Controller

Hibernia Nursery
Location: Webster, Florida
Position Type: Full-Time | On-Site

About Hibernia Nursery

Hibernia Nursery is a growing wholesale nursery and landscape supply organization serving landscape contractors, garden centers, and industry partners throughout Florida and markets across the Southeast and Texas.

As our organization continues to grow, we are looking for an experienced, highly organized Controller to lead our accounting and financial operations. This position will work closely with ownership and senior management and will play an important role in improving financial reporting, accountability, cash management, job costing, inventory controls, and overall business performance.

This is a hands-on leadership position for someone who can both manage the accounting function and dig into the details when necessary.

Position Summary

The Controller will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day accounting and financial operations of Hibernia Nursery and its related companies.

The ideal candidate will ensure that financial information is accurate, timely, and useful to management while developing stronger processes and internal controls as the company continues to expand.

This person should be comfortable working in a fast-paced operational environment involving multiple companies, inventory, wholesale sales, purchasing, payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, equipment, trucking, agriculture, and seasonal labor.

The Controller will report directly to ownership/executive management and supervise members of the accounting and administrative team.

Key ResponsibilitiesFinancial Reporting & Accounting

• Oversee the accounting functions for Hibernia Nursery and affiliated companies.
• Manage the monthly, quarterly, and year-end financial close.
• Prepare accurate and timely Profit & Loss Statements, Balance Sheets, Cash Flow Statements, and management reports.
• Maintain and reconcile the general ledger.
• Ensure proper accounting between multiple related business entities.
• Review intercompany transactions and balances.
• Monitor revenue, expenses, margins, and profitability by company and business segment.
• Identify unusual trends, discrepancies, or financial risks and bring them to management's attention.
• Work with ownership to develop meaningful KPIs and financial dashboards.

Accounts Receivable & Credit Management

• Oversee customer accounts receivable and collections.
• Monitor aging reports and identify delinquent accounts.
• Maintain and enforce customer credit limits and payment terms.
• Review new customer credit applications.
• Coordinate with sales management regarding customers that are over their credit limit or past due.
• Maintain appropriate documentation for customer accounts and credit decisions.
• Help reduce bad debt and improve Days Sales Outstanding and overall cash collection.

Accounts Payable & Cash Management

• Oversee vendor invoices and accounts payable.
• Ensure invoices are properly approved, coded, and assigned to the correct company.
• Monitor upcoming payment obligations and cash requirements.
• Review bank balances and cash flow regularly.
• Assist ownership with cash-flow forecasting and working-capital planning.
• Maintain proper controls around ACH payments, checks, credit cards, and other disbursements.
• Review vendor statements and resolve discrepancies.

Payroll & Employee-Related Accounting

• Oversee payroll accounting and payroll reconciliations.
• Coordinate with payroll providers and HR/management as necessary.
• Review payroll expenses, labor allocation, and overtime.
• Assist with accounting related to H-2A labor programs and seasonal employees.
• Support workers' compensation audits, payroll audits, and insurance renewals.
• Maintain appropriate payroll-related financial records.

Inventory & Cost Accounting

• Work with nursery operations and management to improve inventory accounting and accuracy.
• Monitor inventory valuation and inventory adjustments.
• Help establish appropriate procedures for inventory counts and reconciliation.
• Analyze inventory levels, turns, shrinkage, and slow-moving inventory.
• Assist management in understanding product cost, gross margin, rate of sale, and profitability by product category.
• Help identify inventory surpluses and shortages using financial and operational data.
• Improve visibility into production costs and cost per unit.

Internal Controls & Process Improvement

• Develop and maintain strong accounting policies and internal controls.
• Establish clear approval processes for purchasing, invoicing, payments, credits, and adjustments.
• Separate accounting responsibilities appropriately to reduce errors and financial risk.
• Document accounting procedures and develop SOPs where needed.
• Identify inefficient manual processes and recommend opportunities for automation.
• Help integrate accounting information with operational systems and reporting platforms.

Budgeting & Financial Planning

• Lead the annual budgeting process.
• Develop forecasts for revenue, expenses, payroll, capital expenditures, and cash flow.
• Compare actual results against budget and explain significant variances.
• Assist management with financial modeling for expansion projects, equipment purchases, facilities, labor programs, and other investments.
• Provide financial analysis to help ownership evaluate major business decisions.

Banking, Insurance, Tax & Compliance

• Maintain relationships with banks, lenders, insurance providers, CPAs, and other financial partners.
• Assist with lines of credit and other financing relationships.
• Coordinate information needed for annual tax preparation with outside CPA firms.
• Support financial audits, insurance audits, and regulatory reporting.
• Maintain appropriate financial records and documentation.
• Assist with fixed-asset accounting and depreciation schedules.
• Ensure sales tax and other applicable filings are completed accurately and timely.

Team Leadership

• Supervise and support accounting and administrative personnel.
• Establish clear responsibilities and accountability within the accounting department.
• Review work for accuracy and completeness.
• Train employees on accounting procedures and internal controls.
• Create an organized, deadline-driven accounting department capable of supporting continued company growth.

Systems & Technology

The ideal candidate should be comfortable working with modern accounting and reporting technology.

Experience with the following is strongly preferred:

• QuickBooks Online Advanced
• Microsoft Excel
• Google Sheets
• Payroll systems such as ADP
• Microsoft Power BI or similar business-intelligence software
• Inventory or ERP systems
• CRM and operational management platforms
• Multi-company accounting environments

Advanced Excel skills, including PivotTables, lookup formulas, financial models, and data analysis, are highly desirable.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field preferred.
• 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, preferably including Controller, Assistant Controller, Accounting Manager, or similar responsibility.
• Strong understanding of GAAP and general accounting principles.
• Experience managing the complete accounting cycle.
• Experience with accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, banking, and financial reporting.
• Experience overseeing multiple companies or business entities is strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to establish systems, procedures, and accountability.
• Comfortable communicating directly with ownership and senior management.
• Ability to explain financial information in practical business terms.
• Strong leadership skills and willingness to hold team members accountable.
• Ability to work independently and prioritize multiple deadlines.

CPA or CMA designation is a plus but is not required.

Experience in agriculture, wholesale distribution, nursery operations, landscaping, construction, manufacturing, inventory-based businesses, or other operational companies is highly desirable.

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for more than someone who can simply produce financial statements.

The right Controller will:

• Understand the numbers behind the business.
• Question inconsistencies and investigate problems.
• Help management understand where the company is making or losing money.
• Improve cash-flow visibility.
• Strengthen credit and collection procedures.
• Improve inventory and cost controls.
• Create accountability throughout the accounting department.
• Build systems that allow the company to continue growing.
• Be willing to get involved in the details while still seeing the larger financial picture.

This position will have significant interaction with ownership and will have the opportunity to make a measurable impact on the future growth of Hibernia Nursery.

Schedule

Full-Time, On-Site
Webster, Florida

This position requires regular in-person collaboration with ownership, accounting, sales, and nursery operations.

Compensation

Competitive salary based on experience and qualifications.

Benefits and additional compensation will be discussed during the interview process.

Apply

Qualified candidates should submit a résumé highlighting their experience with financial reporting, accounting leadership, multi-company accounting, inventory-based businesses, and process improvement.

Hibernia Nursery is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Pay: $60,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person