Controller

at  Book Depot

OUR OPPORTUNITY

We have an opportunity available for a permanent, full-time, Controller at our Thorold main office and distribution center. The successful candidate will join our team of 4 Finance professionals. We are looking for someone who will be responsible for establishing and maintaining accounting standards, practices and procedures to ensure accurate and timely financial statements. This position is responsible for managing the Finance team to ensure that work is properly allocated and completed in a timely and accurate manner. This position addresses tight deadlines and a multitude of accounting activities including assisting various departments with the budget management, forecasting, preparation of journal entries of complex entries, general ledger management, financial reporting, month-end and year-end preparation, supervision of Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Payroll. The Controller works closely with the Vice President of Finance and the Senior Leadership Team, which requires strong written and verbal interpersonal communication skills.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or related field or equivalent training and experience required
• Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Chartered Accountant (CA) designation preferable
• Minimum 7-10 years accounting/finance experience
• Knowledge of Sage 300 ERP and Sage 50 accounting software
• Proficient in the use of ADP Payroll
• Exceptional computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite (specifically Microsoft Excel)
• Financial modeling skills is a plus
• Organizational skills, with a keen focus on delivering results with little supervision
• Comprehensive knowledge of financial accounting and management (Canadian Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises), control and reporting procedures, practices and policies
• Proficient with Canadian corporation tax laws
• Ability to motivate and lead a team towards a common goal.
• Ability to exercise discretion, judgment and confidentiality
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with senior management, faculty, staff, vendors and customers
• Ability to multitask and prioritize with a proactive approach in a high-paced environment
• Comfortable in the management and review of inter-company transactions
• Goal-oriented, with growth mindset
• Confident, positive and motivational

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic:

Key measurables or activity-based leading indicators that the job is accountable for includes:

• Contribute to the strategic planning process in conjunction with Senior Leadership team
• Monitor and analyze the operating cash flow for understanding and ability to pay deliverables and routine operating expenses
• Review Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable’s turnover to stay in good standing with vendors and bring in collections within appropriate timeframes
• Lead good Customer Satisfaction measures both in-house and with the Company’s stakeholders
• Align individuals and team actions with strong strategy and process to drive results
• Ensure all departments within the Company adhere to their budgets to minimize overspending variances
• Responsible for the conversion of source currency funds to functional through spot market transactions to fulfill financial obligations
• Assist the Vice President of Finance with financial models and analysis

In addition to the strategic purpose of the role outlined above, you will:

• Ensure an accurate and timely monthly and year end close, including review of year-end and month-end GL postings, account reconciliations and adjustments, Visa statement reconciliations, multiple bank reconciliations in multiple currencies, HST remittances, USD Sales Tax reporting
• Prepare and review Financial Statements and Reports such as Balance Sheets, Income Statements, Summary Statements, Cash Flow Statement, and Budget Reports.
• Consolidate year-end documentation for tax preparation such as Financial Reports, Capital Asset Invoices, Property Tax invoices, relevant payroll audit reports, HST remittances, Bank Statements and reconciliation reports, and covenant reporting to the Bank.
• Advise staff regarding the handling of non-routine reporting transactions
• Assist in the development and implementation of new systems and processes to enhance the workflow of the department
• Support Executive Officers and Vice Presidents with special projects and workflow process improvements
• Hold Executive Officers and Vice Presidents accountable for their respective Departmental spend and assist in providing the necessary guidance to use available tools (Excel, Sage APA, Power BI, etc.)
• Monitor emerging technology to determine ways to automate the accounting process without sacrificing accuracy and accountability
• Review and co-ordinate inter-company transactions with Accounting Leaders of sister companies
• Communicate GL variances, financial metrics, KPIs and insights to the Vice-President, Finance
• Work with the VP, People & Culture regarding Payroll processes and controls and provide approval on payroll exceptions.

Functional:

• Obtain and maintain a thorough understanding of the financial reporting and general ledger structure
• Provide training to new and existing staff as needed
• Work with each direct report to establish goals and objectives for each year and monitor and advise on the progress to enhance the professional development of staff
• Manage and review day-to-day accounting operations and ensure that there is a redundant process backup in place for every critical operation
• Review bi-weekly Source Deductions, and monthly EHT, WSIB payments (including reconciliation of CPP, EI and income tax withheld, reconciliation of WSIB with worker’s compensation codes, online reporting through WSIB portal, online payments through online banking) done by the Accounting Supervisor
• Review and oversee automated currency set up and daily rate maintenance, including currency code set up, vendor/customer group maintenance, and GL maintenance for multicurrency
• Carry out FX transactions at Spot Market rates to fulfill obligations
• Monitor Tax Authorities and tax rates set up and maintenance, monthly/quarterly tax reporting and remittances, including GST and HST in multiple currencies, and PST.
• Review the reconciliation of HST paid and charged in CDN/USD, PST reporting and payment to non-HST provinces, verification of tax-exempt customers
• Oversee Vendor invoice processing including vendor structure set up, payment structure set up, EFT/ACH payment application processing, EFT/ACH Vendor set up, purchase order processing and delivery, verifying of vendor invoices and reporting errors to relevant team members, invoice matching, entering and processing invoices, as well as debit and credit memos for payment, payment of invoices through set up payment structure such as ACH, EFT, Credit Card, Wire, Online banking payments, PayPal and Cheque processing, Voiding/Reversing payments and Accounts Payable audits and reporting
• Review Credit Card reconciliations and processing, including the collection of receipts/invoices, expense allocation, and payment processing
• Manage and review Customer invoicing and receipt processing, including credit management, customer structure set up, entering invoices and debit/credit memos, cash processing and payment application, cash deposit processing and drop off, and AR Aging review, collections and reporting (including Retail Store Sales and Expenses
• Review the maintenance of cash balances report for all banks in multiple currencies (receipts and payments postings)
• Customer Credit Management (including credit application processing, credit reference verification, credit insurance requests through online portal, credit maintenance with daily monitoring of wholesale credit reports, claims processing and data collection, monthly past due reporting, and bad debt processing)
• Monitor Monthly USD Sales Tax reporting, including monthly reconciliations across all Book Depot divisions in accordance with Avalara and Book Depot Administrative reports, Sales Tax posting and payment
• Other related responsibilities as required

You’re a go-getter with a passion for innovation and finding a better way, and you approach headwinds with an inquisitive mind and ownership thinking. You know that people are the heart and soul of an organization, and that when you and your team work together, there is no limit to the great things you can achieve. If you’re ready to make the move to a company where you can grow, learn, and thrive, know there’s a place for you here at Book Depot. We’re a Canada’s Best Managed company with an award-winning culture – and we’re the largest bargain book wholesaler and online retailer in North America. Our hard-working team is dedicated to Enchanting the Minds of readers around the world each and every day – especially those who have the greatest need – and as a leader in our industry for more than 30 years, we have the automation it takes to push the limits of technology, grit and determination, and a set of guiding core values that make all the difference in fulfilling our purpose and giving our customers the best experience ever:

• WE NOT ME – we understand that success is fleeting if we don’t put others first
• KICK SOME MOON DUST – we believe that the key to greatness is to be willing to go where no one has ever gone before
• RIDE TOGETHER. WIN TOGETHER – we believe that the whole TEAM is greater than the sum of its individual players and Together Everyone Achieves More
• WE EAT THE STINKY CHEESE – we have a curious mind, and never stop learning
• WAKE UP. BE AWESOME. REPEAT – we believe that working hard is the result of a great attitude and passion for living each day at our best, and
• NO DONKEYS – we know that life is too short to work with, or do business with, those that think and act like donkeys