Controller; AZALEA WANG

Controller - Wholesale Footwear & Fashion

At Azalea Wang, we move fast, think big, and work collaboratively. Everyone has a voice here, ideas are encouraged, and self-starters thrive. We're a tight-knit, high-energy team that shows up every day ready to push product forward together.

The Position:
Controller (Wholesale Footwear & Fashion)

Location: Chicago, IL
- Full-time Onsite

Position Overview

Azalea Wang is seeking an experienced Controller to lead the accounting function and serve as the primary finance leader for the business. This is a full-ownership role: you will be responsible for the complete accounting cycle, from daily transactional operations through month-end close, financial reporting, and audit readiness.

The right candidate has deep experience in fast-fashion, wholesale apparel or footwear, or a similarly high-velocity inventory-driven environment. You have led a close, built processes from scratch, managed a team, and understand the full scope of what it means to be the top accounting resource in a fast-moving wholesale business.

• Own and execute the full monthly, quarterly, and annual close cycle end-to-end
• Prepare and review financial statements, supporting schedules, and variance analysis
• Ensure timely and accurate revenue recognition, inventory accounting, and expense accruals
• Maintain general ledger integrity and manage the chart of accounts
• Deliver clean, audit-ready financials to leadership on a consistent close calendar
• Support budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow planning

• Manage accounts receivable for wholesale retail accounts including department stores and specialty retailers
• Reconcile retailer remittances against open invoices - identify, dispute, and resolve deductions and short payments
• Maintain deduction aging reports and track recovery on disputed retailer deductions
• Partner with sales and operations on retailer compliance requirements and EDI-related billing issues
• Develop and document AR processes to reduce deduction exposure and improve cash application accuracy

• Oversee AP operations including high-volume invoice processing, vendor reconciliation, and payment management across a large domestic and international vendor base
• Manage payment runs, vendor statement reconciliations, and dispute resolution
• Work directly with international and domestic vendors on payment timing, invoice discrepancies, and account cleanup
• Ensure accurate three-way matching and proper cut-off for accruals

• Ensure accurate inventory accounting across wholesale channels and product categories
• Manage inventory reconciliations, reserves, and shrink/write-off analysis
• Oversee COGS accounting and gross margin reporting by channel and category
• Partner with merchandising and operations on inventory controls, costing, and landed cost accuracy
• Support seasonal inventory roll-forwards and physical count reconciliation

• Serve as the accounting owner of the ERP system (Net Suite preferred) - including saved searches, reporting, and workflow optimization
• Lead or support system implementations, upgrades, or integrations as needed
• Build and maintain strong internal controls and process documentation
• Identify and drive process improvements that increase accuracy, efficiency, and scalability
• Partner with IT/admin on system configuration, data integrity, and automation opportunities

• Manage, review, and develop accounting team members
• Collaborate with operations, sales, merchandising, and logistics on financial reporting and planning
• Serve as a key finance partner to leadership on ad…