Controller – Onboarding

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Minnesota.

📋 Description

• Manage the client relationship throughout the Tenacity phase of AIOA's Accounting Clarity methodology.

• Facilitate kickoff meetings and regular client check-ins.

• Set clear expectations, sustain momentum, and communicate decisions, responsibilities, deadlines, and subsequent steps.

• Perform financial evaluations, identify necessary cleanups, confirm the scope, and lay the technical and operational groundwork for ongoing service.

• Collaborate with the Tenacity Accountant, ongoing delivery team, CFO, Business Development, and Client Experience partners.

• Track timelines, hours, scope, obstacles, client responsiveness, and readiness for advancement; address concerns proactively.

• Educate clients on AIOA's systems, workflows, internal control standards, and accounting best practices.

• Document specific client processes, decisions, checklists, workpapers, and task responsibilities in SharePoint.

• Prepare and guide the transition to the ongoing team, including handoff documentation, meeting cadence, visibility of open items, and post-advancement follow-up.

• Collect lessons learned and enhance templates, automation, consistency, quality, and timelines.

• Evaluate and strengthen accounting frameworks for service lines, clients, engagements, projects, departments, or locations.

• Establish or refine workflows for time capture, project accounting, billing, deferred revenue, retainers, and revenue recognition.

• Develop reports for utilization, realization, effective bill rates, profitability, and accounts receivable aging.

• Implement controls for client and engagement setup, contracting, billing approvals, collections, contractors, payroll, and benefits reconciliation.

• Generate baseline financial statements, provide cash flow visibility, project reporting, and operational metrics.

• Complete time tracking, capacity planning, and quarterly initiatives.

• Participate in Client Experience team L10 meetings and AIOA's Brand Ambassador program.

• Ensure service quality, client satisfaction, data security, and the safeguarding of client assets.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 7 years of progressive accounting experience.

• Experience in public accounting, Client Accounting Services, or other multi-client settings preferred.

• Demonstrated success in client onboarding, implementation projects, financial cleanups, or accounting process transformations.

• Strong technical accounting expertise.

• Excellent communication skills with clients and the ability to clarify complex accounting concepts for non-financial audiences.

• Capability in teaching and mentoring.

• Project management experience coordinating various engagements with different scopes, stakeholders, deadlines, and risks.

• A mindset focused on process improvement.

• Technical proficiency with QuickBooks and a quick learning ability for additional accounting and industry platforms.

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or equivalent business experience.

• Significant experience with professional service business models, project accounting, time and billing, and revenue recognition.

• Experience in analyzing utilization, realization, effective bill rates, labor leverage, or project profitability.

• Familiarity with professional services automation, practice management, or time and billing platforms is strongly preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• Annual bonus: Up to 10% of salary.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.

• 401K.

• Life insurance.

• Long and short-term disability.

• HSA, FSA, and dependent care options.

• Opportunities for professional development.

• Fully remote work arrangement.