Position Title: Controller
Department: Finance & Accounting
Reports To: Chief Financial Officer / CEO
Work Location: Mississauga, Ontario (On-site)
Employment Type: Full-Time
Salary: 100,000-135,000 Annual Salary Range and Annual Performance Bonus
Job Description
Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Controller to lead the accounting and financial operations of our growing food manufacturing facility in Mississauga. In this role, you will be a key strategic business partner to the management team, overseeing the financial operations, accounting functions, reporting, budgeting, and financial controls of the food manufacturing organization. The ideal candidate will provide accurate and timely financial information to senior management and supports business decisions through financial analysis, cost management, forecasting, and performance reporting.
The role requires strong knowledge of manufacturing accounting, inventory management, standard and actual costing, cost of goods sold, production variances, budgeting, and financial controls. The Controller works closely with Operations, Production, Purchasing, Supply Chain, Sales, and senior leadership to improve financial performance and operational efficiency.
Key Responsibilities
1. Financial Management & Reporting
- Lead the preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements.
- Ensure financial reporting is accurate, timely, and compliant with applicable accounting standards and company policies.
- Prepare management reports, financial analysis, and key performance indicators.
- Analyze financial results against budget, forecast, and prior periods.
- Provide financial insights and recommendations to senior management.
- Monitor cash flow, working capital, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and overall financial performance.
2. Manufacturing & Cost Accounting
- Oversee manufacturing accounting and product costing processes.
- Maintain and monitor standard costs, actual costs, labour costs, overhead allocations, and production costs.
- Analyze production variances, including material usage, labour, overhead, yield, scrap, and efficiency variances.
- Review and maintain accurate bills of materials and product costing information.
- Monitor manufacturing overhead and production expenses.
- Analyze gross margins and profitability by product, customer, channel, and/or business unit.
- Partner with Operations to identify cost-saving and productivity opportunities.
3. Inventory Management
- Oversee accounting for raw materials, packaging materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods.
- Ensure inventory records are accurate and properly valued.
- Establish and maintain appropriate inventory controls.
- Review inventory movements, adjustments, write-offs, obsolete inventory, and slow-moving inventory.
- Coordinate and oversee periodic and year-end physical inventory counts.
- Investigate inventory discrepancies and implement corrective actions.
- Work with Supply Chain and Operations to improve inventory accuracy and working capital management.
4. Budgeting & Forecasting
- Lead the annual budgeting and planning process.
- Prepare financial forecasts and rolling projections.
- Work with department managers to develop operating budgets and financial targets.
- Monitor actual performance against budget and provide variance explanations.
- Develop financial models and scenario analyses to support business decisions.
5. Internal Controls & Compliance
- Establish, maintain, and improve financial policies, procedures, and internal controls.
- Ensure appropriate segregation of duties and authorization controls.
- Identify financial and operational risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
- Ensure compliance with applicable accounting, tax, regulatory, and company requirements.
- Coordinate external audits, reviews, and other financial examinations.
- Work with external accountants, auditors, tax advisors, financial institutions, and other professional advisors as required.
6. Accounts Receivable & Accounts Payable
- Oversee accounts receivable and accounts payable functions.
- Monitor customer collections, credit exposure, and aging reports.
- Ensure vendor invoices and payments are processed accurately and efficiently.
- Review payment approvals and maintain appropriate financial controls.
- Identify opportunities to improve working capital and payment processes.
7. Payroll & Employee-Related Accounting
- Oversee payroll accounting and related reconciliations, as applicable.
- Ensure payroll-related liabilities and expenses are accurately recorded.
- Review vacation accruals, benefits, bonuses, and other employee-related accounting entries.
8. Tax & Regulatory Matters
- Coordinate corporate, sales tax, HST, payroll-related, and other applicable tax filings with internal or external tax professionals.
- Ensure appropriate accounting for taxes and statutory obligations.
- Maintain accurate financial records and supporting documentation.
Qualifications
· Education: Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
· Designation: CPA designation is strongly preferred.
· Experience:
o 5+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience.
o Previous experience in a manufacturing environment, preferably food manufacturing.
o Experience with manufacturing cost accounting, inventory accounting, and product costing.
o Experience managing or supervising an accounting/finance team.
o Experience with budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, and month-end close processes.
o Experience working with external auditors and tax professionals.
· Technical Skills:
o Strong knowledge of accounting principles and financial reporting.
o Advanced Excel skills, including financial modelling, PivotTables, lookups, and data analysis.
o Experience with ERP/accounting system and Power BI is an asset.
o Strong understanding of inventory costing and manufacturing accounting.
o Ability to analyze large volumes of financial and operational data.
Working Conditions
- Office-based with regular interaction with manufacturing and warehouse operations.
- May require additional hours during month-end, year-end, budgeting, audit, and other critical reporting periods.
- Must comply with all applicable workplace, food safety, health and safety, and company policies when entering production areas.
Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive base salary
- 20% annual performance bonus
- Health and dental benefits
- Paid vacation and holidays
- Professional development opportunities
- Other company-specific employee engagement initiatives
