positive manner.
- Ability to demonstrate a professional, driven, positive, and collaborative attitude and work ethic while following established procedures, and providing input and ideas for improvement.
Preferred Skills, Experience & Abilities:- Three or more years of public accounting experience.
- Five or more years of audit and assurance experience with manufacturing, engineering and/or services.
- Five or more years of experience handling accounting for project-based and/or, or ESOP company(s).
- Experience in project-based services, engineering, industrial automation, manufacturing, distribution, and/or similar contract/service environments.
- Prior experience working in MSP (Managed Service Provider) environment.
- Experience with banking, treasury operations, insurance renewals, ESOP accounting, and/or audit coordination.
- Experience utilizing IFS Cloud.
- Process improvement and/or workflow automation experience.
