Financial Controller

Startup (in Stealth Mode); United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Startup (in Stealth Mode) seeks a hands-on Finance Controller to build and oversee accounting infrastructure for a high-growth beauty brand launching nationally. You will own month-end close, inventory costing, BOMs, landed costs, COGS, and financial reporting while partnering with Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, and Leadership.

You will implement scalable processes, improve internal controls, and drive margin analysis by SKU and channel to inform pricing and strategic decisions as the company

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive accounting/finance experience.
• Strong understanding of GAAP and accrual accounting.
• Experience in a high-growth startup or emerging consumer brand.
• Experience with national mass retail.
• Experience with Amazon Seller/Vendor Central and/or TikTok Shop.
• Experience working with 3PLs and contract manufacturers.
• Experience implementing or optimizing an ERP/accounting system.
• Experience with NetSuite.
• Significant experience with inventory accounting and COGS.
• Experience building SKU-level and channel-level profitability reporting.
• Experience with manufacturing, consumer products, beauty, cosmetics, CPG, or another inventory-intensive business.
• Strong understanding of BOMs, standard costing, actual costing, inventory valuation, and cost variances.
• Experience with landed cost calculations and analysis.
• Demonstrated experience owning or managing a monthly close process.
• Strong balance sheet reconciliation experience.
• Experience working with multiple sales channels, preferably including retail, DTC, Amazon, and/or marketplaces.
• Advanced Excel/Google Sheets skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• High attention to detail without losing sight of the bigger business picture.
• Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

Responsibilities

• Oversee accounting operations with focus on close, reconciliations, inventory accounting, COGS, and reporting.
• Own monthly close and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Develop BOMs and standard/product costs; partner with Operations to reflect manufacturing economics.
• Analyze margins by SKU and channel; provide margin improvement recommendations.
• Manage channel reconciliations across mass retail, DTC, Amazon, and other marketplaces.
• Coordinate with external accountants, auditors, tax advisors, and other partners.
• Develop runnable scalable accounting processes and internal controls.
• Document accounting policies, procedures, and key controls.

Skills

GAAP knowledge

Inventory accounting

Monthly close

NetSuite

Advanced Excel

Financial reporting

Costing / BOMs

Cross-functional partnering

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

We are a fast-growing beauty and cosmetics brand preparing for a significant national retail launch across mass retail, DTC/e-commerce, Amazon, TikTok Shop, and other key retail channels.

As we scale, we are looking for a highly hands-on and commercially minded Finance Controller to build and oversee the accounting and financial infrastructure of the organization. This role will have ownership of the day-to-day accounting function while partnering closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, and Leadership to ensure we have accurate, timely, and actionable financial information.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys building systems, bringing structure to a high-growth environment, and getting into the details of inventory, manufacturing costs, COGS, margins, and profitability by SKU and channel.

The Role

The Controller will oversee all accounting operations for the company, with a particular focus on monthly close, reconciliations, inventory accounting, manufacturing costs, BOMs, landed costs, COGS, gross margins, and financial reporting.

The ideal candidate is both a strong accountant and a business partner — someone who can reconcile a balance sheet account, understand why a product's gross margin changed, identify discrepancies in inventory or landed costs, and translate the findings into clear recommendations for the business.

This is a hands-on role in a growing organization, and the successful candidate will have the opportunity to build and improve the company's accounting processes, controls, systems, and reporting infrastructure as the business scales.

Key Responsibilities

Accounting & Month-End Close

• Own the day-to-day accounting function and ensure the company's books are accurate, complete, and up to date.
• Manage and execute the monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes.
• Establish and maintain a disciplined monthly close calendar and ensure timely completion of all close activities.
• Prepare and/or review monthly journal entries, accruals, prepaids, fixed assets, amortization, and other accounting adjustments.
• Perform and oversee monthly balance sheet reconciliations, including cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, prepaid expenses, accrued liabilities, and other key accounts.
• Investigate and resolve unusual or reconciling items.
• Maintain a clean and well-supported general ledger.
• Ensure accounting policies and procedures are consistently applied.
• Coordinate with external accountants, auditors, tax advisors, and other external financial partners as required.
• Take ownership of inventory accounting and COGS, including raw materials, packaging, finished goods, and work-in-process where applicable.
• Develop and maintain accurate Bill of Materials (BOMs) and standard/product costs.
• Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to ensure product costs accurately reflect actual manufacturing economics.
• Analyze standard vs. actual costs and investigate significant variances.
• Manage accounting for contract manufacturing, co-manufacturing, and third-party production partners.
• Review purchase orders, production costs, manufacturing invoices, and inventory movements for accuracy.
• Ensure inventory receipts, transfers, adjustments, write-offs, and cycle counts are properly reflected in the accounting system.
• Perform regular inventory reconciliations between the ERP/accounting system and third-party warehouses/3PLs/manufacturers.
• Monitor inventory reserves, obsolescence, damaged/expired inventory, and other inventory-related adjustments.
• Develop robust reporting around SKU-level COGS and gross margin.

