Controller - Confidential Search

The Company: The client is a founder-led specialty vehicle manufacturer in Boulder, Colorado, with revenue in the high eight figures and a record production year underway. The company is profitable, growing on both coasts, and building the financial infrastructure to match: its first external audit closes fiscal 2026, a second location opens on the West Coast later this year, and an integrated payroll and general ledger platform cuts over in early 2027. The company name is shared with qualified candidates after an initial conversation.

The Role : The Controller owns the accounting function and reports to the founders and the board of advisors. This is a build role in a company moving from founder-run bookkeeping to audit-grade financial operations, and the Controller is the person who makes that transition real: a reliable close, a monthly reporting package the board can act on, controls that hold as headcount and volume double, and ownership of the ERP program that will run the company’s next decade.

Core responsibilities:

• Own the monthly close and deliver the monthly financial reporting package to the founders and board on a fixed calendar.
• Lead the company through its first external financial statement audit, working directly with the outside accounting firm through year-end fieldwork, including reconciliation and accrual cleanup.
• Run manufacturing accounting: inventory, work in process, standard costs, physical counts, and warranty accruals.
• Own the company’s ERP program end to end: lead the selection process, then own the implementation roadmap through a staged go-live. The selection decision is deliberately reserved for this hire; no vendor choice predates you, and outside selection support is engaged at your direction.
• Lead the accounting side of the nearer-term systems transitions: migration from QuickBooks Online to an integrated payroll and general ledger platform with an early 2027 cutover, and an inventory management system implementation alongside it.
• Stand up multi-entity, multi-state accounting as the second location opens, including sales and use tax compliance.
• Build and lead a small accounting team, and establish the internal controls, documentation, and close disciplines an audited company requires.
• Support banking relationships, credit facility diligence, and the financial side of new initiatives as the company grows.

The candidate:

• Eight or more years of progressive accounting experience, including controller or assistant controller responsibility in a manufacturing environment.
• ERP ownership and implementation experience in a manufacturing setting: candidates who have selected a manufacturing ERP and taken it live, or owned an implementation end to end, move to the front of this search.
• CPA strongly preferred; public accounting foundation or company-side experience through a first audit is a meaningful advantage.
• Multi-entity and multi-state exposure, including sales and use tax.
• Comfort in a fast-moving, founder-led environment where the Controller builds process rather than inherits it.

Compensation and Location:

Base salary of $175,000 to $210,000 depending on experience, plus a performance bonus. Benefits include a full package with a 401(k) and company match. The role is based in Boulder, Colorado and works on site at the manufacturing facility.

To Apply:

The search is retained and confidential. Submit a resume in confidence to Seth Joraanstad at [email protected]. All inquiries are held in strict confidence.