Controller - Finance Operations & Systems

Western Dispatch; Edmonton; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dental & vision care

On-site parking

Casual dress

Sit-stand workstation

Direct access to ownership

Growth opportunity

Job summary

Western Dispatch is seeking a hands-on Controller to lead accounting operations, strengthen controls, and build a scalable finance function for growth. The role requires overseeing billing, payroll, reconciliations and month-end close, while partnering with ownership and advisers on planning and system integration.

The ideal candidate will manage a database-driven environment, build BI dashboards, ensure accurate financial reporting, and coach a junior staff member in a dynamic, growth-focused

Qualifications

• Five+ years of progressive accounting experience with ownership of month-end close.
• Experience with AP, AR, billing, payroll, GL, reconciliations and cash flow.
• Ability to build and maintain Power BI dashboards and connect to SQL Server.
• Advanced Excel skills and hands-on leadership in a fast-moving operational business.

Responsibilities

• Lead month-end and year-end close activities including reconciliations and journal entries.
• Manage billing, accounts receivable, payroll, accounts payable and cash flow reporting.
• Work with Sage, Access, SQL Server and payroll data for accurate reporting.
• Prepare reliable monthly statements and management reports with key variances.
• Maintain cash flow visibility and working capital planning.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Hands-on

Education

CPA designation or progression

Tools

SQL Server

Power BI

Microsoft Access

Sage 50

Excel

Job description

Pay: CA$90,000.00 - CA$115,000.00 per year

The Opportunity

Western Dispatch is seeking a hands-on Controller to lead accounting operations, strengthen financial controls and reporting, develop the finance team, and build a scalable finance function capable of supporting the company’s next stage of growth.

This is an accounting leadership position for someone who can stabilize daily operations, create structure, improve visibility, integrate systems and workflows, and establish reliable financial information sources. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable resolving a rejected invoice, reviewing payroll, leading month-end, building a cash-flow view, coaching a junior employee, and working directly with the data and reporting tools that support the business.

Role Mandate

• Own the accuracy, timeliness and reliability of accounting operations across billing, collections, accounts payable, payroll, reconciliations and the general ledger.
• Create structure through clear responsibilities, documented workflows, a disciplined close calendar, review controls and regular management reporting.
• Maintain and improve the database-driven processes and reporting environment that support billing, finance and operational visibility.
• Partner with ownership, operations and external advisers to strengthen planning, reporting, systems integration and finance-related change initiatives.
• Remain hands-on. This position leads by doing, especially during the transition and while processes are being built and strengthened.

Key ResponsibilitiesAccounting operations and period close

• Lead month-end and year-end close activities, including reconciliations, journal entries, accruals, account analysis, supporting schedules and issue resolution.
• Manage and actively participate in billing, accounts receivable, collections, accounts payable, payroll, deposits and accounting administration.
• Actively work in Sage and related systems to process and reconcile accounting activity, investigate discrepancies, and ensure consistency across accounting, operational, payroll and billing data.
• Prepare reliable monthly financial statements and management reporting, including cash, working capital, AR aging, billing status, margins and key variance visibility.
• Maintain visibility into cash flow, upcoming obligations, receivables, payroll requirements, vendor payments and short-term working-capital needs.
• Design and document practical internal controls for cash, vendor changes, customer and vendor master data, billing, payroll, journal entries, reconciliations and approvals.
• Create a repeatable month-end close calendar, ownership matrix, finance SOP library and cross-training plan.
• Develop service standards and measurable KPIs for billing accuracy, collections, close timeliness, reconciliations and error resolution.

Systems, data and business intelligence

The company relies on database-driven processes for important billing, finance and operational workflows. The Controller is expected to work directly with structured data and reporting systems rather than relying exclusively on spreadsheets or canned reports.

