Controller

Thomas Brooke International; Carol Stream (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Thomas Brooke International in Illinois seeks an execution-focused finance leader to serve as the top finance partner for the business unit, guiding forecasting, inventory management, and financial visibility. You will shape plans with local leadership, build robust reporting, and translate objectives into practical financial actions.

You will lead budgeting, forecasting, and ongoing business planning, driving profitability and operational health while collaborating with cross-functional

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business or related discipline preferred.
• Experience and ambition to thrive in a builder role within a growing, entrepreneurial business.
• Experience in customer-, commercial-, or business-partner-facing finance roles is highly valuable.
• Distribution-oriented business experience with cost analysis or similar operations is helpful.
• Hands-on finance leadership in analyzing performance, reporting, influencing decisions, and partnering with leadership.
• SAP experience is required.

Responsibilities

• Execute finance leadership to shape business plans and provide financial insight for execution.
• Lead financial analysis and business support with structure, visibility, and accountability in reporting, forecasting, and decision-making.
• Build out and strengthen reporting for sales, profitability, inventory, receivables, and related analyses.
• Design and implement financial processes, reporting routines, and planning tools aligning local and organizational structure.
• Support budgeting, forecasting, and ongoing business planning translating objectives into actionable financial plans.
• Lead the company’s financial and analytical priorities to improve profitability and inventory performance.
• Uncover obstacles and provide actionable recommendations to improve commercial performance and reporting outcomes.

Skills

Finance leadership

SAP

Forecasting

Financial analysis

Reporting

Inventory analysis

Business partnering

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance or related

Job description

• Growing industrial distributor with additional product activities – small BU, part of larger parent company.
• High-impact role - partner closely with local leadership and key stakeholders at the parent company to create the reporting, planning, and financial visibility needed for the next level. You will be the top finance leader for the BU! Support smarter forecasting, stronger inventory management, and better decision-making as the company continues to expand

What You'll Do

• This is an execution-focused finance leadership role; as a key member of the local leadership team you will help shape business plans and provide the financial insight to support their execution
• Provide effective leadership in financial analysis and business support, bringing structure, visibility, and accountability to reporting, forecasting, and decision-making
• Build out and strengthen the reporting capability needed to support a growing business, including sales, profitability, inventory, receivables, and related performance analysis
• Lead the design and implementation of effective financial processes, reporting routines, and planning tools that improve local independence while aligning with the broader organizational structure
• Support and facilitate budgeting, forecasting, and ongoing business planning, helping translate company objectives into actionable financial insight and practical plans
• Lead execution of the company’s financial and analytical priorities to improve visibility into profitability, inventory performance, forecasting accuracy, and overall business health
• Uncover obstacles and create actionable recommendations to improve commercial performance, inventory decisions, and reporting-driven business outcomes

The Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or a related discipline is preferred; practical experience and proven business impact will be especially important
• A core requirement is the experience and ambition to thrive in a builder role within a growing, entrepreneurial business where flexibility, ownership, and adaptability are essential
• Experience in a customer-, commercial-, or business-partner-facing finance role is highly valuable
• Experience in distribution-oriented businesses is especially relevant; exposure to product transformation, cost analysis, or similarly practical operating environments would be helpful
• Hands-on finance leadership experience in analyzing business performance, creating meaningful reports, influencing decisions, and partnering with leadership is required; candidates should be comfortable working with both detail and strategy
• SAP experience is required
• Direct experience improving reporting, forecasting, inventory analysis, and financial visibility is very helpful
• High EQ, sound judgment, and the ability to work effectively with different stakeholders in a small-company, international, change-oriented environment are essential