Plant Controller

Sun Hydraulics Corporation

  • Sarasota, FL
  • 30+ days ago

    Highlights

    Ensures timely, accurate financial statements and management reporting aligned with U.S. GAAP and company policy; supports internal/external audits (including SOX where applicable); and delivers clear insights on margins, variances, inventory, and operational performance. The Plant Controller leads plant accounting and finance, including cost/inventory accounting, month-end closing, reporting, budgeting/forecasting, internal controls, and decision support.

    Numbers & Facts

    LocationSarasota, FL

    Description

    Position Overview:

    The Plant Controller is the senior finance leader for the Sarasota manufacturing facility and a key member of the site leadership team. The Plant Controller leads plant accounting and finance, including cost/inventory accounting, month-end closing, reporting, budgeting/forecasting, internal controls, and decision support. Ensures timely, accurate financial statements and management reporting aligned with U.S. GAAP and company policy; supports internal/external audits (including SOX where applicable); and delivers clear insights on margins, variances, inventory, and operational performance. Partners with Operations, Supply Chain, HR, IT, and Sales to drive profitable growth, working-capital discipline, and continuous improvement, and works in unison with the VP of Finance and Segment Controller to align financial priorities and standards across the segment.

    Supervisory Responsibilities:

    • Supervise the cost accounting function (currently 1 direct report)
    • Attract, develop, and mentor finance staff to maximize performance and support career growth

    Key Responsibilities:

    • Lead the plant month-end close, including the review of journal entries, accruals, reconciliations, and timely submission of results to corporate
    • Own cost accounting and inventory processes, including standard cost maintenance, BOM/routing support, variance analysis, inventory valuation, cycle counts, and physical inventory
    • Prepare and present KPI dashboards and financial reviews for plant leadership (margin, conversion cost, scrap, PPV, labor/overhead, absorption, working capital)
    • Utilize and build out Power BI reporting (including data modeling, DAX measures, and visualization best practices) to interpret operational and financial data and enable timely, data-driven decisions
    • Turn complex data from multiple sources into clear reporting and actionable insights (dashboards, variance bridges, concise executive summaries)
    • Drive budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning for the site; partner with leaders to align assumptions, targets, and actions
    • Provide decision support for make/buy, pricing and margin, capacity, product mix, and profitability improvement initiatives
    • Analyze manufacturing results vs. standard and plan; identify root causes and recommend corrective actions and cost-reduction opportunities
    • Support capital planning (CapEx) by building business cases/ROI, preparing requests, tracking spend, and completing post-investment reviews
    • Maintain an effective internal control environment; ensure compliance with company policy and US GAAP; support audits and remediation
    • Partner with plant leadership on working capital management (inventory turns, payables/receivables coordination as applicable) and cash discipline
    • Partner with General Accounting (AP, AR, and related functions) to troubleshoot issues and ensure accurate, timely reporting
    • Lead, coach, and develop the plant finance team; set expectations, provide feedback, and improve processes through standardization and automation

    Education and Experience:

    • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field required
    • 8+ years of progressive manufacturing accounting/finance experience, including cost accounting and inventory
    • 3+ years of people leadership experience (direct supervision and/or leading through influence)
    • Strong knowledge of US GAAP, internal controls, and audit support; SOX experience preferred
    • ERP and manufacturing reporting experience advanced Excel skills
    • CPA and/or CMA preferred; MBA a plus

    Skills & Competencies:

    • Strong business partnering skills; able to translate financial results into operational actions
    • Strong analytical skills (variance analysis, margin bridge, standard cost, working capital) with high attention to detail
    • Effective communicator able to influence across levels and functions, including non-finance audiences
    • Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop a team; comfortable managing priorities in a deadline-driven environment
    • Advanced data visualization and reporting skills, including Power BI (report development, data modeling, and dashboard design)
    • Continuous improvement mindset with experience improving processes, controls, and reporting through automation and standardization

    What We Offer

    • Direct exposure to senior finance and business leadership with meaningful responsibility and ownership
    • Opportunities to grow alongside a global manufacturing organization
    • Collaborative, improvement-oriented culture that values initiative and problem-solving
    • Competitive compensation and benefits

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