About Us
Opal Hospitality Inc. is a growing multi-property hotel management company operating branded hotels across Canada and the United States.
The Role
Opal Hospitality is seeking a Controller to lead the accounting function across our portfolio. Reporting to the Director, this role is responsible for directing the bookkeeping team, coordinating with property leadership to ensure complete and timely financial information, and delivering accurate, USALI-compliant financial reporting across all Canadian and US entities.
Day-to-day transactional accounting is performed by the outsourced bookkeeping team. The Controller directs that team, ensures the quality and accuracy of their output, and takes direct ownership of higher-level accounting work including opening entries for new properties, hotel takeovers, cash flow forecasting, and the delivery of a complete monthly financial package on schedule.
This is a hands-on leadership role suited to an experienced hospitality accountant who can operate independently, set standards for the team, and provide reliable financial reporting without requiring direction on accounting treatment.
The Controller will work closely with the outsourced bookkeeping team, internal administrative support, and hotel teams.
Responsibilities Financial Reporting and Forecasting
- Deliver a complete monthly financial package for each property and for the portfolio on time each period
- Prepare cash flow forecasts
- Monitor financial performance against budget and flag variances to the Director with supporting analysis
- Ensure all reporting is accurate, fully supported, and compliant with USALI standards
Team Direction
- Direct the outsourced bookkeeping team, including assignment of work, prioritization of deliverables, and adherence to deadlines
- Ensure the team prepares accurate journal entries, reconciliations, support files, and all required documentation by property and by period
- Review all work prepared by the bookkeeping team and verify accuracy prior to finalization of financial statements
- Provide clear written direction on coding, account treatment, and documentation standards
- Establish and maintain consistent accounting procedures across all properties
- Identify recurring issues and escalate to the Director with supporting detail and recommended solutions
Property Coordination
- Manage the monthly collection of financial information and supporting documentation from the hotel
- Maintain and communicate a clear reporting calendar to all properties
- Follow up on outstanding, incomplete, or inconsistent submissions and resolve directly with property teams
New Property Accounting and Non-Routine Transactions
- Prepare opening entries and establish the general ledger for new properties and hotel takeovers
- Determine the correct accounting treatment for non-routine transactions such as acquisitions, dispositions, and transitions
- Direct the bookkeeping team on the documentation and support required for each transition
- Ensure chart of accounts, system mappings, and reporting structures are in place before a new property enters the regular close cycle
Oversight of Day-to-Day Accounting
- Oversee the bookkeeping team's handling of journal entries, coding, and general ledger maintenance
- Review correcting and catch-up entries prepared by the team
- Ensure month-end support files are organized and complete by property
- Oversee the recording of activity in Nimble
Oversight of Accounts Payable and Payments
- Review and approve vendor invoices and expense coding
- Oversee the preparation of cheque runs and EFT payments
- Oversee vendor setup and maintenance
- Ensure vendor statement reconciliations are completed and discrepancies resolved
- Verify credit card and expense reconciliations
Month-End Close
- Lead the month-end close across all Canadian and US entities
- Maintain accrual discipline and ensure the close calendar remains on track
- Direct the bookkeeping team in the preparation of monthly balance sheet reconciliations for all accounts
- Oversee the maintenance of prepaid, deferred revenue, and deferred liability schedules and their amortization
- Oversee the maintenance of fixed asset and depreciation schedules
- Monitor accounts receivable aging by property and follow up on aged balances
- Review intercompany entries across Canadian and US entities
- Ensure suspense and clearing account balances are resolved
- Ensure all accruals are posted and reversed by the bookeeping team for all properties.
USALI and Coding Accuracy
- Ensure all activity is coded in accordance with USALI
- Maintain the chart of accounts to USALI standards across all properties
- Confirm PMS-to-GL and payroll-to-GL mapping remains accurate as new revenue and expense types are introduced
Tax and Compliance
- File HST/GST returns through CRA for individual properties as required
- Support US state and local sales and lodging tax filings
- Ensure payroll is recorded accurately under Canadian and US requirements, including employer portions of CPP, EI, EHT, and US federal and state payroll taxes
- Ensure workers' compensation items (WSIB, WCB, and US state equivalents) are accrued and expensed correctly by property and department
- Ensure payroll clearing and liability accounts are being reconciled on a monthly basis
Year-End
- Lead the year-end audit process, including directing the bookkeeping team in the compilation of audit items, working papers, and supporting schedules
- Review all the compiled data before sending it to the external auditor
- Respond to auditor inquiries and provide explanations of account activity
Qualifications Required
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Commerce, or a related accounting discipline from a Canadian institution
- CPA Designation (Ontario)
- 5+ years of hotel accounting experience in Canada
- Experience with hospitality accounting systems such as Nimble, M3, Inn-Flow, or similar
- Franchise brand experience (Marriott, Hilton, IHG)
- Experience directing, supervising, or reviewing the work of bookkeeping or accounting staff
- Demonstrated ability to independently determine correct accounting treatment in a hospitality environment
- Experience preparing cash flow forecasts and full-cycle financial reporting
- Strong working knowledge of USALI
- Tax Filings
- Multi-entity accounting experience
- Solid understanding of accounting principles, GAAP, and ASPE
- Advanced proficiency in Excel
- Strong technology aptitude with a track record of learning new accounting systems quickly
- Exceptional organizational skills with the discipline to track and close out open items
Preferred
- Restaurant and food and beverage accounting experience
- US accounting experience
Pay: $100,000.00 per year
Application question(s):
- Which hotel brands have you done accounting for (Marriott, Choice, IHG, Hyatt. Hilton, etc.)?
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree (required)
Experience:
- Hotel Accounting: 5 years (required)
Language:
- English (Fluent) (required)
Licence/Certification:
- Chartered Professional Accountant (Ontario) (required)
Work Location: In person
