Controller

Banza; New York (NY); On-site; USD 175,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Banza

Annual Bonus

Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

One Medical Membership

401(k)

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Home office stipend

Pizza and waffles stipend

Job summary

Banza is seeking a highly experienced Controller in the United States to lead accounting and finance at a pivotal growth moment. You’ll own cash, close processes, and GAAP compliance while partnering with Strategy & Analytics to scale the business.

You will oversee cost accounting, inventory, debt reporting, and external audits, and you’ll drive automation and control improvements across the finance function. CPA is preferred and leadership is essential.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive corporate finance and accounting experience at Controller level.
• Public‑accounting audit experience strongly preferred.
• CPA strongly preferred; strong GAAP depth required.
• Manufacturing/CPG cost‑accounting experience required (COGS, inventory, trade deductions).

Responsibilities

• Own cash management and working capital, translating run‑rate to cash outlook.
• Maintain integrity of actuals and inputs for forecasts and operating buildup.
• Close, control environment, and GAAP compliance with a single source of truth.
• Oversee inventory, cost accounting, COGS, and related reserves and counts.
• Own AP, AR, credit and deductions; ensure timely resolution.
• Manage debt reporting, covenant compliance, and lender communications.
• Lead audit process and coordinate tax compliance with external partners.
• Build scalable controls and systems (NetSuite) and automate accounting workflows.
• Lead and develop the accounting team; collaborate with Strategy & Analytics.

Skills

Cash flow management

GAAP knowledge

CPA preferred

Cost accounting

Team leadership

Strategic partnering

Tools

NetSuite

Job description

Who We Are: Banza reimagines your favorite comfort foods, like pasta, pizza, mac & cheese, and waffles, using chickpeas. Why? Because we know chickpeas aren’t just delicious; they’re also one of the most nutritious and sustainable foods. Yet 80% of the country isn’t eating enough of them. Our mission is to inspire people to eat more chickpeas and other beans, making a positive impact on human health and the environment. Banza is the #1 better-for-you pasta brand in the country, and our products are available in over 21,000 stores nationwide. We’ve been named one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of the Year, Adweek’s Best Food Brand, and are proud to have fans at Good Morning America, The New York Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and more.

Your Mission: Reporting to our Co-Founder, Banza’s Controller will lead our accounting function at a pivotal moment in Banza's growth. This is a highly visible, cross‑functional role, where you will own the integrity of our books, our controls, and our close. Just as importantly, you connect them to how Banza generates and manages cash. You give leadership a clear, proactive view of where our run‑rate and cash are heading, not just a record of what already happened. You are our accounting subject‑matter expert and the owner of the accuracy of the numbers the rest of the business builds on. You help build accounting into how we operate so our books are accurate, current, and grounded in how the business runs. The way this function works is going to change as more gets automated, and you'll help define what it becomes.

What You'll Do

• Cash & Forward Visibility - Own how we manage cash and working capital. Inventory, A/R, A/P, trade accruals. Proactively translate our results and run‑rate into what they mean for cash over the coming months.
• Accuracy of the Numbers We Build On - Own the integrity of the actuals and accounting inputs that feed our forecast and Operating Buildup. Certify what's right, flag what isn't, and be the accountable party for the accounting truth.
• Accounting Integrity & Control - Own the monthly close, the control environment, and GAAP compliance. Maintain an accurate, timely, well‑controlled set of books as the single source of truth for what happened.
• Inventory, Cost Accounting & COGS - Own inventory valuation, reserves, standard cost setting, and cycle counts. Be our subject‑matter expert on COGS accounting, co‑manufacturing and tolling, freight, spoilage and obsolescence, revenue recognition, and trade/deduction accounting.
• A/P, A/R, Credit & Deductions - Own accounts payable, accounts receivable, customer credit, and the deduction/chargeback process. Maintain accuracy, controls, and timely resolution.
• Debt & Covenant Compliance - Own debt compliance and banking reporting. Prepare borrowing base certificates, track covenant compliance across our credit facilities, and deliver all required lender reporting accurately and on time. Monitor headroom, flag risks proactively, and maintain clean, audit‑ready documentation supporting our credit agreements
• Audit & Tax - Own the audit relationship and deliver an efficient, timely annual audit. Manage tax compliance (such as Nexus, sales and use tax, K-1 processes) and coordinate with our external tax partner.
• Foundation for Scale - Strengthen the controls, systems (e.g., NetSuite), and processes that let Banza grow while mitigating risk. Deploy automation and AI in accounting workflows, with accountability for verifying what they produce, and partner with our Strategy & Analytics team on what accounting needs from the platform we're building.
• Close Gaps at the Source - Monitor gaps against actual charges, maintain the gap list, and partner with the Strategy & Analytics team and department heads to make reconciliations and accruals automatic outputs of upstream processes to ensure accounting is the last line of defense, not the manual engine.
• Team Leadership - Lead and develop the accounting team, including direct reports and external contractor support. Set clear expectations, grow capability, and build the function Banza needs as it scales
• Collaboration - FP&A sits with our Strategy & Analytics team. You'll partner day to day with the head of that team, who owns the forecast and the Operating Buildup, while you own the actuals and the view on cash their work depends on. The two of you will work in lock step across the close and the planning cycle.

