Controller

Job Title: Controller, Etz Hayim. Parent Company of Cycling Frog and Lazarus Naturals.

Etz Hayim is looking for an experienced Controller to manage our accounting and financial operations, which need to be completely rebuilt with a team, processes, and clear direction. The ideal candidate will be process driven, thrive in situations where one needs to chart their own course and figure things out, willing to get their hands dirty, and innately curious and excited to learn new things.

Etz Hayim owns and operates the brands Cycling Frog and Lazarus Naturals, as well as a sprawling operation that spans from farming over 300 acres of hemp, extraction, chemical processing, packaging, supply chain and warehousing to support both brands and private label customers.

About the Brands:

Lazarus Naturals was founded in 2016 to provide safe and accessible CBD products for everyone who would benefit from them, regardless of their financial situation and ability to pay, which is why we provide a 60% Assistance Program to veterans and people with disabilities or low-incomes. In order to maintain an affordable price point and our commitment to accessibility for all, we have built a vertically integrated business model, which allows us to walk our talk of developing quality, affordable products - from product inception, development, seed, farming, extraction, finished production formulation and packaging, and distribution.

Cycling Frog is normalizing the consumption of casual use THC products. We are on a mission to make THC convenient, affordable, and fun by making a sessionable THC beverage the same price as a beer or soda. We want to change the way THC is consumed and viewed by our society by focusing on lower potency, ready to drink beverages that can easily fit into anyone’s lifestyle. Under the Federal Farm Bill it is legal to sell these low potency THC products across all 50 states via the internet, and anywhere you can grab a beer.

Accounting

• Manage and lead the accounting team. Responsible for all accounting functions and establishing operating procedures and processes for all core functions, and assigning responsibilities across the team. Establish a deep understanding of all the accounting functions, and partner with the team, IT, sales, and operations to streamline, clearly assign responsibility, automate and create efficiency in how the team operates.
• Hire, develop, inspire and lead the accounting team from a single full time staff member to a full-fledged team that works in cohesion and partnership. Build a team that works effectively together and with other departments in the organization - from farming to chemical manufacturing, food processing, warehousing and inventory, to shipping and sales.
• Manage all daily operations in the accounting department - covering AP, AR, reconciliation, invoicing, and documentation. Develop processes and workflows in partnership with other stakeholder departments and assign clear responsibilities and reporting cadences to team members. Work closely with the accounting, sales, and operations team to get AP and AR back to current, both of which are behind.
• Develop invoicing and billing processes for 3pl services and inter-company billing between the brands for operational and employee support.
• Responsible for monthly and annual closing of the books and preparing financial statements (Company P&L, Dept P&L, Balance Sheet, etc) for the leadership team and departments to review. Currently the company is not consistently closing the books and needs to establish the processes to allow for a functional closing on an ongoing basis.
• Responsible for implementing and managing sales tax collection, compliance and filing across all 50 states for both Cycling Frog and Lazarus Naturals brand on multiple sites and commerce channels. Requires implementation of Avalara for Cycling Frog and auditing the execution of Lazarus Naturals Avalara to ensure full compliance across all channels. Audit of previous tax filings to determine state by state liability and action plan for any unpaid tax liabilities.
• Responsible for preparing annual tax filings in partnership with our tax agency.
• Develop internal controls for monetary spend, employee reimbursements, credit card usage, sales entries and order processing to properly manage spend, expectations and reduce possibilities for internal abuse and theft. We currently lack robust processes, documentation, and reconciliation across the board, which creates opportunities for internal or external abuse.
• In partnership with the operations team, develop cost accounting practices, processes, and methodologies to track, document, and manage our product costs from farming through finished goods. Currently all cost accounting is performed by the operations team and is rudimentary, our accounting systems do not track any product costs or inventory.

Finance

• Prioritize accounting functions, cleanup, and operational excellence prior to focusing on finance functions - as these cannot properly be done without the accounting of the business cleaned up.
• Partner with the leadership team to build the annual budget and cash flow projections & modeling.
• Manage the ongoing budgets, cash flow and performance versus the budget for each department and the overall organization, reporting the results to the leadership team. Develop a budget and cashflow model to implement variable budgeting dependent upon financial performance of departments. Conduct monthly budget reviews with department heads and create processes to hold departments accountable and manage budget overages and changes.
• Oversee treasury management - ensuring we have accessible funds for ongoing business management, excess funds are properly invested or allocated for capital expenditures and forecasting the cash position.
• Manage banking and financial services relationships and transactions. Manage negotiations and service selection with banks and financial service companies for billing rates, credit card processing, credit card fraud protection, and commercial loans. Prepare documentation for applications, perform RFPs, and partner with the leadership team to align on priorities and cost reduction in concert with business priorities. Given our industry, banking and financial services can be precarious and require more handholding and negotiation to get basic services and competitive rates.
• Partner with the sales, marketing and operations team to review product SKU costing, P&Ls and pricing to drive profitability-based discussions on pricing adjustments, discontinuation or product line expansion.

Miscellaneous

• Manage payroll calculation, distribution and ensure compliance with local and federal regulations.
• Lead the accounting and finance implementation of our ERP system Odoo. Work cross functionally to identify the right steps, process, and project plan to migrate our systems with the least business interruption. Build the new ERP functionality to improve system performance, reporting and accounting & finance efficiency.

Requirements

Requirements

• 10+ years of accounting experience in small to mid-sized manufacturing and physical goods businesses.
• 5+ years of experience in people management across multiple locations.
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, mathematics or similar preferred.
• Proficient with QuickBooks Enterprise Desktop and developing data flows in and out of QBE. Preferred experience with ERPs and ERP implementation, specifically Odoo.
• Knowledge of U.S. GAAP, accounting procedures and internal controls.
• Good interpersonal skills. Effective communicator – verbal and written.
• Outstanding technology and software aptitude. Knowledge of MS Office and Google Suite products. Strong Excel and Google Sheets skills required.
• Self-starter – ability to work independently with minimal supervision. Must be dependable and deliver timely and accurate reporting and respond to internal and external customers in an efficient, professional manner.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail. Able to maintain strict confidentiality is essential.
• Intellectual curiosity – the desire to learn, grow and improve.
• Strong understanding of accounting data flows, ideally competent in SQL and able to build and use databases.
• Collaborator. Always willing to help others and assist when and where needed.

Benefits

Benefits

• Five weeks PTO & three paid holidays
• Medical, Vision, and Dental Insurance
• Stocked Kitchen
• 401k plan
• Stock options
• Barbecue and shared garden

This job is preferred as in-person role, with the expectation of four days in office per week at our Ballard office.

Base Compensation Range: $110,000 - $175,000 DOE

Veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.

Cycling frog is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating a diverse environment. All qualified applicants will received consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age or veteran status.