The Consulting Controller at Vessel Advisors serves as a high-level financial expert responsible for leading financial assessments and providing fractional accounting services to growth-stage companies. This role involves guiding clients through financial discovery, process improvement, and strategic planning while building trusted advisor relationships with CEOs and C-level executives.
What You'll Do
- Lead Financial Assessments: Run and facilitate intensive, in-person discovery sessions to evaluate client financial health and operational efficiency.
- Develop Financial Assessment Reports: Create robust recommendations based on assessment findings with other Vessel Advisors’ SMEs (CFOs, Controllers, and Advisory Partners).
- Advisory Mindset: Listen, read the room, and turn inputs into clear next steps and recommendations.
- Executive Presence: Lead owner/C-suite conversations with confidence, sound judgment, and a calm, solutions-first approach.
- Real-Time Facilitation: Think on your feet by probing and adapting questions based on client responses and dynamics.
- Engagement Leadership: Own assessments and select fractional projects end-to-end to ensure scope, timeline, and quality.
- Contractor Management: Direct Vessel contractors by delegating, setting expectations, reviewing work, and enforcing Vessel standards.
- Advice on Financial Decisions: Provide clients with financial direction/guidance, including upside/downside scenarios, so clients can make informed decisions.
- Strategic Planning: Work with clients to identify and achieve their financial goals; guide financial planning and forecasting.
- Project Management: Maintain complete ownership of assessment schedules, ensuring on-time delivery of reports and advisory deadlines.
- Policy Enforcement: Protect assets and operations by establishing internal controls and maintaining strict confidentiality.
- Relationship Building: Build trusted relationships with clients and their key stakeholders through professional presence and expertise.
- Guides financial decisions by establishing, monitoring, and enforcing policies and procedures.
- Maximizes return, and limits risk, on cash by minimizing bank balances; making investments.
- Prepares budgets by establishing schedules; collecting, analyzing, and consolidating financial data; and recommending plans.
- Achieves budget objectives by scheduling expenditures; analyzing variances; and initiating corrective actions.
- Provides status of financial condition by collecting, interpreting, and reporting financial data.
- Prepares special reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing information and trends.
- Prepares fixed asset depreciation and liability schedules to reconcile monthly.
- Reviews and reconciles payroll and benefit liabilities monthly.
- Complies with federal, state, and local legal requirements by studying existing and new legislation; anticipating future legislation; enforcing adherence to requirements; filing financial reports; and advising management on needed actions.
- Protects assets by establishing, monitoring, and enforcing internal controls.
- Monitors and confirms financial condition by conducting audits; and providing information to external auditors.
- Maintains financial staff by recruiting, selecting, orienting, and training employees.
- Maintains financial staff job results by coaching, counseling, and disciplining employees; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results.
- Work with clients to identify and achieve their financial goals; and guide financial planning and forecasting.
- Engagement Economics: Manage hours, budget, and margin while escalating risks early (scope creep, timeline, resourcing).
What We're Looking For
- Has 8+ years of experience as a Controller
- Has 5+ years of experience as an advisor or management consultant in an in-person capacity
- Able to lead intensive, all-day in-person meetings, maintaining control of the room and navigating complex questions, issues, and team dynamics
- An expert in cloud-based software
- Deeply, obsessively organized with strong project management skills that have been honed through complex projects with tight deadlines
- A 'can-do' attitude when plans change or travel logistics shift
- Excellent written and verbal skills
- 95% of internal communication is via Slack
- 70% or more of client communication is via email
Nice to Have
- Experience in multiple industries
- Specific experience in Construction is a plus but not required
Technical Stack
- cloud-based software
Team & Environment
- Reports to VP of Operations
Benefits & Compensation
- Salary: Not specified
- Equity: Not specified
- Other: Not specified
Work Mode
- Type: hybrid
- Flexibility: Proactive & Flexible: A 'can-do' attitude when plans change or travel logistics shift
Vessel Advisors is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