Who you are

• At least 10 years of progressive experience in corporate finance and accounting roles currently operating at a strong Controller level.
• Public‑accounting audit experience strongly preferred
• Connects the close to cash - You can explain how the business generates cash, what run‑rate implies, and you say it before you're asked.
• Owns the numbers - You're the accountable party for the actuals other teams build on, and certify what's right and flag what isn't.
• Embeds accounting at the source - You understand accounting deeply enough to design it into systems and processes, not just reconcile after the fact.
• Enables decisions - You give people accurate, decision‑ready information so they can move
• CPA strongly preferred; strong GAAP depth required.
• Manufacturing or CPG cost‑accounting experience required - inventory, standard cost/COGS, trade accruals, and deductions.
• Track record of strengthening controls and deploying or scaling finance systems.
• Executive presence - You're the top of our accounting function, you communicate clearly and exercise independent judgment.

We're aware of the research showing that historically underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for a job if they don't believe that they meet all of the criteria. Do you hesitate to submit an application because you believe you need to check every box? Please apply anyway with a thoughtful cover letter! We would love to hear from you to discuss how you can help us build a great team at Banza.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $175-$215K. The range is for the expectations as laid out in the job description; however, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles and locations. Any updates to the salary range or considerations based on your experience and location will be communicated to you as a candidate.

Our salary ranges are based on verified market data and our philosophy of paying competitively for our size and industry. Individual pay rate decisions are based on several factors, including qualifications for the role, experience level, skillset, geographical location, and balancing internal equity relative to peers at the company. We expect the majority of the candidates who are offered roles at our company to fall within the range based on these factors.

Perks and Benefits

• Equity in Banza
• Annual Bonus
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance starting day 1: Banza pays 80% of the monthly premiums for employees and 70% for dependents
• One Medical Membership
• Short Term Disability and Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account / Health Savings Account
• 401(k)
• Paid Time Off: 20 vacation days, 10 holidays, 6 sick days, 2 personal days, and a birthday day off
• Extended Leave: Short-Term Disability, Parental Leave, and other Paid Family Leave. Support provided by our end-to-end leave management partner, Sparrow
• New Parents: 12 weeks of paid parental leave plus additional optional leave time to add, and 4 weeks of flexible return to work arrangements.
• Breast milk shipping service for traveling team members provided by Milk Stork
• Monthly fitness, internet and phone stipends
• Monthly lunch stipend to encourage team member connection
• Annual education stipend
• Home office set-up stipend
• $500 annual stipend to purchase our pizza and waffles, wherever they're sold
• Quarterly snack box for remote employees
• Lively NYC office stocked with snacks and beverages
• Quarterly in-person and remote events

Our Commitment: Banza is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. To achieve our mission of inspiring people to eat more chickpeas and other beans, we greatly benefit from a range of perspectives, which comes from diversity of all types, at all levels of the organization. Facilitating diversity and inclusion is the smart thing for our business. So we strongly encourage women, veterans, people with all abilities, people of color, and gender nonconforming candidates to apply.

Banza is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. Banza will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories consistent with legal requirements.

Banza participates in E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States. As a participating employer, we provide the federal government with Form I-9 information to verify work authorization. For more information about E-Verify, please visit www.e-verify.gov.

If you have any questions, please email [e-mail].