Landed Cost & Margin Analysis

• Own the company's landed cost methodology, including product cost, freight, duties, tariffs, brokerage, customs, and other costs required to bring inventory to its final destination.
• Analyze landed costs by SKU, vendor, purchase order, shipment, and/or production run.
• Ensure landed costs are accurately allocated to inventory and ultimately COGS.
• Monitor changes in freight, duties, manufacturing costs, packaging, and other inputs that impact product margins.
• Build and maintain SKU-level gross margin analysis.
• Analyze gross margin by product, customer, sales channel, and geography.
• Identify margin compression and provide recommendations to Leadership and Operations.
• Support pricing decisions by providing accurate product cost and margin information.

Oversee the accounting and reconciliation processes associated with multiple sales channels, including:

• Mass retail / wholesale
• DTC / e-commerce
• Amazon
• TikTok Shop
• Other marketplaces and digital channels

Responsibilities will include:

• Reconcile sales and settlement reports from each platform/channel to the general ledger.
• Ensure sales, discounts, returns, refunds, shipping, fees, commissions, and other channel-specific transactions are properly recorded.
• Reconcile Amazon and other marketplace settlements.
• Monitor retailer deductions, chargebacks, allowances, co-op, promotions, and other retail-related deductions.
• Ensure accounts receivable and retailer balances are accurate and collectible.
• Partner with Sales/Commercial teams to understand customer-specific terms and their financial impact.
• Prepare accurate monthly financial statements, including P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow.
• Provide monthly reporting packages to Leadership.
• Develop meaningful financial reporting around:
• Revenue
• Gross profit
• Gross margin %
• COGS
• Working capital
• Accounts receivable
• Accounts payable
• Provide analysis and explanations of monthly variances versus budget, forecast, and prior periods.
• Help Leadership understand the financial implications of operational and commercial decisions.
• Support budgeting, forecasting, cash-flow planning, and financial modeling.

Systems, Controls & Process Improvement

• Establish scalable accounting processes and internal controls as the company grows.
• Evaluate and improve accounting workflows, systems, and reporting.
• Help implement and/or optimize ERP, inventory management, e-commerce, retail, and financial reporting systems.
• Develop processes to ensure data flows accurately between operational systems and the accounting system.
• Automate manual reconciliations and reporting wherever possible.
• Build a strong foundation for future growth, audit readiness, and eventual expansion of the Finance team.
• Document accounting policies, procedures, and key controls.

What We're Looking For

Required

• 7+ years of progressive accounting/finance experience, ideally including Controller, Assistant Controller, Accounting Manager, or senior accounting experience.
• Strong understanding of GAAP and accrual accounting.
• Experience in a high-growth startup or emerging consumer brand.
• Experience with national mass retail.
• Experience with Amazon Seller/Vendor Central and/or TikTok Shop.
• Experience working with 3PLs and contract manufacturers.
• Experience implementing or optimizing an ERP/accounting system.
• Experience with NetSuite
• Significant experience with inventory accounting and COGS.
• Experience building SKU-level and channel-level profitability reporting.
• Experience with manufacturing, consumer products, beauty, cosmetics, CPG, or another inventory-intensive business.
• Strong understanding of BOMs, standard costing, actual costing, inventory valuation, and cost variances.
• Experience with landed cost calculations and analysis.
• Demonstrated experience owning or managing a monthly close process.
• Strong balance sheet reconciliation experience.
• Experience working with multiple sales channels, preferably including retail, DTC, Amazon, and/or marketplaces.
• Advanced Excel/Google Sheets skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• High attention to detail without losing sight of the bigger business picture.
• Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.