Controller

About the company

Combi-Blocks, Inc. is a distributor of research and specialty chemicals in San Diego, serving academic, biotech and industrial customers across the US and internationally. We run on NetSuite and our own internal systems.

The job

You will own the books, the monthly close, and the project of bringing our accounting into full GAAP compliance. This is a hands-on seat: you will supervise two accounting staff and work directly with our NetSuite developer. You will spend your first year as much on process refinement as on the close. Problem-solving and initiative matter more here than a long résumé.

What you will do

Close and reporting

• Own the monthly close: adjustments, accruals, cutoff, COGS, period lock, and a close calendar that holds
• Produce the monthly financial pack for the owners (later the GM): P&L, balance sheet, cash, inventory
• Reconcile every balance sheet account monthly and keep the support

GAAP cleanup and process improvement

• Move the books fully to accrual GAAP: revenue recognition on prepaid and drop-ship orders, inventory valuation and reserves, fixed asset schedules, credit card and expense detail at the line level in NetSuite
• Document close procedures and controls so they are repeatable and reviewable
• Work with the NetSuite developer to build processes to automate routine tasks and minimize human error

Cash, credit and receivables

• Daily cash position; queue payments for owner approval
• Set credit limits and payment terms within policy; escalate significant past-due accounts to ownership
• Supervise AR and AP: review their work, answer their questions, cover during absences

Inventory accounting

• Own inventory valuation, write-off policy, and the accounting side of cycle counts (Operations does the counting)
• Make sure COGS and landed cost, including tariffs and freight, are captured correctly

Tax, compliance and administration

• Sales and use tax filings and nexus; registered agent and entity filings
• Tax provision estimates during the year; our outside CPA firm will prepare the returns
• Administer insurance renewals, bank paperwork and audit or review requests; the owners keep the relationships

What you bring

• CPA (active)
• 5 years of progressive accounting experience, including time as a Controller or Accounting Manager who closed the books at a company with physical inventory — distribution, manufacturing or e-commerce
• Comfortable doing the work, not only reviewing it, in a small team
• Clear written and spoken communication with non-accountants: you will explain the numbers to the owners

Nice to have

• Experience in a regulated-products business (chemicals, pharma supply, hazmat)
• Netsuite experience
• Multi-state sales tax and import cost accounting
• Experience building a finance function from a bookkeeper-level starting point

What we offer

• Base salary $140,000–$175,000 depending on experience
• Health, dental and vision; SEPIRA; paid time off
• A real seat at the table while the company professionalizes, reporting directly to the owners