Controller - Path to VP (Manufacturing)

This is a rare opportunity to step into a hands-on Controller seat with a direct, stated path to VP Finance and eventually CFO, working side by side with the company's long-tenured finance leader as she transitions into a director and strategy role. The company has doubled revenue in under three years, is projecting $50 million next year, and recently signed a licensing partnership that puts a brand's name on client projects. The person who takes this on will build the future financial infrastructure, a bonus plan, and a project accounting discipline that has never existed here, with genuine ownership of how it's built.

COMPANY

• Leading manufacturer in their space, headquartered in Mississauga, ON
• Roughly 75 to 77 employees; manufacturing runs two shifts, supported by a design engineering group and a small, flat finance/admin team
• Privately held with three active owners
• Revenue approaching $40 million this fiscal year, projected to reach $50 million next year; revenue has roughly doubled over the past several years
• Exports approximately 98% of sales to the US; recently opened a US corporate entity to support growth there
• Entrepreneurial, fast-paced culture with a direct, hands-on leadership style

COMPENSATION PACKAGE

• Base salary: $150,000 to $185,000 to start, flexible for the right candidate, with a stated path toward $200,000 as scope and impact grow for exceptional candidates
• Bonus: no formal bonus plan currently exists; designing and implementing a profitability and EBITDA-based bonus structure is one of this role's first strategic assignments
• Vehicle allowance and RSP contribution: available, structure flexible based on candidate
• Schedule: full time, in-office, 5 days a week

ADVANTAGES

• Defined Succession Path. This role carries a clear, stated runway to VP Finance and CFO as the current finance leader steps into a director and strategy role.
• Ownership of a Blank Slate. There is no existing bonus plan, rigid process, or legacy system to work around, so this person builds the finance function largely from the ground up.
• Direct Access to Ownership. This person works side by side with active, hands-on owners rather than through layers of management that don't exist here.
• Explosive, Real Growth. Revenue has doubled in under three years and is projected to reach $50 million next year, driven by reputation rather than one-off wins.
• High-Profile Brand Association. A newly signed licensing partnership with a major brand gives this company's projects visibility most manufacturers in this space don't have.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

This is not a traditional Controller role limited to close and compliance. It is a hands-on financial leadership seat inside a company that has outgrown its own systems, with a stated mandate to build what doesn't exist yet and eventually take over the CFO function entirely.

• Learn and own project accounting and project costing across the business; this is the single most important technical foundation for the role
• Take over day-to-day financial reporting, month-end and year-end close, and bank and government reporting currently managed by the company's finance leader
• Own general ledger integrity, journal entry review, and account reconciliation sign-off
• Design, document, and maintain internal controls and accounting processes appropriate to a scaling private manufacturer
• Manage cash flow forecasting, banking relationships, and foreign exchange exposure given the high volume of US-denominated sales
• Own job costing methodology, work-in-progress tracking, and variance analysis between estimated and actual project costs
• Lead the annual budgeting process and ongoing budget-to-actual variance analysis
• Build and maintain a monthly management reporting package with meaningful KPIs, an area the business does not currently have in place
• Track fixed assets and capital expenditures, including planned investment in manufacturing automation
• Coordinate sales tax and cross-border compliance considerations tied to the company's new US corporate entity
• Oversee the outsourced US accounting firm supporting the company's new US corporate entity, expected within the first 12 months
• Manage and mentor existing accounting and administrative staff, including a senior accountant and a service/contracts coordinator
• Design and implement a profitability and EBITDA-based bonus plan, targeted to begin after year one
• Identify and implement process, systems, and controls improvements, and follow through until changes hold, rather than flagging issues and handing them off
• Contribute financial analysis to a future ERP evaluation; Microsoft Dynamics has been explored previously
• Support cost analysis on manufacturing automation and equipment investment initiatives
• Partner directly with ownership on strategic decisions as the company scales toward $100 million in revenue

IDEAL CANDIDATE

• CPA required
• Minimum 7+ years of progressive financial accounting and FP&A experience, ideally including project-based costing
• Background in manufacturing or construction, where projects, not just transactions, drive the numbers
• Experience gained at an organization larger and more structurally mature than this one; expected to bring systems and processes that don't yet exist here
• A track record of implementing fixes and following through until they hold, not just identifying problems and handing them off
• High energy
• Confident and decisive, unafraid to make and own mistakes in a fast-moving, direct environment
• Comfortable communicating across a wide range of stakeholders, from high-net-worth clients to construction crews and tradespeople
• Motivated by ownership and a long runway rather than a static, clearly defined controller job
• Not a fit: candidates who are largely strategic or C-suite in orientation with limited hands-on execution, or who need significant structure and support to be effective