Financial Controller; North America Group

About The Role

This is a hands-on role where you'll start by building deep knowledge of our business and setting the foundation for long-term success, building a world-class finance backbone for a multi-model manufacturing group. You'll start by owning controllership in one division: learn the business inside out, tighten and improve processes, and train the on-site finance team member(s) to sustain those standards. Once that's in place, you'll apply the same playbook to the next division.

As you expand, you don't hand things off - you continue to own the earlier divisions while taking on the new ones. Step by step, you'll build up to full group-level controllership, with each division operating to the standards you've set. This is high-impact work: learn the business in detail, put the right processes in place, train the team, and keep raising the bar.

• Deliver a fast, reliable monthly close and management pack.
• Provide reporting that explains results, bridges variances, and connects finance with operations.
• Lead audits, statutory filings, and stakeholder reporting.

• Own cost accounting for both tooling (job shop) and production.
• Build margin and variance bridges that highlight root causes and actions.
• Track trends over time and feed lessons back into standards and forecasting.

• Improve receivables, payables, and inventory discipline.
• Keep leadership focused on how quickly cash flows through the business.
• Partner with corporate finance on treasury and FX.

• Set and maintain accounting policies (revenue recognition, capitalization, depreciation, intercompany).
• Put the right controls in place - strong enough to protect us, simple enough to use.
• Ensure compliance with GAAP/IFRS and internal policies.

• Work side-by-side (and also challenge when needed) with plant leaders to turn financial insights into operational improvements.
• Review capital investments with rigor and test key assumptions. Review previous investment programs and incorporate learnings.
• Nail manual processes first, then automate; own ERP/BI improvements.
• Build and train a capable finance team as scope expands.

• Month-End Close Speed and Reliability: days to a clean, variance-explained close in every division you own, with no restatements.
• Overdue Receivables: past customer terms, and the 90+ day bucket, by division.
• Billing Timeliness: time from milestone or shipment to invoice, and the unbilled balance.
• Margin Visibility: actual vs. quoted margin by job in tooling; standard-cost accuracy and variance closure in production.
• Forward Risk Flags: slow payers, loss-making jobs, FX and credit-line exposure, flagged early.
• Audit-Readiness and Policy Compliance: balance-sheet accounts reconciled monthly, clean audits, auditor requests answered on time.
• Division Standardization: each division brought to the group standard and holding it as your scope expands.

Targets are set and reviewed internally each year as the function matures.

• Reports to the VP.

• Bias to Action:
  Don't wait for perfect - move fast, learn, and adapt, especially with "two-way door" decisions.
• Dive Deep:
  Comfort in the details; understand the numbers and the drivers behind them. When a metric doesn't pass the "sniff" test or doesn't match with what you see as reality, you deep dive in.
• Ownership:
  Take responsibility for results across divisions; step up when something needs doing. No task is beneath you.
• Integrity:
  No shortcuts - we hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards.
• Feedback-Driven:
  Seek it, give it, and act on it. Best idea wins.
• Continuous Improvement:
  Always raising the bar - today's best practice becomes tomorrow's baseline. Standardize and build playbooks that last.
• Teamwork:
  Work cross-functionally to get things done.

• CPA designation (or equivalent) strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive accounting/finance experience, with at least 4 years in a controllership or senior finance leadership role.
• Proven experience in manufacturing finance: job-shop/tooling and/or mass production environments.
• Strong knowledge of cost accounting, variance analysis, and working capital management.
• Experience leading a monthly close, management reporting, and audit readiness.
• Skilled in ERP and BI systems; comfortable improving processes and adopting automation.
• Strong leadership skills with a track record of…