Controller at National Carwash Solutions in Grimes, IA

Job description

• Role
• NCS Plant Controller – Grimes (Des Moines, Iowa)
• NCS is an industry leading manufacturing, chemical and technology company whose primary end-market is car wash operators. NCS was founded decades ago in Iowa (Des Moines) and has grown significantly over the years through a combination of product line expansion, geographic expansion and acquisitions. The company offers products under leading brands like: Ryko, MacNeal, Shadow, Belanger, Armor All, among others. Today, with ~1600 employees and 6 manufacturing plants, the Company serves hundreds of customers across N. America primarily through 5 Key Business Units:
• Equipment – manufactures and sells car wash equipment (Tunnels, IBAs, vacuums, water systems, dryers, signs, etc.)
• Chemical – Produces and distributes chemical soaps (sold weekly to customers)
• Parts Distribution – Through a series of warehouses and distribution centers, NCS distributes internal and third-party parts to customers
• Services – Though a field service national field service organization, NCS provides maintenance and break-fix services to customers’ sites
• Technology – Provides range of software to support customers – including point-of-sale, membership, chemical dispensing and analytics, control software, among others
• NCS is looking for a seasoned financial controller for its Grimes, Iowa plant (Des Moines area), which is its largest and most complex manufacturing plant. The position will oversee all general accounting, close and standard costing activities related to Grimes plant, which supports the Company’s largest Equipment division, its largest BU. The plant also interacts with other equipment plants, in which Grimes may source certain components or parts from other plants or bundle some parts from other plants into an overall “bundled sale” to a customer. NCS needs a seasoned leader who can partner with the plant operations, other finance and plant controllers, oversee a more complex environment, has aptitude for upgrading and improving our financial procedures and controls, and can lead a small team.
• Environment
• The Grimes plant manufactures car wash tunnels (primarily MacNeal branded), water systems, blowers/dryers, IBAs, etc. Typically, a full system or customer job might include dozens of items (parts), which have to be fabricated and assembled, working through the multiple steps. Some of the parts or components assembled may be third-party sourced, while others may be manufactured internally.
• The plant operates a standard costing system, but the system is immature in its development and still requires significant work to get to a “best-in-class” state. The plant operates on NetSuite (where it went live along with our corporate level) about 2 years ago. The company is still in middle of an IT transformation to move all plants to NetSuite – some of the other key plants (including Canada plant) are NOT on NetSuite which requires some additional intercompany reconciliations during close that this controller will need to manage.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the key finance and accounting business partner to Grimes plant leadership and operations teams, providing financial insight to support production, quality, and operational decision-making.
• Own the month-end close process for the Grimes plant, including preparation and review of journal entries, account reconciliations, and reporting on a timely and accurate basis (including MBRs and Bridge Analysis monthly).
• Lead deployment, maintenance, and ongoing oversight of the standard costing system across the plant and ERP platform, including partnering with corporate finance and other plant controllers to drive toward a best-in-class costing environment.
• Analyze and report on standard cost variances (purchase price, usage, labor, and overhead), partnering with operations to identify root causes and drive corrective action.
• Oversee the planning, execution, and reconciliation of periodic and annual physical inventory counts, including cycle counts, ensuring accuracy of on-hand inventory and resolution of variances.
• Support the annual financial statement audit and any internal audits, including preparing schedules, responding to auditor requests, and ensuring documentation of key controls.
• Evaluate, design, and strengthen internal controls and financial procedures at the plant, identifying opportunities to improve accuracy, efficiency, and compliance.
• Support the plant's ongoing NetSuite implementation and broader corporate IT/ERP transformation, including process design and testing related to plant accounting and costing.
• Partner with plant management on capital expenditure tracking, project accounting, and equipment and facility investments.
• Prepare and present monthly financial results, KPIs, and cost trends to plant and corporate leadership.
• Lead, develop, and mentor a small plant accounting team, building organizational capability and bench strength.

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance is required, CPA and/or MBA is preferred
• 8+ years in the accounting / finance field
• Strong knowledge and experience with ERP systems
• Experience with budgeting, variance analysis and management reporting
• Flexibility and ability to thrive in a fast paced environment
• Proven leadership and management skills
• A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected
• Flexibility and the ability to thrive in a fast paced environment
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Preferred, finance experience within an industrial manufacturing environment

Skills

Required

• Proven leadership and management skills