Accounting - Controller

LWCC People Operations; Baton Rouge (LA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

LWCC seeks a seasoned Controller to lead the Financial Reporting and Finance Operations teams in Baton Rouge, including Payroll, AP, and Purchasing. You will drive monthly, quarterly, and annual closes, ensure statutory compliance, and partner with the CFO on regulatory matters.

You will guide analytics, strengthen controls, and mentor staff to deliver timely insights supporting strategic decisions. A CPA with 10+ years of accounting experience is required; insurance industry exposure is a plus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance; 10 years of accounting experience.
• CPA certification required.
• Insurance industry experience a plus.

Responsibilities

• Oversee Financial Reporting and Finance Operations during monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes.
• Review journal entries and reconciliations for statutory accounting.
• Ensure compliance with reinsurance treaty reporting and related filings.
• Lead Accounts Payable, Payroll, and Purchasing with strong internal controls.
• Provide training and development to team members and communicate status to the CFO.
• Collaborate with Finance, IT, and operations to extract data and insights.
• Document projects and take ownership with minimal oversight.

Skills

Strong character

Innovation mindset

Achievement oriented

Strong communicator

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance

CPA certification

Job description

Overview

Oversee Financial Reporting team and Finance Operations team including Accounts Payable (AP), Purchasing, Payroll, and Accounts Receivables. Complete and review various analytics, presentations, research, and projects in support of the accounting and financial reporting portions of the business. Confer with CFO to maintain compliance with regulatory agencies; and maintain an effective system of controls over accounting transactions. Utilize a broad understanding of accounting principles and best practices to complete a diverse set of assignments. Interact with others in Finance, IT and the business to complete complex assignments. Analyze complex operational and financial data to provide greater understanding and propose recommendations for future actions.

Roles, Responsibilities and Priorities

Major Areas of accountability

• Oversee the Financial Reporting team as well as the Finance Operations team (including Payroll) during the monthly, quarterly, and annual corporate close process for all areas including but not limited to investments, reinsurance, premium/accounts receivables, claim/reserves, tax and assessments, fixed assets, and accruals/expenses

  • Review journal entries, financial account reconciliations and reporting to ensure accounting and reporting is consistent with statutory accounting principles.

  • Research applicable laws, regulations, accounting guidance, etc. as needed for new transactions, events, and situations to ensure the appropriate application of statutory accounting principles.

• Develop and maintain procedures that ensure compliance with reinsurance treaty reporting, payment and collection requirements.

• Oversee the preparation and filing of quarterly and annual statutory filings with the DOI and NAIC including managing team member assignments and detail reviewing work as needed.

  • Oversee the Finance controls certification, ensuring controls, including system access reviews, are completed and certified by control owners.

  • Oversee preparation and detail review of various related filings (e.g., premium tax and assessments)

• Oversee Accounts Payable, Payroll, and Purchasing operations to ensure accurate and timely transaction processing, strong internal controls, compliance with company policies and regulations, and effective support of business operations

• Provide support and guidance to the Accounts Receivable team when the Operations Supervisor is not available, including but not limited to reviewing and approving refund requests.

• Oversee and interpret company policies and is accountable for ensuring that policies, procedures and controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance that the company assets are protected.

• Continually identify opportunities for creating efficiencies and reducing risk in the planning, and execution of all accounting, and reporting tasks.

• Lead a variety of non-recurring accounting and financial reporting projects to implement new systems, processes and/or system enhancements processes to improve efficiency of the department or Corporation.

• Collaborate with others in Finance, IT and operations to understand data, trends and gather insights.

• Work through ambiguous assignments to uncover needed information or identify potential solutions to issues.

• Use various software applications to obtain, manipulate, compile and/or format data and reports and complete deliverables in a variety of formats as warranted by the assignments, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, email, verbal updates, etc.

• Appropriately document all projects completed, including request made, analysis completed, and output created.

• Take ownership, along with other members or your team, on most assignments with little to no oversight.

• Responsible for providing needed training and development as well as support to team members that report up through the Controller.

• Responsible for living and teaching LWCC’s core values (innovation, learning, will, connections, caring & commitment) in support of a strong & resilient corporate culture.

• Responsible for workload prioritization and completion within requested deadlines.

• Provide CFO and other interested parties with regular communication and status updates on assignments.

Personality/Working Style

• Strong character
  • Alignment with company values, mission, and vision
  • Trustworthy and honest
  • Independent
  • Curious and persistent
• Passion for innovation
  • Willingness to learn
  • Adaptive to change (tolerance for ambiguity)
• Achievement Oriented
  • Consistently achieves goals
  • Desire to collaborate to achieve corporate goals
  • Makes good decisions based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience and judgment
• Strong communicator
  • Effective communication skills
  • Demonstrates composure
  • Maintains positive and effective relationships
  • Empathetic listener and open-minded
  • Commitment to accountability
  • Comfortable leading

Education and experience

• Bachelor’s degree (accounting or finance related field preferred) plus 10 years of accounting experience. Minimum of four years of supervisory experience.
• CPA required
• Insurance experience is a plus