Controller, Hospitality

Controller, Hospitality

Join our team to help create and develop the future of live entertainment and sports in Orange County!

The annual base salary range for this position in California is $175,000 to $210,000 per year. The starting pay for the successful candidate depends on various job-related factors, including but not limited to the candidate's geographic location, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, education/training, internal value, peer equity, external market demands, and organizational considerations.

OCVIBE, a premier mixed-use community and live entertainment district, is coming to Anaheim in 2027! This $5 billion, 95-acre, mixed-use community will surround its anchor, Honda Center, with new live entertainment venues, dining and retail offerings, and public amenities. OCVIBE will provide a full range of entertainment, activating the District daily for the enjoyment of its guests.

The Controller, Hospitality plays a critical leadership role in launching and operating a newly formed portfolio of food & beverage spaces, including a multi-tenant food hall comprised of independent restauranter operators, company-operated bars, and Restaurant Row concepts of third-party contracted restaurants.

This role is responsible for building the accounting and financial infrastructure from the ground up, including systems, processes, internal controls, budgets, and reporting. The Controller must bring deep experience in multi-tenant food establishments, with demonstrated expertise in restauranter settlement models, transactional reporting, reconciliation, and ongoing financial management of "licensed" concepts.

The Controller serves as the primary accounting and finance partner to operations, culinary leadership, and independent restaurant partners, ensuring accurate accounting, transparent reporting, timely settlement of funds, and strong internal controls across all venues

Responsibilities

• Drive day-to-day management and accountability over all accounting functions for the multi-tenant food hall, bars, and restaurant concepts, including general ledger, general oversight of accounts payable, cash, revenue, inventory, and cost accounting
• Build and oversee month-end and year-end close processes for a complex, high-volume food & beverage environment
• Ensure timely and accurate reconciliation of POS systems, merchant services, bank accounts, gift cards, house accounts, and third-party delivery platforms across tenant-operated and company-operated concepts
• Establish, implement, and monitor internal controls and accounting policies in accordance with U.S. GAAP and company standards
• Oversee accounting, reporting, and settlement processes for independent restauranters
• Ensure restauranter agreements are properly reflected in accounting treatment, system configuration, and financial reporting
• Manage timely and accurate settlement, reporting, and payment processes with restauranter partners and serve as the primary finance point of contact for issue resolution
• Lead implementation, configuration, and optimization of restaurant systems, including POS platforms, back-office accounting systems, merchant services, inventory and recipe costing tools, ensuring scalability for a multi-tenant operating model
• Ensure proper accounting treatment for revenue recognition, sales taxes, service charges, tips, discounts, promotions, voids, comps, and chargebacks specific to food hall and restaurant operations
• Drive automation and process improvements to reduce manual effort and increase accuracy in a transaction-intensive, multi-operator environment
• Partner with FP&A and operations to develop annual budgets, forecasts, opening proformas, and financial operating plans for new and existing venues
• Prepare and distribute monthly financial statements, management reports, and detailed variance analyses for operations and finance leadership
• Analyze food and beverage margins, labor productivity, prime costs, tenant-level profitability, and operating revenue trends to support operational and strategic decision-making
• Oversee inventory accounting processes, including physical counts, valuation, shrink, waste, yield analysis, and cost of goods sold accuracy
• Establish controls around purchasing, receiving, pricing updates, and recipe management to protect margins and profitability across both tenant and company-operated concepts
• Monitor cash handling, fraud risk, loss prevention controls, and compliance in a cash- and card-intensive operating environment
• Manage sales tax, use tax, alcohol-related tax, and regulatory reporting specific to food & beverage operations
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing hospitality-focused accounting team with experience supporting multi-tenant and restaurant operations
• Support operations by ensuring accounting readiness, reporting and settlement setup, system training, and post-opening stabilization

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance; CPA strongly preferred
• 7+ years of progressive accounting experience, with…