Regional Plant Controller

Salary : based on experience

• Are you ready to bring your accounting leadership experience to a privately held company that is proud of its heritage and values the well-being of employees?
• Do you enjoy developing, improving, and leading a team, processes, and systems?
• Can you work with the business to help them translate accounting and financial information into sound business decisions?

Founded in 1963 in Middletown, OH, family-owned Akers Packaging specializes in creating custom packaging and shipping solutions, wooden pallets, and folding cardboard cartons. With customers in the automotive, food and appliance industries, and many others, Akers focused on customer service and speed, providing same- or next-day fulfillment long before Just-in-Time Delivery was a term.

Today Akers Packaging has 600+ employees across 12 locations in the Midwest and has continued to focus on customer service and relationships over the last 60 years. Just as important is developing their people and encouraging them to take ownership of their job, do the right thing for the company, and continue to focus on customer service, both within Akers and with their customers.

Reporting to the Corporate Controller, the Regional Controller, along with a team of three, will work on a variety of accounting and financial analysis duties and projects. Recurring duties will include month end close responsibilities, account reconciliations and decision support and analysis for multiple facilities in the Midwest.

This role will also support the company’s initiative in developing and deploying a business intelligence system and work with the General Managers and Corporate Controller on key business initiatives.

This position also delivers on all day-to-day commitments to their Customers, Company, and People, while reinforcing a culture where team members:

• The answer is Yes. Be a solutions provider.
• Help first as a reliable team member.
• Take ownership.
• Do the right thing.

• Ensure month end close for multiple locations.
• Consolidate plant results and support both plant and corporate leadership with analysis on revenue, margin, and spending.
• Perform discrepancy and variance analysis on revenue, margin, and spending and decision support for Corporate Controller and General Managers.
• Collaborate with General Managers and Corporate Controller to review results, WIP, and financials; and complete the annual forecast and budget by division for a specific region.
• Fixed asset tracking and management.
• Expense integrity and analysis to ensure accuracy and consistency.
• Responsible for inventory management and physical inventories.

Corporate Initiatives

• Responsible for annual budgeting and forecasting in collaboration with corporate leadership, General Managers, and Corporate Controller.
• Maintain, improve, and automate financial systems to ensure the accuracy of information.
• Assist in the creation and development of an accounting shared service model, develop procedures for work streams, hand off responsibilities, communicate regularly regarding issues and questions.
• Champion the transition of legacy production and accounting systems to Dynamics Business Central. Become a superuser of the system, help train others, look for ways to optimize the software for Akers business.
• Investigate, pilot, and recommend uses of AI within the accounting team to improve efficiencies and speed and increase accuracy.

Reporting and Compliance

• Manage the completion of periodic financial reports and ensure the reported results comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Cost Accounting, and other internally established controls and policies.
• Compile KPIs with trend analysis and visualization.
• Recommend metrics and benchmarks to measure operations and financial performance.
• Collaborate with external auditors to resolve issues and complete scheduled audits.
• Lead year-end financial audit for assigned locations. Maintain and recommend financial controls.
• Lead any other audits such as sales tax, personal property, worker's compensation for assigned locations.
• File quarterly and annual reports as required.

• Bachelor's degree with a major in Accounting or Finance.
• Minimum of 7 years of relevant financial experience in a manufacturing environment
• Experience with cost and inventory accounting highly preferred
• Experience leading and developing a team
• Knowledge of GAAP, accounting principles, and financial regulations.
• Experience with ERP systems/upgrades and streamlining accounting processes.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel experience (VLOOKUP's, pivot tables, SUMIF, modeling)

The Regional Controller position is an in-office role based at Aker's HQ in Middletown, OH. Travel to other locations in the region is expected - mostly day trips (about 20%)