Plant Controller

CCL Label•Clinton, NC

13d

About The Position

The Plant Controller leads the financial management of a 24/7 manufacturing facility, overseeing accounting integrity, financial reporting, cost controls, budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis. The role partners with Plant Management, Corporate Finance, and cross-functional teams to provide accurate and timely financial information and to explain the financial impact of production performance, material usage, labor, inventory, scrap, downtime, capital investment, and continuous-improvement activities. The Controller is expected to develop a working knowledge of plant operations and regularly engage with the manufacturing floor. The role supports a four-shift operation involving Furnace/Casting, Press, and Packing, and works with personnel across shifts as needed. Although normal work is during standard business hours, periodic adjusted hours and occasional evening, weekend, or off-shift support may be needed for operational issues, physical inventories, or other activities. This is not described as a 24/7 on-call position. The role maintains effective accounting records, reconciliations, internal controls, and compliance; leads close, reporting, budgeting, forecasting, cost accounting, inventory accounting, and capital expenditure processes; and provides analysis and guidance to help plant leaders improve cost, productivity, and profitability. The Controller is expected to act as a financial steward, operational business partner, constructive challenger, problem solver, and forward-looking analyst.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a closely related discipline.
Approximately 5+ years of progressively responsible accounting or finance experience, preferably including manufacturing.
Strong understanding of general accounting and financial controls.
Demonstrated knowledge of manufacturing cost accounting.
Experience with budgeting, forecasting, inventory accounting, and variance analysis.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel.
Experience working with ERP or accounting systems.
Ability to analyze financial and operational data and clearly explain conclusions to non-financial managers.
Strong financial analytical ability, attention to detail, problem-solving, and root-cause-analysis skills.
Ability to identify operational causes behind financial variances and challenge assumptions professionally and constructively.
Strong communication, organizational, and time-management skills; ability to prioritize during month-end close and other high-demand periods.
Sound judgment and high ethical standards; ability to maintain confidential business, financial, and employee information.
Willingness to spend time on the manufacturing floor and periodically adjust hours or provide off-shift, evening, weekend, or physical-inventory support.

Nice To Haves

Previous Plant Controller, Assistant Controller, Cost Accounting Manager, or Senior Cost Accountant experience in a manufacturing environment.
CPA and/or CMA certification.
Experience in metals, automotive, high-volume, process, or other capital-intensive manufacturing.
Experience supporting a multi-shift or 24/7 manufacturing operation.
Experience with ERP-based standard costing and inventory-control systems.
Experience with Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, or cost-reduction initiatives.

Responsibilities

Lead the plant's accounting and financial reporting activities and complete monthly, quarterly, and annual financial close activities accurately and on time.
Prepare, review, and analyze plant financial statements and operating results; investigate unusual results, transactions, and variances and support corrective action.
Maintain accounting records, reconciliations, accruals, supporting documentation, and effective internal financial controls, including segregation of duties.
Provide plant leadership with meaningful financial analysis and support Corporate Finance reporting, audits, and financial initiatives.
Maintain and continuously improve manufacturing cost-accounting processes, including standard and actual costing, material and labor costs, manufacturing overhead, WIP and finished-goods inventory, inventory valuation, scrap, variances, adjustments, and cost-of-goods-sold analysis.
Work with Operations and Engineering to understand operational causes of manufacturing variances.
Analyze the financial effects of scrap, yield loss, downtime, production efficiency, overtime, staffing, scheduling, material consumption, equipment reliability, maintenance spending, inventory levels, process improvements, and operational disruptions.
Translate plant performance into financial terms that managers can use in business decisions.
Lead development of the annual plant operating budget and prepare periodic forecasts; develop departmental spending expectations with functional managers.
Monitor actual results against budget and forecast, identify unfavorable trends, prepare financial scenarios, and assist management in setting cost-reduction and productivity targets.
Maintain the financial integrity of raw-material, WIP, and finished-goods inventory; reconcile inventory records to the general ledger; support cycle counts and physical inventories; investigate discrepancies and review questionable inventory.
Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to strengthen inventory controls and ensure inventory adjustments are authorized and documented.
Support capital expenditure requests and financial justifications; evaluate payback, savings assumptions, and returns; monitor spending against authorized budgets; account for approved projects; ensure completed projects are capitalized and placed into service; and support post-project reviews when appropriate.
Identify financial-control weaknesses and recommend improvements; monitor spending authority and approval processes; support internal and external audits; and help reduce financial, inventory, and asset-control risk.
Build working relationships with the Plant Manager, Operations leadership, Shift Managers, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain/Purchasing, Human Resources, and Corporate Finance, and provide financial guidance on operational decisions.
Periodically adjust work hours to understand or address issues on other shifts, work with managers and supervisors across shifts, respond appropriately to significant issues outside normal business hours, and support activities that may occur during evenings, weekends, or off-shifts.
Spend time on the manufacturing floor learning processes and operating conditions, and maintain financial processes that work regardless of production shift.