Controller

VP of Finance / ControllerConfidential search · Nashville, TN metro · On-siteReports to: President · Compensation: $150,000–$200,000 base, depending on experience, plus bonus, equity and benefitsJob SummaryOur client is hiring its first in-house finance leader. This is a build role, not a maintain role. The company was recently acquired, runs on QuickBooks with a fractional accounting firm doing the books, and has no internal accounting function and no SOPs. You will own all of it.You will be a hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves accountant first: closing the books, setting up accounting SOPs, and getting clean, timely financials in front of the President and the sponsor. From there you will build the finance function — the systems, the reporting, the KPIs, and eventually the team — as the business scales. You will report to the President and work as his partner on strategy, not as a back-office executor. For the right person, there is a credible path to CFO.Company SummaryThe company is a specialty distribution business in the Nashville metro. It buys excess, returned, and obsolete power tools and accessories and resells them to cost-conscious buyers, operating out of a single large warehouse.Inventory is sourced through OEM, distributor, and retailer relationships, along with opportunistic truckload buys and auctions, and moves back out through wholesale and e-commerce channels. The plan is to broaden the sourcing base and shift the sales mix from wholesale truckloads toward selling individual units directly to DIY customers and contractors through the company's website own storefront.The business is backed by a private equity firm running a playbook it has already executed successfully in industrial surplus, and is held as a long-term investment rather than a quick flip. The management team is being built from scratch: a President joined recently as the first hire, and this role and a Director of Operations are the next two.Key ResponsibilitiesAccounting Operations & CloseOwn all accounting functions: AP, AR, payroll, general ledger, and the monthly, quarterly, and annual closeProduce accurate, GAAP-compliant financial statements (Balance Sheet, P&L, Cash Flow) on a reliable calendarTransition the books off the fractional accounting firm and in-house; write the accounting SOPs that do not exist todayEstablish internal controls appropriate to a business of this size and stageEnsure compliance with federal, state, and local tax and filing requirements; manage outside tax and audit relationshipsComplete company’s first audit and own ongoing audit relationshipManage lender reporting and covenant compliance requirementsInventory & Working CapitalOwn inventory accounting for a high-SKU, multi-brand, opportunistically sourced product mix — costing, valuation, reserves, and shrinkManage day-to-day cash flow and working capital in a business where inbound buying is lumpy and unpredictableBuild the models that tell the team what we can afford to buy, and whenManage banking and lender relationshipsSystemsSupport the warehouse management system implementation now underway and its integration into QuickBooksLead the eventual full ERP selection and implementation — run the evaluation, make the recommendation, own the projectPartner on the development of an ecommerce website from scratch finance and reporting side of the direct-to-consumer storefront buildBusiness PartnershipServe as the President's thought partner: bring what you see in the numbers, do not wait to be askedBuild the operating KPIs the warehouse and sales teams need to run the business, and hold the reporting cadenceOwn reporting to the private equity sponsor, including board materials and covenant complianceBudget, forecast, and provide variance analysis; partner with operations to drive marginSupport diligence, modeling, and integration as the platform acquiresTeamStart as a one-person function, likely with an AP/AR clerk or admin, and build the team as the business growsHire, train, and develop the accounting staff you addRequired QualificationsCPA, or equivalent depth of hands-on accounting experience. This role does journal entries and accruals; an FP&A-only or banking background is not a fitRoughly 8+ years of total experience, including at least 5 years post-auditPublic accounting foundation (audit or tax) followed by controller-level work in small or lower-middle-market companiesDemonstrated understanding of how to build experience building an accounting function from the ground up — systems, SOPs, and controls that did not exist before you arrivedComfort operating in QuickBooks today with a clear-eyed view of what it takes to graduate off itGenuine willingness to work in an industrial, blue-collar warehouse environment alongside the operations teamBased in or willing to relocate to the Nashville areaPreferred QualificationsInventory-heavy experience — distribution, wholesale, manufacturing, or industrial. This is the single most valuable adjacencyERP implementation experience, as owner, project manager, or core team memberPrivate equity-backed company experience: sponsor reporting, board decks, covenant complianceStrategic range beyond the controller seat — the ability to grow into CFO as the platform scalesWhy Join UsBuild the finance and accounting function from a blank page and put your fingerprints on everything that followsReal seat at the table with the President and the sponsor, from day oneCredible path to CFO for someone who wants it and earns itSimple, cash-generative business with a clear growth thesis and a long-term ownerA product people actually enjoy: tradespeople walk the warehouse and get genuinely excited An industry people actually enjoy: tradespeople walk the warehouse and their palms start itching