Fuels Controller Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Position Summary

The Controller is the senior accounting leader responsible for the integrity, timeliness, and control of eFUEL’s accounting operations, financial reporting, budgeting, and compliance processes. This role requires a hands-on operator with strong fuel distribution or related asset-based/logistics experience, demonstrated Controller-level financial leadership, and the ability to manage Billing, Accounts Payable, Credit & Collections, financial reporting, internal controls, and SOX-like compliance disciplines.

Business Context for This Role

• eFUEL operates in a high-volume fuel distribution environment that includes CFN and Pacific Pride cardlock activities, bobtail and light-duty fuel delivery, and full truckload fuel deliveries.
• The Controller must understand the operational accounting implications of fuel inventory, gallons, margins, taxes and fees, customer billing accuracy, fuel delivery documentation, credit holds, collections discipline, and site-level operational controls.
• The role is expected to be both strategic and detail-oriented: capable of advising the CFO and executive team while personally ensuring that journal entries, reconciliations, financial statements, and close controls are reviewed with sufficient precision.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Reporting, Close, and Technical Accounting

• Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual close process, including close calendar management, account reconciliations, journal entry review, accruals, variance review, and timely issuance of financial statements.
• Prepare and review GAAP-compliant financial statements and supporting schedules for CFO, executive, lender, audit, and ownership reporting.
• Ensure significant or unusual journal entries are independently reviewed, adequately supported, properly approved, and consistent with GAAP and company policy.
• Develop a disciplined financial statement review process that identifies errors before reports are distributed to management.

Accounting Operations Leadership

• Direct and develop the Billing, Accounts Payable, Credit & Collections, general ledger, and accounting support functions.
• Establish clear expectations for staff workpapers, reconciliations, supporting documentation, review sign-offs, and escalation of exceptions.
• Partner with Operations, Sales, Dispatch, Plant Managers, and IT to ensure transaction flow from delivery, billing, cash application, AP, and inventory systems is accurate and controlled.
• Manage performance, training, workload allocation, and accountability for accounting department team members.

Fuel Distribution Accounting and Controls

• Oversee fuel inventory accounting, gallons-to-dollars reconciliations, rack/supplier invoice review, freight and delivery cost treatment, shrink/loss analysis, and margin reporting support.
• Ensure cardlock and delivered-fuel transactions are billed accurately, supported by appropriate documentation, and reconciled between operational and accounting systems.
• Support compliance with fuel-related taxes, fees, exemptions, resale documentation, and reporting processes in coordination with the tax/compliance function.
• Identify process gaps in fuel accounting workflows and implement practical controls to reduce billing, inventory, tax, and credit risk.

Internal Controls, SOX / SOX-like Compliance, and Audit Readiness

• Design, implement, and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting, cash receipts, AP disbursements, credit approvals, billing, inventory, and journal entries.
• Maintain control narratives, approval matrices, segregation-of-duties documentation, and evidence of review suitable for audit and SOX/SOX-like compliance expectations.
• Lead internal and external audit support, including PBC coordination, issue remediation, and timely follow-up on control findings.
• Escalate control breakdowns, repeat exceptions, or unsupported accounting treatment to the CFO promptly and with documented facts.

Budgeting, Forecasting, Analysis, and Executive Support

• Lead annual budgeting and periodic forecasting in partnership with the CFO and department leaders.
• Prepare meaningful variance analysis that quantifies drivers by dollar amount, percentage, gallon volume, margin, site, department, or customer segment as applicable.
• Support leadership decision-making with accurate reporting, trend analysis, KPI development, and financial insight tied to business operations.
• Provide recommendations for profitability improvement, cost control, working capital management, and accounting process automation.

Systems, ERP, Automation, and Data Integrity

• Serve as a functional accounting leader for ERP, billing, AP, credit/collections, reporting, and automation initiatives.
• Ensure accounting master data, chart of accounts, approval workflows, reporting logic, and transactional interfaces are controlled and reliable.
• Evaluate opportunities to improve efficiency through reporting tools, workflow automation, AI-assisted review, and stronger exception reporting while maintaining appropriate controls.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field required; CPA, CMA, or MBA strongly preferred.
• Minimum 8–10 years of progressive accounting and finance experience, including at least 5 years in a Controller, Assistant Controller, Accounting Director, or similar senior accounting leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience managing Billing, Accounts Payable, Credit & Collections, financial reporting, month-end close, budgeting, and audit support.
• Strong GAAP knowledge and proven ability to review financial statements, journal entries, reconciliations, and supporting schedules with accuracy and professional skepticism.
• Fuel distribution, petroleum marketer/jobber, cardlock, transportation/logistics, wholesale distribution, or similar asset-based operational accounting experience strongly preferred
• SOX, SOX-like internal control, public company, private-equity, lender reporting, or audit-ready control environment experience preferred.
• Advanced Excel and accounting systems capability required; experience with ERP implementations, reporting tools, dashboards, AI and workflow automation preferred.