Description Lead the numbers. Partner with the business. Make an impact across an established marine dealership organization. Irwin Marine is seeking an experienced Dealership Controller to provide financial leadership and accounting oversight across our dealership locations. This is a highly visible, hands-on role for an accounting professional who can maintain strong financial controls while partnering with the General Manager and operational leaders to drive accuracy, accountability, and sound business decisions.
The ideal candidate combines strong technical accounting skills with a practical, business-minded approach. You know how to dig into the details, identify the root cause of an issue, strengthen processes, and communicate financial information in a way that helps operating teams take action.
This position is primarily based at its assigned location in Laconia, with periodic travel to our other locations as business needs require. Travel is expected to be minimal.
What You'll Do As Dealership Controller, you will oversee accounting and financial control activities across assigned Irwin Marine locations and help ensure the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and integrity of our financial reporting.
Financial Reporting & Month-End Close
- Lead and oversee the monthly close process for assigned dealership locations.
- Ensure financial activity is recorded in the proper period, legal entity, location, department, and general ledger account.
- Review financial statements, accruals, adjusting entries, reconciliations, and supporting schedules.
- Identify unusual balances, margins, transactions, and trends and proactively drive issues through resolution.
- Maintain strong balance-sheet integrity and ensure material accounts are properly reconciled.
Inventory & Floorplan Accounting
- Oversee the financial integrity and reconciliation of boat and parts inventory.
- Monitor inventory adjustments, transfers, write-offs, and other significant exceptions.
- Ensure floorplan lender statements reconcile to the general ledger and underlying boat inventory.
- Monitor sold units requiring payoff and investigate aged or unusual floorplan items.
- Review curtailments, interest, lender fees, credits, and related activity.
Boat Deal Accounting
- Ensure completed boat transactions are accurately and timely recorded.
- Review sales, cost of sales, gross profit, trade-ins, deposits, taxes, fees, commissions, and related accounting.
- Monitor contracts in transit and investigate aged or unfunded transactions.
- Oversee accounting for customer deposits, manufacturer rebates, incentives, and other deal-related receivables.
- Investigate unusual deal margins and posting discrepancies and coordinate corrective action.
Service, Warranty & Work in Process
- Oversee reconciliation of service WIP and review aged or significant open repair orders.
- Monitor service revenue, labor, cost of sales, and gross profit for accounting anomalies.
- Review warranty receivables and aging and ensure manufacturer payments and credits are properly applied.
- Partner with service leadership to resolve WIP and warranty discrepancies.
Cash, AR, AP & Intercompany
- Maintain oversight of accounts receivable and accounts payable activity.
- Review aging, unapplied cash, vendor credits, unusual balances, and collection concerns.
- Ensure bank accounts, deposits, electronic payments, credit-card settlements, and other cash activity are properly reconciled.
- Oversee intercompany reconciliations and drive timely resolution of differences.
Budgeting, Forecasting & Business Partnership
- Lead and support budgeting, forecasting, reforecasting, and financial analysis across the region.
- Analyze budget-to-actual results and operating trends to identify underlying business drivers.
- Distinguish accounting issues and timing differences from operational performance.
- Partner with General Managers and department leaders to help them understand financial results and improve performance.
- Translate financial information into clear, actionable business insights for leadership.
Internal Controls & Process Improvement
- Champion consistent accounting policies, procedures, and financial controls across Irwin Marine locations.
- Maintain appropriate segregation of duties and approval controls.
- Identify recurring accounting issues and control weaknesses and implement sustainable solutions.
- Improve processes, reporting, and accountability as the organization continues to evolve.
Requirements
What We're Looking For We're looking for a proactive financial leader who takes ownership, enjoys solving problems, and follows issues through to resolution.
The successful candidate will bring:
- Strong accounting and financial reporting experience, preferably in a multi-location dealership, automotive, marine, powersports, retail, or similar environment.
- Demonstrated experience leading month-end close and balance-sheet reconciliations.
- Strong understanding of inventory accounting, working capital, and operational accounting.
- Experience with floorplan financing and dealership accounting is highly desirable.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify root causes - not simply report variances.
- The ability to balance strong financial controls with a collaborative, operations-focused approach.
- Excellent communication skills and the confidence to work directly with senior leadership, General Managers, and department leaders.
- A hands-on mindset and willingness to dig into the details when necessary.
- Ability to manage priorities across multiple locations and consistently meet deadlines.
- Ability to travel periodically to other Irwin Marine locations, with minimal travel anticipated.