Controller at Cherry Bekaert in Orlando, Fl

Job description

• We are partnering with a rapidly growing, approximately $25M government contractor to identify a hands-on Controller who will work closely with senior finance leadership and take significant ownership of the company’s accounting operations.
• The company supports DoD customers, including the U.S. Navy and Air Force, and is experiencing strong growth following several recent contract awards. The organization is at an exciting inflection point, with continued expansion expected across both government and commercial markets.
• This is an excellent opportunity for an accounting professional who wants a Controller title, broad responsibility, significant exposure to finance, and a clear path for continued advancement as the organization scales.
• Location: Primarily remote, with limited travel to Orlando, FL, generally no more than quarterly and potentially less frequently.
• Work directly with senior finance leadership across a broad range of accounting and finance initiatives.
• Join a growing organization with minimal bureaucracy and direct access to senior leadership.
• Opportunity to help build and scale the accounting and finance function.
• Potential to mentor and eventually manage junior accounting staff as the organization grows.
• Strong opportunity for future advancement into broader finance leadership responsibilities.
• Unanet experience is strongly preferred. Candidates with strong Costpoint experience may also be considered.
• This role should be particularly attractive to someone who enjoys being hands-on today but wants room to grow tomorrow. The Controller will have substantial visibility across the business, partner directly with senior leadership, and play an important role in building the accounting and finance infrastructure needed to support the company's next stage of growth.
• The ideal candidate is someone who can comfortably roll up their sleeves, own the details, improve processes, and grow into broader leadership responsibilities as the organization expands.

Responsibilities

• Lead the monthly and quarterly financial close process, including journal entries, account reconciliations, accruals, variance analysis, and preparation of financial statements.
• Own and maintain the general ledger, chart of accounts, and supporting schedules, ensuring accurate and timely GAAP-compliant financial records.
• Manage day-to-day accounting activities, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, invoicing, payments, payroll coordination, bank reconciliations, and month-end close.
• Support payroll administration through ADP for a single legal entity of approximately 70 employees.
• Manage project setup, maintenance, and closeout within the ERP system, ensuring proper coding of labor, ODCs, and indirect costs.
• Partner closely with Contracts, Procurement, Program Management, and Operations to ensure new awards, funding modifications, subcontracts, purchase orders, and financial records are accurately reflected in the accounting system.
• Support the development and monitoring of indirect rates, budgets, cash flow forecasts, and related financial analysis.
• Help implement and optimize AP automation and other accounting processes, improving efficiency and scalability.
• Strengthen and document internal controls, accounting policies, procedures, and financial reporting processes.
• Assist with year-end audit preparation, incurred cost submissions, and requests from external auditors, banks, and government representatives.
• Maintain fixed asset, prepaid expense, accrual, and other balance sheet schedules.
• Monitor and respond to accounting and finance inquiries involving vendors, payroll, taxes, and other accounting matters.
• Support special projects and ad hoc financial analysis as the organization continues to grow.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field, with relevant industry and accounting experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience owning the full monthly and quarterly close process.
• Strong knowledge of GAAP, general ledger accounting, reconciliations, and financial statement preparation.
• Hands-on payroll experience, preferably utilizing ADP or a comparable platform.
• Experience with project-based or job-cost accounting, including project setup and indirect rate structures.
• Unanet experience strongly preferred.
• Strong Costpoint experience may be considered for candidates with otherwise exceptional backgrounds.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and reconciliations.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to operate effectively in a hands-on, entrepreneurial environment where processes are continuing to evolve.
• Comfortable moving between higher-level financial responsibilities and detailed day-to-day accounting work.
• Experience within a government contracting environment.
• Familiarity with FAR/DCAA requirements, indirect rates, and incurred cost submissions.
• CPA, CPA-eligible, or progress toward CPA licensure.
• Experience with Unanet and ADP.
• Prior experience working with Contracts and Procurement teams on contract awards, modifications, subcontracts, and compliance.
• Experience in a small, rapidly growing company where the accounting and finance infrastructure is being built and refined.

Skills

Preferred

• Unanet experience
• Costpoint experience
• ADP experience
• FAR/DCAA familiarity
• CPA or progress toward CPA