Assistant Controller

Lifted Trucks • Glendale, AZ

6d • Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Controller is the right hand to the Controller and a key leader within the corporate accounting team. This role owns the recurring accounting cycle across a multi-state dealership group — reconciliations, month-end close, expense review, tax and regulatory filings, and audit support — while partnering closely with store management and corporate departments to keep the financials clean, timely, and defensible. This is a hands-on position with real ownership. The right candidate has lived through the rhythm of dealership accounting, understands how multi-state operations complicate everything from sales tax to licensing, and is comfortable both in the detail and in the conversation that resolves it.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Five or more years of progressive accounting experience, including significant time in the automotive dealership industry.
• Hands-on experience supporting a multi-state, multi-location dealership group.
• Demonstrated ownership of bank and sales tax reconciliations, month-end close, and expense review.
• Experience supporting quarterly and year-end audits and annual reporting cycles.
• Working knowledge of the unclaimed property / escheatment process.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of working effectively across departments and building durable internal relationships.
• Advanced Excel skills and comfort working in a dealership management system (DMS).

Nice To Haves

• Active CPA license (or CPA candidate).
• Experience setting up and opening new dealership locations, including dealer licensing and state/local registrations.
• Experience with multi-entity consolidations and intercompany accounting.
• Prior supervisory experience within a corporate accounting office.
• Familiarity with dealership platforms such as CDK, Reynolds & Reynolds, Dealertrack, or Tekion.

Responsibilities

• Own and review daily and monthly bank reconciliations across all store and corporate accounts, ensuring reconciling items are researched and cleared timely.
• Reconcile sales tax liability accounts across multiple states and jurisdictions, coordinate accurate and on-time filings, and resolve notices and discrepancies with taxing authorities.
• Maintain a disciplined schedule of account reconciliations, with supporting documentation and clear aging of open items.
• Manage the annual unclaimed property process end to end: identification, due diligence letters, escheatment reporting, and multi-state filing compliance.
• Oversight of all schedule and balance sheet items and assistance in keeping a pristine balance sheet.
• Drive the month-end close calendar, coordinating deliverables across store-level and corporate accounting staff to close on schedule.
• Prepare and review journal entries, accruals, prepaids, and intercompany activity.
• Perform detailed expense review and variance analysis by store and department; investigate anomalies and partner with operations to correct root causes rather than just the entry.
• Review financial statements for accuracy and consistency across stores before release to management and the manufacturer/lender reporting packages.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for quarterly and year-end audits — prepare schedules, pull support, respond to auditor requests, and track open items to resolution.
• Support annual reporting requirements, including financial statement preparation support, lender and floorplan reporting, and tax package preparation for external accountants.
• Maintain and strengthen internal controls over cash, inventory, deal accounting, and expense approval; document procedures and recommend improvements.
• Assist with state and local regulatory filings and registrations across the group’s operating footprint.
• Support the accounting and administrative setup of new dealership locations — entity and account structure, chart of accounts mapping, DMS setup, and banking.
• Manage dealer licensing, business registrations, sales tax permits, and related state and municipal filings required to open and operate in new markets.
• Coordinate with operations, HR, IT, and outside counsel to hit opening timelines, and keep a repeatable checklist so each opening is faster than the last.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with store controllers, office managers, sales and F&I leadership, HR, and IT.
• Translate accounting requirements into plain language for non-financial partners, and act as a trusted resource when the stores have questions.
• Mentor and develop accounting staff; review work, provide feedback, and help build bench strength as the company grows.
• Step in for the Controller as needed and take on special projects and process improvement initiatives.

Benefits

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance available after 60 days of employment, featuring a generous employer subsidy to reduce employee premium costs.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with an attractive employer matching contribution after one year of service.
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) options, dependent on the selected medical plan.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for confidential support services.
• Additional voluntary benefits, including Life Insurance, Pet Insurance, Identity Theft Protection, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, etc.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level