About Auto Direct USA
Auto Direct USA is a rapidly growing automotive wholesale and export company specializing in the purchase, transportation, importation and sale of vehicles across Canada and the United States. We operate in a fast-paced, high-volume environment, processing thousands of vehicle transactions and significant annual sales across multiple currencies, jurisdictions and sales channels.
We are seeking an experienced, highly capable and hands-on Controller to lead our accounting department and oversee the financial operations required to support our continued growth.
This is not a traditional Controller position. The role combines senior financial leadership with detailed oversight of high-dollar, repetitive transactions, cross-border taxation, foreign exchange, inventory financing and vehicle importation.
Position Overview
Reporting directly to the VP Finance , the Controller will lead Auto Direct USA’s accounting department and have overall responsibility for the integrity of the company’s financial records, internal controls, reporting processes and regulatory compliance.
The Controller will oversee the accounting team and work closely with senior management, tax advisors, auditors, banks and other professional service providers.
This individual must understand the complete financial cycle of each vehicle—from purchase and payment through transportation, importation, sale and collection. The Controller will also oversee intercompany and cross-border accounting and ensure financial information remains timely, accurate and useful for management decision-making.
Key Responsibilities
Accounting Department Leadership
- Lead and oversee the accounting department and its day-to-day activities.
- Establish clear responsibilities, deadlines and performance expectations for accounting employees.
- Review the accuracy and completeness of work performed by the accounting team.
- Manage departmental workloads and ensure all accounting responsibilities are completed on time.
- Train, support and develop accounting employees.
- Improve coordination between accounting, purchasing, sales, transportation, processing and management.
- Promote a culture of accuracy, accountability, confidentiality and continuous improvement.
Financial Reporting and Oversight
- Oversee all day-to-day accounting operations and financial reporting.
- Prepare accurate monthly, and yearly financial statements.
- Manage month-end and year-end closing processes across Canadian and United States operations.
- Develop management reports covering profitability, cash flow, inventory, receivables and operational performance.
- Review vehicle-level profitability and ensure purchase, transportation, importation, repair, interest and selling costs are properly recorded.
- Ensure transactions are recorded consistently and accurately.
- Prepare budgets, forecasts and cash-flow projections to support management planning.
- Provide meaningful financial analysis and recommendations to the CEO and ownership group.
Cross-Border Accounting and Tax Compliance
- Oversee accounting for transactions involving Canadian and United States entities.
- Coordinate compliance relating to HST/GST, provincial taxes, U.S. sales taxes and other applicable cross-border tax requirements. (title company)
- Manage intercompany transactions, reconciliations and balances between related entities.
- Work with external tax advisors to ensure the company’s cross-border structure and transactions are properly documented and reported.
- Assist with audits, regulatory reviews and requests from Canadian and United States tax authorities.
- Monitor changes in tax and accounting requirements affecting cross-border operations.
High-Volume Transaction Management
- Ensure the accurate processing and reconciliation of high-volume, repetitive and high-dollar vehicle transactions.
- Oversee accounts payable, accounts receivable, invoicing, payment application and banking reconciliations.
- Reconcile auction statements, dealer payments, transportation charges, customs costs and other vehicle-related expenses.
- Ensure vehicle purchases, costs and sales are accurately matched by VIN.
- Investigate discrepancies involving inventory costs, proceeds, payments, titles, receivables or vendor balances.
- Develop processes that reduce manual errors and improve transaction speed and accuracy.
- Maintain strong controls over wire transfers, electronic payments and other significant cash movements.
Inventory, Cash Flow and Foreign Exchange
- Oversee the financial recording and reconciliation of vehicle inventory across multiple locations and stages of transit.
- Monitor inventory aging, capital usage, interest costs and vehicle turn times.
- Monitor large Canadian-dollar and U.S.-dollar balances and transactions.
- Support management in evaluating foreign-exchange exposure and currency-conversion activity.
- Reconcile inventory financing, credit facilities and associated interest expenses.
Internal Controls and Process Improvement
- Establish, document and maintain effective internal financial controls.
- Review accounting procedures and identify opportunities for automation and improvement.
- Create clear approval processes for purchases, payments, expenses, journal entries and account changes.
- Strengthen controls surrounding banking, vendor information and electronic payment instructions.
- Ensure accounting policies and procedures are consistently followed throughout the organization.
- Support the implementation and development of accounting, payroll, expense-management and operational systems.
- Build scalable financial processes capable of supporting continued growth and transaction volume.
Qualifications and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration or a related field.
- Chartered Professional Accountant designation is strongly preferred.
- Experience as a Controller, Assistant Controller or in a comparable senior accounting leadership position.
- Demonstrated experience managing an accounting department and supervising accounting employees.
- Strong knowledge of Canadian accounting standards, tax compliance and financial reporting.
- Experience with cross-border Canadian–U.S. operations is a significant asset.
- Experience with intercompany accounting, foreign-currency transactions and multi-entity reporting is preferred.
- Experience in automotive wholesale, dealerships, vehicle exporting, logistics, inventory-based businesses or another high-volume transactional environment would be highly valuable.
- Demonstrated ability to manage complex reconciliations involving large transaction volumes and dollar values.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and experience with accounting systems such as CDK would be a significant asset.
- Experience developing internal controls and improving accounting processes.
Required Skills and Attributes
- A confident and accountable financial leader.
- Exceptionally detail-oriented and committed to accuracy.
- Comfortable managing thousands of transactions and substantial annual cash flow.
- Capable of understanding both the accounting and operational sides of the business.
- Highly organized and able to manage multiple deadlines and competing priorities.
- Analytical, investigative and capable of resolving complex discrepancies.
- Comfortable reporting directly to the VP Finance and communicating with senior management.
- Proactive in identifying financial risks, control weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.
- Comfortable in a rapidly growing environment where systems and processes continue to evolve.
- Able to maintain strict confidentiality when handling sensitive financial information.
- A strong communicator who can explain financial information clearly to non-accounting personnel.
- Willing to remain hands-on and involved in detailed accounting work when required.
What We Offer
- A senior financial leadership position reporting directly to the VP Finance .
- Full responsibility for leading and developing the company’s accounting department.
- Direct involvement in the continued development of Auto Direct USA’s financial systems and corporate structure.
- Exposure to complex Canadian and United States automotive operations.
- A challenging position with significant responsibility and decision-making involvement.
- Competitive compensation based on experience and qualifications.
- Group benefits and paid vacation.
- Opportunities for professional growth as the company continues to expand.
Pay: $80,000.00-$100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Disability insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
