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Corporate Controller

Private-equity-backed structural steel platform | South Central Indiana

Industry: Structural steel fabrication

Ownership: Private equity sponsor, post-platform-acquisition

Stage: Early operational transformation

Location: South Central Indiana, on-site

Reports to: President and PE sponsor, with Board exposure

Scope: HoldCo with three operating companies

THE COMPANY

A structural steel fabricator headquartered in central Indiana, backed by an experienced private family office sponsor and is in the early stages of a multi-year operational transformation.

The Controller will own the day-to-day accounting and finance function across the group of operating companies. This is a hands-on role. The right candidate is comfortable doing the work, not just supervising it. A CFO will be added later as the platform grows into M&A and exit preparation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Accounting and Monthly Close

• Own the general ledger across both legal entities. Maintain a clean trial balance and reconciled balance sheet.
• Lead the monthly close. Target business-day-15 in the first 90 days, business-day-10 within six months, and business-day-7 by year-end.
• Perform or supervise account reconciliations, journal entries, accruals, and intercompany eliminations between the operating companies.
• Oversee AP and AR processes, vendor onboarding, customer billing, and collections in coordination with the accounting team.

Job-Cost and Work-In-Process Accounting

• Own job-cost accounting across all active fabrication projects. Track estimated cost, actual cost, and estimate-to-actual variance by job.
• Maintain work-in-process accounting and percentage-of-completion revenue recognition. Reconcile WIP monthly with full over and under billings analysis.
• Coordinate with project managers and operations leadership to ensure shop-floor data (PowerFab production status, outside-processor costs, station throughput) and field data (ProjectSite) is captured accurately in financial reporting.
• Track inventory across raw steel, in-process, and finished goods. Run cycle counts and physical inventory procedures.

Lender and Sponsor Reporting

• Own all lender deliverables: monthly financial reporting packages, covenant compliance certificates, borrowing-base certificates, and audit and field-exam coordination.
• Prepare the monthly sponsor reporting package including P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, KPIs, and 13-week cash forecast.
• Maintain the borrowing-base calculation. Accuracy here is non-negotiable. Borrowing-base errors put the credit facility at risk.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for the annual financial statement audit, working with outside auditors on requests, schedules, and adjustments.

Cash and Treasury

• Manage daily cash positioning across operating and real estate entity bank accounts. Maintain the 13-week cash flow forecast.
• Manage benefits accruals and employer tax filings.
• Coordinate with outside tax advisors on federal, state, and local tax compliance, including multi-state nexus, sales and use tax on fabricated materials, and any applicable credits or incentives.

Systems and Process

• Maintain the current accounting system and own data integrity across the GL, job-cost ledger, and AP/AR subledgers.
• Participate actively in the evaluation and implementation of a manufacturing-grade ERP. The Controller will be the finance lead on the ERP project, working alongside operations and the eventual CFO.
• Document accounting policies, close procedures, and internal controls. Build the playbook a successor or expanding team can follow.
• Maintain clean separation between the operating companies, including intercompany journal entries and consolidated reporting.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Required Experience

• 10+ years of progressive accounting experience in a manufacturing, construction, or project-based business, including at least 3 years as a Controller or Assistant Controller.
• Hands-on expertise in job-cost accounting, WIP, and percentage-of-completion revenue recognition. Structural steel, heavy fabrication, machining, or industrial construction experience strongly preferred.
• Direct experience with lender reporting, covenant compliance, borrowing-base certificates, and annual audits.
• Track record of running a monthly close on a tight cadence, including WIP reconciliation and over and under billings analysis.
• Comfortable owning the work, not just reviewing it. This role does not have a large staff to delegate to. The Controller will personally touch journal entries, reconciliations, and reports.

Strongly Preferred

• CPA
• Quickbooks and Vista ERP experience
• Prior exposure to Tekla, PowerFab, or comparable structural steel detailing and production systems.
• Experience operating across multiple legal entities (operating company plus real, sister subs, or post-acquisition integration).
• Experience as part of an ERP implementation, especially in a manufacturing setting.
• Prior experience reporting to a private equity sponsor or institutional lender.

Personal Attributes

• Detail-oriented. Comfortable closing the month while also fielding a lender request and reconciling an inventory variance.
• Direct communicator. Surfaces problems early. Does not paper over reconciliation issues.
• Operationally curious. Willing to walk the shop floor to understand why job costs are running over.
• Builder mindset. Comfortable in an environment where systems and processes are still being put in place.
• Team player/leader; ability to coach finance staff on process improvements and internal controls

CAREER PATH

This role has a defined upward path. The platform's growth thesis includes add-on acquisitions and an eventual exit, which will require a CFO. The Controller who succeeds in this seat is well-positioned to grow into VP Finance or CFO as the platform scales, or to become a senior member of the finance team under an incoming CFO.

COMPENSATION AND PROCESS

Competitive base salary and performance-based annual bonus tied to platform value creation. Specific compensation will be calibrated to the candidate's experience.

Confidentiality is required. All inquiries will be handled discreetly. Qualified candidates should submit a resume and a brief note describing relevant experience to the contact identified in the search materials.

Equal Opportunity Employer.