Plant Controller

Position Summary:

The Plant Controller / Cost Accountant plays a key role in managing the financial performance of the plant. This position is responsible for all accounting, budgeting, and financial planning activities within the plant, with a strong focus on cost accounting, inventory control, and operational efficiency. The ideal candidate is a hands-on financial leader with strong analytical capabilities and deep manufacturing cost knowledge.

Core Values

1. Trustworthy – Exhibiting honesty and respect
2. Quality Driven – Exceeding customer expectations and striving for excellence
3. Customer Focused – Being flexible and responsive, both internally and externally
4. Collaborative – Mutual Respect
5. Innovative – Always pioneering and implementing beneficial solutions
6. Growth Minded – Seeking to learn, grow and succeed personally and professionally

Key Performance Objectives:

Objective

% of time

Prepares and analyzes Middletown Plant financial statements and other reports to monitor the financial health and progress of the plant to facilitate sound and prompt financial decision making.

30%

Manages accurate inventory reporting and provides inventory cost analysis for all plants

15%

Prepares financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting for the Middletown Plant

15%

Leading and delivering on Digital Finance transformation by identifying areas for technology adoption and streamlining

15%

Perform ad-hoc analysis where required to assist in management decision making

10%

Note: Fifteen percent of time is reserved for ancillary activities, interruptions, and unplanned events.

Essential Job Duties & Responsibilities:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Other duties may be assigned.

Interpersonal Responsibilities:

1. Leads, manages, and directs accounting staff, providing timely feedback on productivity and work quality, delegating overtime, tracking, and approving labor hours and vacation/absences as well as conducting performance reviews, essential training and develop and managing disciplinary actions as needed.
2. Maintains open communication with the CFO, providing regular financial updates so that all parties at PTG are up to date in financial business matters.
3. Acts as the primary liaison between PTG and their auditors, assisting and providing any requested information when necessary.
4. Communicates regularly with Plant Managers on the progress and development of individual projects to manage costs in alignment with assigned budgets and provide advice and guidance in financial matters to minimize risk.

Plant Controller Duties:

• Lead all plant-level financial operations including budgeting, forecasting, and reporting.
• Serve as a key business partner to the Plant Manager and operations team, providing financial insights to support decision-making.
• Ensure compliance with corporate accounting policies, procedures, and internal controls.
• Maintain timely and accurate financial statements, ensuring alignment with corporate reporting requirements.
• Oversee plant audits and ensure compliance with SOX (if applicable), tax, and regulatory standards.
• Analyze variances between actuals and budgets; recommend corrective actions.
• Maintain and analyze standard costs; investigate and explain variances.
• Monitor cost of goods sold (COGS), inventory valuations, and production efficiency.
• Perform BOM (Bill of Materials) reviews, routings, and labor cost assessments.
• Support month-end and year-end closing processes with accurate cost entries and reconciliations.
• Track manufacturing KPIs and drive initiatives to improve cost efficiency.
• Analyze product margins, cost trends, and plant profitability.

Organizational Responsibilities:

1. Prepares internal and external financial reports under the direction of the CFO; preparing financial reports for the Executive Management Team, performing statistical analysis to determine trends, estimates, and significant changes, investigating, and resolving when appropriate.

Performance Factors: The performance factors described here are core abilities that translate into desired on-the-job behaviors which contribute to the employee successfully achieving the performance objectives of this job and fulfilling the assigned responsibilities.

1. Conceptual Thinking: Demonstrates ability to forecast long range outcomes and develop suitable business strategies; identifies, evaluates, and communicates potential impacts of hypothetical situations; defines options to leverage opportunities in achieving business goals; develops plans and strategies that lead to desired strategic outcomes.
2. Planning And Organizing: Works effectively within established time frames and priorities; utilizes logical, practical and efficient approaches; prioritizes tasks for optimum productivity; develops procedures, processes and systems for order, accuracy, efficiency and productivity; anticipates probable effects, outcomes and risks; develops contingency plans to minimize waste, error and risk; allocates, adjusts and manages resources according to priorities; monitors implementation of plans and makes adjustments as needed.
3. Problem Solving Ability: Utilizes logic and systematic processes to analyze and solve problems; defines the causes, effects, impact, and scope of problems; identifies the multiple components of problems and their relationships; prioritizes steps to solution; develops criteria for optimum solutions; evaluates the potential impact of viable solutions and selects the best one.
4. Teamwork: Respects team members and their individual perspectives; makes team mission and objectives a priority; works toward consensus when team decisions are required; meets agreed-upon deadlines on team assignments and commitments; shares responsibility with team members for successes and failures; keeps team members informed regarding projects; supports team decisions; recognizes and appreciates the contribution of team members; behaves in a manner consistent with team values and mission; provides constructive feedback to team and its members; responds positively to feedback from team members; raises and/or confronts issues limiting team effectiveness.
5. Personal Accountability: Accepts personal responsibility for the consequences of personal actions; avoids placing unnecessary blame on others; maintains personal commitment to objectives regardless of the success or failure of personal decisions; applies personal lessons learned from past failures to moving forward in achieving future successes.
6. Employee Development/Coaching: Expresses confidence in others’ ability to perform; identifies developmental needs; encourages initiative and improvement; provides opportunities for training; gives new, difficult and/or challenging work assignments; acknowledges and praises improvements; trains, coaches, and mentors’ others to develop; views mistakes as opportunities for learning; promotes learning and growth.
7. Decision Making: Demonstrates an ability to make difficult decisions in a timely manner; gathers relevant input and develops a rationale for making decisions; evaluates the impact or consequences of decisions before making them; acts decisively despite obstacles, resistance or opposition; accepts consequences of decisions; willing to correct erroneous decisions when necessary; defends rationale for decisions when necessary.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• A bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or a related major or equivalent professional experience is required
• Certified public accountants (CPA) or certified financial analysts (CFA) are preferred
• Must have at least 5 years of accounting experience. Small business environment preferred.
• Manufacturing or industrial sector experience is highly desirable