• Work with and maintain existing Microsoft Access databases used in billing and other operational finance processes.
• Understand relational database structures, including tables, relationships, keys, joins, queries and data integrity, and write or troubleshoot SQL queries used for reporting, reconciliation, billing and analysis.
• Work directly with SQL Server data sources and build, maintain and improve Power BI dashboards used by ownership and management.
• Connect Power BI to SQL Server and other structured data sources and develop reliable reporting models with clear definitions and reconciled source data.
• Reconcile information between Sage, Access databases, SQL Server, payroll systems, spreadsheets and client portals; trace discrepancies through source systems, queries, transformations and reports.

Scalability and integration

• Maintain a scalable chart of accounts and consistent reporting structure that can support organizational growth and increasing complexity.
• Support ownership with budgeting, forecasting, cash-flow planning and financial scenario analysis.
• Lead finance-related integration and change work, including systems mapping, data quality, reporting cadence, workflow integration and implementation controls.
• Coordinate effectively with external accountants and advisers while retaining internal ownership of monthly accuracy, management information and year-end readiness.

Leadership and partnership

• Lead, coach and organize junior finance staff; set priorities, review work and build backup coverage for critical processes.
• Work closely with operations, dispatch, ownership, clients, vendors, payroll providers and external accountants.
• Communicate financial and systems issues in plain language, recommend actions and follow problems through to resolution.
• Handle confidential financial and payroll information with sound judgment, integrity and discretion.

What Success Looks Like

• Within the first 30 days: critical finance and systems processes and deadlines are mapped, the transition is controlled, immediate risks are identified, and daily accounting continues without interruption.
• Within 60 days: recurring reconciliations, close responsibilities, review controls, cash and AR visibility, team priorities and critical database-driven workflows are functioning on a defined cadence.
• Within 90 days: management receives a reliable monthly reporting package, key finance SOPs are documented, major reporting and data risks are reduced, and a practical finance and systems improvement roadmap is established.
• As the organization evolves: finance processes, controls, reporting and database-driven workflows remain understandable, maintainable and scalable.

Required Experience

• Five or more years of progressive accounting experience, including ownership of month-end close and review of transactional accounting work.
• Strong working knowledge of AP, AR, billing, collections, payroll, general ledger, reconciliations, accruals, cash flow and financial statement preparation.
• Demonstrated experience improving or rebuilding accounting processes, controls, reporting or finance-team workflows.
• Strong working knowledge of relational databases and structured data, with practical experience writing and troubleshooting SQL queries.
• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining Power BI dashboards and connecting Power BI to SQL Server or a similar relational database source.
• Advanced Excel capability is required, including formulas, reconciliations, data analysis and control-minded spreadsheet design; Excel-only reporting experience is not sufficient for this role.
• Experience supervising, mentoring or reviewing the work of at least one finance team member, with the ability and willingness to remain hands‑on in a fast‑moving operational business.

Preferred Experience

• CPA designation or active CPA progression. A strong non‑designated candidate with equivalent controllership experience will also be considered.
• Experience working with Microsoft Access databases, particularly where databases support billing, finance or operational workflows.
• Experience with Sage 50, transportation management systems, payroll platforms, client billing portals, Power Query or similar operational business systems.
• Background in logistics, transportation, construction, industrial services or another high-volume, document‑heavy billing environment.
• Experience supporting a growing or increasingly complex organization, including standardized reporting, systems integration, data mapping or finance transformation.

The Person We Are Looking For

• A builder who creates order without over‑engineering the solution.
• A practical accounting leader who can move between detail, systems and the bigger business picture.
• Calm under pressure, decisive about priorities and disciplined about follow-through.
• Understands how operational activity flows into billing, reporting and financial results.
• Able to identify unreliable information, trace discrepancies to source and correct the underlying problem.

Compensation and Benefits

Target base salary: $90,000 to $115,000 per year, depending on controllership capability, designation, leadership experience and systems expertise. Exceptional candidates may be considered outside the range.

• Dental, extended health and vision care
• Paid time off and on‑site parking
• Casual dress and adjustable sit‑stand workstations
• Direct access to ownership, meaningful influence over the finance function, and long‑term growth opportunity

• Dental care
• Disability insurance
• Life insurance
• On‑site parking
• Paid time off

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Edmonton, AB T5M 3R8: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)