Controller Finance Manager Jobs in Iowa (NOW HIRING)

SuperSummary is transforming how millions of readers discover, understand, and connect with books. We're building the world's most comprehensive literature platform - combining nearly 10,000 expert-crafted Study Guides with interactive, innovative tools that make reading more engaging, rewarding, and fun. Beyond summaries, our paid subscription offers chapter-by-chapter analysis, character breakdowns, themes and symbols exploration, thought-provoking discussion questions, and interactive quizzes. Our growing suite of AI-powered features helps readers engage more deeply with texts, whether they're students tackling assignments, teachers preparing lessons, book clubs seeking richer conversations, or lifelong learners exploring new genres.

Founded over a decade ago, SuperSummary's website and mobile app has become a trusted, go-to resource for curious readers worldwide. We're part of the Lift Ventures portfolio of EdTech brands (with over 250 million consumers reached to date) and are a fully remote, global team united by curiosity, creativity, and a shared love of learning.

SuperSummary is looking for an experienced, hands-on Finance Manager to become the financial backbone of our business. Reporting to the CEO and partnering with our VP of Operations, you will drive the financial planning, analysis, and business partnership that shape how we invest, grow, and operate - while owning the accounting function that keeps it all accurate.

This role is FP&A- and partnership-first but full-spectrum. You'll build the annual budget and rolling forecasts, run scenario modeling as a monthly rhythm, own subscription KPI reporting (MRR, ARR, churn, LTV, CAC), and serve as the financial voice in leadership and operating decisions - and you'll also own the accounting function end-to-end: monthly close, revenue recognition under ASC 606, ChargeBee and Stripe billing operations, and managing our bookkeeper. You'll help evaluate, automate, and modernize our financial tools and workflows, including AI-assisted reconciliation and reporting.

The ideal candidate has built or run the finance function at a SaaS or subscription business and is equally comfortable building a rolling forecast or presenting variance analysis to the CEO as they are closing the books. You understand the nuances of consumer subscription economics - revenue recognition, deferred revenue, chargebacks, and the metrics that matter. You're looking for a seat at the table, not just a seat behind a spreadsheet.

This is a part-time position for 10-20 hours per week.

• Build and maintain the annual budget and rolling revenue forecasts, translating business strategy into financial models
• Conduct monthly and quarterly variance analysis (actual vs. budget) and surface insights that drive action
• Track and report on SaaS-specific metrics: MRR/ARR, churn, LTV, CAC, payback period, and net dollar retention
• Prepare leadership financial reporting and dashboards that tell a clear story
• Run scenario modeling as a monthly rhythm - including reverse-engineered analyses like "what would we have to believe to hit [a profit target]" - so leadership can make investment and cost decisions with the right context, not just when a big question comes up

• Embed with the leadership team - attend weekly and monthly meetings, serve as the financial voice in operational decisions
• Partner closely with the VP of Operations on an ongoing basis - providing financial context that shapes operating decisions and translating operational reality back into forecasts, models, and resource plans
• Partner directly with department heads (content, product, marketing) on quarterly budget reviews, spend tracking, and resource allocation
• Provide ad-hoc financial analysis to support cross-functional decisions
• Coach non-finance stakeholders to understand and use financial data effectively
• Support strategic initiatives and long-range planning across the business

• Own the monthly close process end-to-end, ensuring accurate and timely financial statements (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow)
• Manage revenue recognition under ASC 606 / IFRS 15, including deferred revenue, chargebacks, cancellations, and prior-period adjustments
• Oversee billing platform operations (ChargeBee and Stripe), becoming the in-house expert on how subscription data flows into the general ledger
• Manage our bookkeeper to ensure accurate day-to-day bookkeeping, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and general ledger activity
• Maintain audit-readiness and coordinate with external tax advisors on annual compliance
• Build and document internal controls appropriate for our size and stage

• Evaluate and recommend improvements to financial tools and workflows (ERP, billing, reporting)
• Identify opportunities to automate manual processes, including AI-assisted reconciliation and reporting
• Create runbooks and documentation for repeatable finance processes to build institutional knowledge

• Forecasting Rebuild: Stand up a monthly scenario-modeling cadence - including "what would we have to believe to hit $X profit" style reverse-engineering - so investment and cost-cutting decisions get made with the right context
• Leadership Reporting & Budget Cadence: Redesign the monthly and quarterly financial reporting package and launch a quarterly budget review cadence with the executive team - combining financial statements, SaaS metrics, spend-vs-budget dashboards, standardized templates, and narrative commentary into a clear, leadership-ready story that drives resource reallocation decisions
• Content Investment Analysis: Build a financial framework for evaluating content spend ROI - linking content production costs to subscriber acquisition, engagement, and retention to help the content team prioritize where to invest
• Product Squad Cost-to-Value Model: Work with the Head of Product to create a repeatable model that maps product squad expenses to business outcomes, enabling data-driven decisions about team structure and resource allocation
• ChargeBee Deep Dive: Become the in-house expert on our billing platform - audit the current integration with the GL, document how subscription events (new, renewal, cancellation, chargeback) flow through revenue recognition, and build a troubleshooting guide for edge cases like prior-period adjustments
• Revenue Recognition Automation: Evaluate and implement improvements to the rev rec process, reducing manual effort and improving accuracy through better ChargeBee-to-GL integration and automated reconciliation workflows

Requirements

• 8+ years of progressive finance and accounting experience, with meaningful time at a SaaS or subscription-based business
• Hands-on FP&A depth: budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and financial modeling are your core toolkit - you build driver-based models and rolling forecasts from scratch, not just tweak templates
• A track record of turning numbers into decisions: scenario modeling, leadership reporting, and partnering with non-finance leaders on operating and investment choices
• Fluency in SaaS/subscription metrics - MRR/ARR, churn, LTV, CAC, payback, and net dollar retention - and the consumer subscription economics behind them
• Controller-level accounting foundation: you've owned or closely overseen monthly close and revenue recognition (ASC 606 or IFRS 15), so you can run the accounting function, not just analyze its output
• Proficiency with subscription billing platforms (ChargeBee, Stripe, Recurly, or similar) and accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero, or NetSuite)
• Experience with consumer or self-serve subscription models (high-volume, low-ACV)
• Experience working at a startup or high-growth company under $25M in revenue, where you wore multiple hats and operated as a generalist
• Strong English communication skills - you can present financial insights clearly to non-finance stakeholders and hold your own in leadership meetings
• A collaborative, confident communicator who thrives in a fully remote environment - you seek out cross-functional partnership rather than waiting for requests to come to you
• CPA, CMA, or equivalent professional certification, direct experience with ChargeBee, and comfort leveraging AI tools for financial analysis are all strong pluses

Benefits

• Work with a distributed, global team in Latin America, Europe, and the US that has been remote-first since 2018

• Competitive salary, benefits, and vacation policy
• Workspace improvement stipend
• Professional development and learning stipend

Remote - Americas time zones (Latin America, US, or Canada).

SuperSummary supports workplace diversity and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, national origin, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, or any other protected class.

We welcome diverse perspectives and are dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone can grow and thrive. We understand that candidates may not meet every requirement in the job description, but we strongly encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply. If you're passionate about this role and our mission, even if your experience doesn't perfectly match, we'd love to hear from you.