Controller/Director of Controllership

GBU Life; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental Vision

Company paid HRA

401(k) + match

Pension Plan

Long Term and Short Term Disability

Life Insurance and ADD

PTO and VTO

Job summary

GBU Life in Pittsburgh seeks a seasoned Controller to lead controllership, financial reporting, and accounting operations. This role reports to the CAO and partners with Finance, Actuarial, and IT to translate strategy into disciplined execution.

Responsibilities include leading monthly closes, statutory reporting, audit readiness, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure accurate, timely financial statements for insurance operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• CPA license required or strongly preferred, based on final role requirements.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive accounting experience, including significant insurance industry experience or insurance focused public accounting experience.
• Strong knowledge of statutory accounting, NAIC reporting, general ledger processes, and financial controls.
• Experience leading monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes.
• Experience overseeing financial reporting and statutory reporting processes.

Responsibilities

• Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual close calendar with schedules and gate reviews.
• Lead the close process ensuring complete and accurate accounting activity.
• Oversee general ledger governance, including reconciliations and journals.
• Drive audit readiness and support external/regulatory requests.
• Partner with CAO on significant accounting matters and reporting judgments.
• Oversee reinsurance, investment accounting, and finance system interfaces.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting/Finance or related field

CPA license (preferred)

Tools

Oracle ERP

Oracle Cash Management

ARCS

Smart View

Clearwater

Job description

Job Summary

The Controller provides leadership and oversight of GBU Life’s day to day controllership, financial reporting, and accounting operations. Reporting to the Chief Accounting Officer (CAO), the Controller translates accounting strategy and direction into disciplined, accurate, and timely execution across the organization.

The Controller provides leadership and oversight of GBU Life’s day to day controllership, financial reporting, and accounting operations. Reporting to the Chief Accounting Officer (CAO), the Controller translates accounting strategy and direction into disciplined, accurate, and timely execution across the organization.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial Close and Controllership

• Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual close calendar, including detailed production schedules, dependencies, review gates, status reporting, and issue escalation.
• Lead the execution of the financial close process to ensure accounting activity is complete, accurate, properly supported, and delivered within established timelines.
• Oversee general ledger governance, including journal entries, account reconciliations, accruals, prepaids, fixed assets, capitalization, and other core controllership activities.
• Review and approve journal entries, reconciliations, financial schedules, and accounting conclusions within delegated authority.
• Identify, investigate, and resolve unusual or reconciling items and elevate material or complex matters to the CAO.
• Maintain appropriate documentation supporting accounting activity, management review, and financial reporting conclusions.

Statutory and Regulatory Reporting

• Lead the preparation and review of statutory financial statements, annual and quarterly statement schedules, management schedules, and required regulatory reporting.
• Ensure financial reporting and controllership activities comply with Statutory Accounting Principles (SAP), applicable NAIC guidance, Company policies, and approved control standards.
• Monitor reporting requirements and coordinate timely completion of deliverables and supporting documentation.
• Partner with the CAO on significant accounting matters, reporting judgments, and regulatory considerations.

Accounting Controls and Audit Readiness

• Lead first line accounting controls, including control documentation, execution, evidence retention, monitoring, and remediation.
• Ensure accounting processes are appropriately documented and consistently executed.
• Maintain a controllership issue log, decision log, process inventory, desk level procedures, and evidence of review and control execution.
• Identify control gaps and process risks and develop practical remediation plans.
• Support audit readiness by ensuring accounting records, reconciliations, schedules, and supporting documentation are complete and readily available.
• Coordinate external audit, regulatory, tax, and advisory requests at the working level under the CAO’s oversight.

Reinsurance Accounting

• Oversee reinsurance accounting execution, including journal entries, balances, settlements, reconciliations, supporting schedules, and issue resolution.
• Partner with Reinsurance, Actuarial, and Finance teams to ensure appropriate accounting treatment and timely reporting.
• Monitor unresolved reinsurance accounting matters and elevate material issues or judgments to the CAO.
• Support the accuracy and completeness of reinsurance related balances and statutory reporting.

Investment Accounting and Finance Partnerships

• Partner with the Investment Accounting Lead on investment close dependencies, Clearwater outputs, statutory schedules, subledger to general ledger reconciliations, and complex investment transactions.
• Coordinate required inputs from Actuarial, Investment Accounting, Treasury, Reinsurance, FP and A, Finance Operations, BI/Data, Technology, and other business functions.
• Maintain clear accountability for source data, assumptions, deliverables, and deadlines across functional partners.
• Serve as a key accounting resource for complex transactions and cross functional financial matters.

Finance Operations and Accounting Systems

• Oversee Finance Operations activities that support controllership, including transactional accounting interfaces, disbursements, vendor payment items, and related operating controls.
• Provide oversight of Oracle accounting processes and related financial systems and tools.
• Drive effective use of Oracle, ARCS, Smart View, Clearwater, and other Finance technology to improve accuracy, efficiency, reporting, and control execution.
• Partner with Technology and Finance stakeholders to identify opportunities for system enhancements, automation, and improved data integrity.

Process Improvement and Operational Excellence

• Drive continuous improvement across Controllership through standardized work, process documentation, cross training, automation, and improved use of technology.
• Evaluate existing processes to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, accuracy, controls, and employee capacity.
• Establish and maintain consistent accounting procedures and desk level documentation.
• Develop scalable processes that support organizational growth and evolving financial reporting requirements.
• Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, collaboration, and operational excellence.

Leadership and Talent Development

• Establish clear priorities, performance expectations, development plans, and accountability measures.
• Build team capability through cross training, knowledge transfer, mentoring, and documented backup coverage.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen technical accounting knowledge, insurance industry expertise, and leadership capabilities within the team.
• Foster a collaborative environment that encourages questions, sound judgment, continuous learning, and ownership.

Properly Adheres to Company Risk Management Principles:

• Adhering and supporting GBU’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework.
• Understanding and complying with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures; completing all required training; executing and monitoring controls effectively (as applicable); appropriately identifying, assessing, escalating and remediating risks, potential issues and control failures (as applicable); and reporting compliance or regulatory concerns to management.
• Understanding and conducting oneself in accordance with the Employee Handbook and preserving GBU’s brand and reputation.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• CPA license required or strongly preferred, based on final role requirements.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive accounting experience, including significant insurance industry experience or insurance focused public accounting experience.
• Strong knowledge of statutory accounting, NAIC reporting, general ledger processes, account reconciliations, financial controls, and insurance financial reporting.
• Demonstrated experience leading monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing financial reporting and statutory reporting processes.
• Experience managing, supervising, coaching, and developing accounting professionals.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and competing deadlines in a complex financial environment.
• Strong analytical and accounting judgment with the ability to identify and appropriately escalates material issues.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy and financial integrity.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and executive communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build effective cross functional relationships and hold stakeholders accountable for deliverables.
• Life insurance and annuity industry experience.
• Experience with Oracle ERP and Oracle Cash Management.
• Experience with ARCS, Smart View, Clearwater, or similar financial systems and reporting tools.
• Experience with fixed assets, reinsurance accounting and recoverables, cash accounting, or investment accounting interfaces.
• Experience supporting external audits, regulatory examinations, or financial statement audits.
• Experience leading accounting process improvement, automation, and standardization initiatives.
• Strong process documentation and change management experience.
• Experience developing accounting talent and building sustainable succession and backup coverage.

OUR BENEFITS

• Medical, Dental Vision
• Company paid HRA
• 401(k) + match
• Pension Plan
• Long Term and Short Term Disability
• Life Insurance and ADD
• PTO and VTO (Volunteer Time Off)