Manufacturing Controller

Company Description Forge Fire & Company is dedicated to building the most realistic training environments in the industry, supporting organizations that require high-quality, immersive simulation and training solutions. The company focuses on precision, reliability, and innovation to help clients prepare for real-world challenges. Team members collaborate closely with customers and internal partners to deliver products that meet exacting performance and safety standards. Working at Forge Fire & Company offers the opportunity to contribute to meaningful, mission-driven projects in a dynamic manufacturing setting.

The Opportunity

Forge Fire & Company is seeking its first Controller and first dedicated accounting professional. This is a hands-on opportunity to establish sound practices from the ground up and make a visible, lasting impact. This is an onsite position based at our manufacturing facility in Bucyrus, Ohio, and the Controller will report directly to the Company’s Owners. Our manufacturing operation has been shipping product for about one and a half years. We build the most realistic training environments in the industry and we continue to grow. We are looking for an Accounting professional driven to build the systems, controls, and financial insight needed for our next stage of growth. 

You will serve as the company’s primary internal accounting leader and a business partner to the founders/owners and operating leadership. The Company currently operates on QuickBooks Online and will look to implement a fully integrated ERP system in the future. The role combines day-to-day controllership with manufacturing cost accounting, process design, systems optimization, and longer-term ERP readiness. The successful candidate will be comfortable both setting direction and personally doing detailed work while developing the accounting function and collaborating with our CPA firm and other partners.

The Responsibilities

• Financial close and reporting. Own the monthly and year-end close; establish a disciplined close calendar; prepare timely, accurate financial statements, management reports, account reconciliations, journal entries, and supporting schedules in accordance with GAAP.
• Accounting integrity and controls. Maintain the general ledger and chart of accounts; design and document practical internal controls, approval authorities, accounting policies, and repeatable workflows appropriate for a growing manufacturer.
• Manufacturing and cost accounting. Strengthen inventory valuation, bills of material, routings, labor and overhead rates, standard or actual costing, work-in-process, job costing, variance analysis, scrap, reserves, and gross-margin reporting.
• Inventory governance. Partner with production, purchasing, and operational leaders to improve transaction discipline, physical inventories, cutoffs, reconciliations, and the accuracy of raw material, WIP, and finished-goods records.
• Systems ownership and data quality. Optimize current systems, including our current QuickBooks Online environment,; establish clear ownership of financial master data; resolve data and process gaps; improve reporting reliability and reduce manual work.
• ERP strategy and implementation readiness. Assess business requirements, process maturity, and data quality; help evaluate and select a future ERP platform to eventually replace our current QuickBooks Online system; and play a leading and collaborative role in system design, migration, testing, controls, training, and adoption.
• Planning and decision support. Partner with the Owners and leadership team on budgets, forecasts, cash-flow visibility, capital planning, pricing and margin analysis, make-versus-buy decisions, and operating performance metrics.
• Working capital and cash controls. Monitor receivables, payables, inventory, and cash conversion; strengthen cash disbursement and banking controls; support treasury activity and lender reporting as assigned.
• Compliance and external relationships. Coordinate and act as the point of contact with the CPA firm, tax advisors, banks, insurers, and other outside partners; support tax filings, financial reviews or audits, sales and use tax, fixed-asset records, and other financial compliance requirements.
• Cross-functional leadership. Translate financial information for non-financial leaders, constructively challenge inconsistent practices, and build accountability across operations, purchasing, administration, and leadership.
• Team and function development. Define the future accounting organization, recommend staffing and role responsibilities, create appropriate segregation of duties and backup coverage, and train or lead accounting staff as the company grows.
• Payroll and benefits accounting. Partner with HR to ensure payroll and benefit-related entries, reconciliations, liabilities, and financial controls are complete and accurate; provide review without displacing HR’s operational ownership.

The Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or a closely related field.
• 5 years of progressive accounting experience, including meaningful ownership of the monthly close and financial statement preparation.
• Manufacturing accounting experience with direct responsibility for inventory and cost accounting.
• Working knowledge of U.S. GAAP including percentage-of-completion accounting, general-ledger accounting, reconciliations, financial controls, and financial reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to improve accounting processes, resolve data discrepancies, and build structure in an evolving environment.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience using accounting and manufacturing/MRP systems.
• Clear communication, sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to work effectively with both shop-floor and executive-level partners.
• A hands-on approach and willingness to perform detailed work while also developing scalable processes and longer-term strategy.
• Ability and willingness to work onsite at the Company’s Bucyrus, Ohio manufacturing facility.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active CPA license; a CMA credential may also be considered when paired with strong manufacturing controllership experience.
• Prior experience as a Controller, Assistant Controller, Accounting Manager, or Plant Controller in a dynamic high-growth mid-sized manufacturing business.
• Experience optimizing or integrating systems; MRPeasy or QuickBooks Online experience is a plus.
• Experience participating in or leading an ERP selection and implementation, including data cleanup, migration, testing, controls, and change management.
• Experience establishing and accounting function in a founder-led or rapidly growing company.
• Experience with multi-state sales and use tax, lender reporting, audit or review support, and manufacturing-related fixed assets.

What Success Looks Like

• A reliable, well-documented monthly close completed on an agreed timetable, with management receiving decision-ready financial information.
• Reconciled, trustworthy data across systems with clear ownership and fewer manual workarounds.
• Improved and timely visibility into inventory, WIP, product and job costs, operating variances, and gross margin.
• Practical internal controls and accounting procedures without unnecessary bureaucracy.
• A finance function viewed by leaders as accurate, responsive, commercially minded, and useful in decision-making.