- Full Time
- Austin TX
Website protisglobal Protis Global
Smart Talent Strategies for Consumer Brands
Our company is looking for a technically strong yet strategic and commercial CAO who can help support the company’s rapid growth and potential IPO. Reporting directly to the CFO, the CAO will be responsible for building a best-in-class and public ready accounting and controls organization. Over the next 12-18 months, the CAO will partner and lead a SOX compliance initiative, evaluate and upgrade ERP and financial reporting systems, and prepare our company for a potential IPO.
The CAO will be responsible for all activities including financial reporting (internal and external), tax compliance, international and intercompany accounting and consolidations, treasury and audit management.
The CAO will work collaboratively with other team members in finance, in addition to regular interaction with other departments and leadership throughout the organization. The ability to manage day-to-day accounting and reporting activities, process improvements, and other strategic initiatives while meeting key deadlines is critical for success. The successful candidate will present a strong technical foundation, but also can effectively partner across the business and with the CFO to drive top and bottom line growth.
As a leader, the CAO will be a hands-on member of the team and possess a roll-up-the-sleeves mentality. The CAO will serve as a visible mentor throughout the organization and will build a high performing, diverse and inclusive team. Internally, the CAO will partner closely with his/her team on a variety of process improvement initiatives while simultaneously seeking to continually upskill and coach talent from within. Externally, the CAO will be a commercial business partner to the CFO and broader team as the business scales.
Leadership
- As a trusted partner to the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Leadership team, the Chief Accounting Officer will serve as a key member of the finance leadership team and drive cross functional initiatives to support the growth and success of the company. The ability to both collaborate together and divide and conquer, will be necessary to achieve the company’s goals.
- Lead and continue to build out the global accounting team.
- Develop a highly disciplined and capable accounting department through development of staff. Foster a climate of accountability for results through skills enhancement, coaching, performance measurement and feedback.
- Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.
- Drive IPO readiness initiatives.
Audit
- Own the relationship and be primary liaison with external auditors.
- Drive quarterly reviews and annual audit of financial statements with accompanying disclosures and notes in accordance with US GAAP.
- Establish the internal audit function and audit committee of the Board of Directors.
Controllership
- Manage the financial close process.
- Direct the accounting operations and the activities within the General ledger.
- Review and approve financial statements and ensure they are accurate and free of any errors.
- Assess current accounting operations, offering recommendations for improvement and implementing comprehensive processes and internal controls for domestic and international entities.
- Assist in explaining month and period to date variance analysis
- Develop and publish monthly management and operational executive reporting that facilitates operational and financial controls and business optimization.
Tax
- Address global growth ambitions in a tax efficient manner.
- Assist in setting and overseeing our transfer pricing structure.
- Establish income and transactional nexus evaluations for North America.
- Coordinate with tax consultants to adhere to deadlines and comply with federal, state and provincial tax reporting.
- Establish and monitor third party sales and use tax provider for collection, assessment and reporting or sales and use tax in each state and province where the company has nexus.
Drive Key Strategic Initiatives
- Partner with the CFO to determine accounting and tax implications for all material business decisions.
- Ensure working capital is optimized through proper management of inventory, accounts receivable and accounts payable.
- Develop and monitor business performance metrics.
- Drive cross-functional collaboration with the broader organization.
- Assess and lead continuous improvement of the company’s current ERP system.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of accounting and financial reporting software and supporting database, as needed.
- Support annual corporate planning process with cash, capital and interest expense forecast.
- Develop accounting policies, procedures and associated internal controls for all entities.
- Support M&A activity by understanding accounting and tax implications and playing key leadership role in M&A integration activities
- Complete other tasks as requested by CFO.
Qualifications
Technical Acumen: 15+ years of progressive controllership experience within a publicly traded company culminating in serving as a Chief Accounting Officer or Controller. Experience leading financial reporting, accounting policy, controls, financial systems, and audit. Tax and Treasury experience preferred. Big 4 foundation is highly preferred. CPA and Undergraduate degree required, Master’s degree a plus.
IPO Readiness: Experience helping prepare and guide a company through an initial public offering preferred.
Business Partnership: Demonstrated experience partnering with leadership, and in particular the CFO, on a range of strategic initiatives as a business evolves and scales.
Transformational Leadership: Entrepreneurial, scrappy, and hands on leader who has scaled people, process, and systems during a high growth phase. Ability to introduce best-in-class process, discipline and financial rigor without negatively impacting creativity or growth. Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Systems and Process Improvement: Experience implementing systems and policies and a strong knowledge of the ERP environment.
Relevant Sector/Industry Experience: Experience in CPG or Food and Beverage preferred. Knowledge of Inventory Management, Process and Cost Accounting. Best athletes with agility to transition to new industries/businesses will also be considered – particularly those with inventory-based industry backgrounds.