Plant Controller

CCL Label•Clinton, NC

About The Position

The Plant Controller provides financial leadership for a 24/7 manufacturing facility, overseeing accounting integrity, cost controls, budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis. The role partners with Plant Management, Corporate Finance, and operational teams to provide accurate, timely financial information and explain how production performance, materials, labor, inventory, scrap, downtime, capital investment, and improvement activities affect financial results. The Controller is expected to develop a working knowledge of plant operations and regularly engage with the manufacturing floor, while maintaining effective financial controls and helping leadership identify opportunities to improve cost, productivity, and profitability. The facility operates four shifts across Furnace/Casting, Press, and Packing. The position normally operates during standard business hours, but periodically adjusts hours to understand or address issues on other shifts, supports all-shift managers and supervisors, and may participate in physical inventories or other activities requiring evening, weekend, or off-shift support. This is not described as a 24/7 on-call position. The Controller leads plant accounting and financial reporting, manufacturing cost accounting, budgeting and forecasting, inventory control, capital expenditure accounting and analysis, internal controls, and audit support. Success includes accurate financial reporting and month-end close, reliable manufacturing costs and inventory records, effective budget and forecast performance, capital expenditure control, and strong audit compliance. The role acts 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; manufacturing experience is preferred.
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 analytical, problem-solving, and root-cause-analysis skills, including the ability to identify operational causes behind financial variances.
High attention to detail while maintaining awareness of overall business performance.
Ability to communicate financial concepts to operational employees and managers and to challenge assumptions professionally and constructively.
Strong organizational and time-management skills, including the ability to prioritize during month-end close and other high-demand periods.
Sound judgment, high ethical standards, and ability to maintain confidential business, financial, and employee information.
Willingness to spend time on the manufacturing floor learning processes and understanding operating conditions.
Willingness to periodically adjust work hours, work with managers and supervisors across shifts, respond appropriately to significant issues outside normal business hours, and support occasional evening, weekend, or off-shift activities.

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.
Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, or cost-reduction initiatives.
Manufacturing experience.

Responsibilities

Lead plant accounting and financial reporting, including monthly, quarterly, and annual close activities.
Prepare, review, and analyze plant financial statements and operating results; investigate unusual results, transactions, and variances and drive appropriate corrective action.
Maintain accounting records, reconciliations, accruals, supporting documentation, internal controls, and compliance with company policies and applicable accounting requirements.
Support Corporate Finance reporting, audits, and financial initiatives.
Maintain and improve manufacturing cost-accounting processes, including standard and actual costs, material consumption, labor, overhead, WIP and finished-goods inventory, inventory valuation, scrap, variances, adjustments, and cost-of-goods-sold analysis.
Work with Operations and Engineering to identify operational causes of significant manufacturing variances.
Analyze the financial effects of scrap, yield loss, downtime, production efficiency, overtime, staffing, scheduling, material consumption, equipment reliability, maintenance spending, inventory, 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 financial forecasts.
Develop departmental spending expectations with functional managers, monitor results against budget and forecast, identify unfavorable trends, and prepare financial scenarios for operational decisions.
Assist management in setting realistic cost-reduction and productivity targets.
Maintain the financial integrity of raw-material, WIP, and finished-goods inventory; reconcile inventory records to the general ledger and support cycle counts and physical inventories.
Investigate inventory discrepancies and review obsolete, excess, slow-moving, or questionable inventory; partner with Operations and Supply Chain to strengthen controls and ensure adjustments are authorized and documented.
Support capital expenditure requests and financial justifications; evaluate payback, savings assumptions, and expected returns.
Account for approved capital projects, monitor spending against authorized budgets, ensure completed projects are capitalized and placed into service, and support post-project reviews when appropriate.
Identify financial-control weaknesses and recommend improvements; maintain transaction documentation, support audits, monitor approval processes, and help reduce financial, inventory, and asset-control risks.
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 and support personnel across shifts, respond appropriately to significant issues outside normal business hours, and participate in activities that may require evening, weekend, or off-shift support.
Spend time on the manufacturing floor learning processes and operating conditions.