Controller, Finance & Banking, Corporate Finance

Purpose

Westrafo America is seeking an experienced and hands‑on Controller to lead all accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, compliance, and financial controls for our growing electrical transformer manufacturing operation. As a startup manufacturing facility, this role requires a finance leader who can build processes from the ground up, establish strong internal controls, support operational decision‑making, and serve as a key business partner to local leadership and our parent company in Italy.

The Controller will serve as the primary financial liaison between the U.S. operation, the Italian parent company, and the organization’s investment partners. This individual must be comfortable presenting financial results, forecasts, cash flow analyses, capital expenditure requests, and business performance metrics to international stakeholders. The role requires the ability to communicate complex financial information to executive leadership, investors, and board‑level representatives while ensuring alignment between local operations and corporate financial objectives.

The ideal candidate will possess strong manufacturing accounting experience, a deep understanding of cost accounting and inventory management, and prior experience working with an Italian‑owned or Italian‑based company. The ability to communicate in Italian is highly preferred and will be considered a significant advantage.

This position offers a unique opportunity to help build and shape the financial foundation of a rapidly growing manufacturing organization.

Investor & International Reporting:

• Serve as the primary financial contact for the Italian investment firm and corporate stakeholders.
• Prepare and present monthly financial reporting packages, operational performance metrics, cash flow forecasts, and strategic analyses to investors and corporate leadership.
• Participate in recurring business reviews with executive leadership and investment partners.
• Provide detailed explanations of financial performance, manufacturing costs, operational variances, and capital investment initiatives.
• Support investor due diligence requests, audits, financial reviews, and strategic planning initiatives.
• Collaborate with international stakeholders to ensure alignment with corporate objectives and financial expectations.
• Assist in the preparation of board presentations and executive‑level financial reports.

Cost Accounting & Manufacturing Finance:

• Maintain and improve standard costing systems for transformer manufacturing operations.
• Analyze labor, material, and overhead variances.
• Monitor inventory valuation, cycle counts, and physical inventory processes.
• Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, and Production teams to improve cost performance and inventory accuracy.
• Develop product costing models and support pricing decisions.
• Evaluate manufacturing efficiencies and identify cost reduction opportunities.

Budgeting & Forecasting:

• Lead annual budgeting and strategic planning processes.
• Prepare monthly forecasts and cash flow projections.
• Monitor actual performance against budgets and forecasts.
• Provide financial modeling and scenario analysis to support business growth initiatives.

Internal Controls & Compliance:

• Establish and maintain strong internal controls appropriate for a startup manufacturing environment.
• Ensure compliance with corporate policies, accounting standards, tax regulations, and reporting requirements.
• Coordinate external audits and support internal audit activities.
• Manage relationships with banking institutions, auditors, tax advisors, and regulatory agencies.

Startup & Business Growth Support:

• Assist in developing scalable financial processes and procedures.
• Support ERP implementation, optimization, and financial system improvements.
• Create policies and controls to support rapid organizational growth.
• Participate in capital investment planning and financial evaluation of equipment purchases.
• Support organizational initiatives related to quality, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.

Team Leadership:

• Build, develop, and mentor accounting and finance personnel as the organization grows.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration,…