We are seeking a high-calibre early-career accountant to lead the finance and accounting function at one of our portfolio companies, a warehousing, distribution, and physical products business located in the Windsor to Toronto corridor. Embedded at the company and working directly with its leadership team and the group’s Business and Operations Manager, you will own the books, bring discipline to the close, and turn the numbers into decisions on the floor and in the office. The role is built as a path to CFO: an accountant who proves themselves in the business will take on controllership of the company and, over time, financial leadership across the group’s operating companies.
The position is based on site at the portfolio company, with flexibility for some remote work once established, and periodic travel to group meetings in the GTA.
Job Responsibilities
Accounting and Month-End Close
- Own the monthly close, including journal entries, reconciliations, accruals, intercompany balances, and fixed assets.
- Maintain an accurate general ledger, chart of accounts, and supporting schedules, working alongside the company bookkeeper and external accountants.
- Lead inventory accounting, including costing, cycle counts, reserves, and reconciliation of physical inventory to the books.
- Prepare monthly financial statements and the management reporting package on a fixed calendar.
Operational Finance
- Spend time on the floor to understand how product, orders, and cash actually move through the business, and ensure the accounting reflects it.
- Build and maintain product, customer, and channel margin analysis, and standard costing where applicable.
- Track and report operational KPIs alongside financial results, including fulfillment cost per order, freight, inventory turns, and working capital.
- Identify leakage in pricing, purchasing, freight, and inventory, and bring findings to company leadership with recommended actions.
Cash, Working Capital, and Controls
- Prepare and maintain a 13-week cash flow forecast and weekly cash reporting.
- Manage receivables and payables processes, collections cadence, and supplier payment terms to improve working capital.
- Design and implement internal controls, approval workflows, and documentation appropriate for a growing operating business.
Budgeting, Forecasting, and Ownership Reporting
- Lead the annual budget and periodic reforecasts, and track performance against plan.
- Prepare the finance content for monthly business reviews and reporting to group ownership, with variance analysis and clear commentary.
- Support lender reporting, covenant compliance, and information requests from banks, insurers, and investors.
Compliance, Year-End, and Systems
- Manage year-end, the review or audit engagement, and tax filings with external accountants, including HST and payroll remittances.
- Improve accounting systems and processes (ERP, WMS, inventory, and reporting tools) and lead system implementations as the company grows.
Path to Financial Leadership
- Progress into controllership of the company, and then into a CFO role for the company or across the group’s operating companies, as responsibility is earned.
- Over time, take on treasury, financing, capital allocation, acquisition integration, and board-level reporting.
Key Qualifications
• Experience: 1 to 3 years of accounting experience, in public accounting (audit or assurance) or in an industry accounting role at a product-based business. Candidates with strong academic records and demanding early roles are encouraged to apply.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in accounting, commerce, or business from a top Ontario university (Queen’s, Western, McMaster, Waterloo, Toronto, or comparable), with a strong academic record. Candidates should be no more than 5 years out of school.
• Designation: CPA designation completed or in progress, with a clear plan to complete it.
• Technical Accounting: Strong command of full-cycle accounting, ASPE, month-end close, and financial statement preparation. Inventory and cost accounting experience is a significant asset.
• Analytical Ability: Excellent Excel and financial modelling skills, with the ability to move from the ledger to margin, cash, and unit economics.
• Operational Curiosity: Interest in how a physical business runs, and willingness to spend time on the warehouse floor and with suppliers and customers to get the numbers right.
• Ownership Mindset: Ambition to grow into financial leadership, comfort owning a function with limited supervision, and a hands-on approach to getting things done.
• Communication: Clear written and verbal communication with company leadership, frontline teams, and group ownership.
• Location: Based in, or willing to relocate within, the Windsor to Toronto corridor, with periodic travel to the GTA.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with ERP, WMS, or inventory systems (NetSuite, QuickBooks, Sage, Dynamics, or similar) and reporting tools.
- Exposure to warehousing, distribution, manufacturing, or consumer goods businesses.
- Experience in an owner-operated or private equity backed business.
- Familiarity with HST, payroll remittances, and Canadian corporate tax compliance.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary and benefits package.
- A defined path from finance and accounting lead to controller to CFO, with responsibility added as it is earned.
- Ownership of the finance function at an operating business, with direct exposure to ownership-level decision making.
- The backing of a group of companies, with mentorship from group leadership and the finance leads at sister companies.
- Support for CPA completion and continuing professional development.
About the Group
Ekagrata is a globally established principal investment and private holding company, founded in 2008 with an entrepreneurial drive to build sustainable, long-term businesses. The group invests and operates across diverse industries, including food and agriculture, e-commerce and logistics, energy, and infrastructure. Learn more at ekagrata.com.
How to Apply
Submit a resume and cover letter detailing your relevant experience.
