THE ROLE
Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. (“Tootsie Roll” or the “Company”) has been manufacturing iconic confectionary brands such as Tootsie Roll, Tootsie Pops, Childs Play, Blow Pops, Dots, Dubble Bubble, Junior Mints, Andes, and Charleston Chew for over 125 years. The Company is searching for an Assistant Controller to own the Company’s external financial reporting process including the independent financial statement audit and SOX compliance processes. The Assistant Controller will report to the Corporate Controller and will lead the traditional corporate functions including general ledger, financial reporting, accounts payable, and payroll. The role also includes treasury responsibilities which first and foremost includes custodial monitoring of the Company’s substantial bond portfolio.
This is an exciting time to join the team and this role presents an engaging opportunity to be a part of the next evolution of Tootsie Roll’s finance and accounting function. The right candidate will be armed with a sharp attention to detail and the desire to execute while understanding the need to maintain accurate financial reporting and proper controls. Tootsie Roll is proud to have built a culture based on tradition, respect, loyalty, and trust.
ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES & HIGHLIGHTS
External Financial Reporting and Corporate Accounting
· Manage the Company’s quarterly SEC review and annual audit processes with the Company’s external auditor, Grant Thornton; set the annual audit schedule including quarterly reviews, coordinate internal meetings and guide auditor interaction with non-financial teams, manage item request lists and curate information provided to the auditors.
· Review the Company’s Form 10-Q, Form 10-K, press releases, Proxy, and other SEC filings, including filing of any independent or associated Form 8-K’s, for accuracy and conformity with US GAAP where applicable.
· Partner with the Director of Finance to validate the integrity of financial information, both GAAP and non-GAAP, generated for internal use.
· Serve as a US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“US GAAP”) technical accounting expert for the Company; educate leadership on the accounting implications of new business concepts or new pronouncements, ensure policies and practices conform with existing guidance and document any accounting positions as may be needed for audit purposes.
· Own the design of the Company’s Oracle E-Business Solution (“Oracle”) and Hyperion Financial Consolidation and Close (“Hyperion”) software packages from GL structure to the consolidation of all domestic and foreign operations.
· Direct the accounting for traditional corporate topics such as cash, investments, equity, pensions, healthcare, insurance and various corporate accrued expenses as well as several centralized workflows such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, fixed assets, trade promotions, payroll, derivatives, and leasing.
Independent Audit and Internal Control Processes
· Coordinate management’s annual assessment of its internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2004 (“SOX”). The Company uses a third-party accounting firm to execute the testing program; efficient coordination of the third-party and Grant Thornton is critical to successfully meet filing deadlines.
· Provide input on the design of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting; add, remove, or change key controls as agreed upon with team leadership.
· Support the tax department with quarterly income tax analysis and review including deferred tax as well as preparing and providing key information for use in the income tax process; prepare support for transfer pricing analyses and direct the recording of any necessary adjustments, prepare estimates of domestic pre-tax income for use in preparing estimated tax payments and prepare the annual reconciliation of pre-tax earnings by legal entity to consolidated pre-tax earnings to support the annual tax provision.
· Persistently search for opportunities to automate or otherwise more efficiently complete compliance-oriented tasks to unlock capacity for value-add analysis and rigor to support the organization.
Corporate Treasury Management
· Monitor the Company’s bond portfolio holding; reconcile inflows and outflows, work with the Company’s custodian and asset manager to assess asset quality, credit risk and compliance with the Company’s investment policy.
· Develop cash cycle projections to forecast liquidity; define and monitor net working capital and free cash flow targets as may be required for annual performance metrics.
· Manage treasury operations, cash and policy management, and manage the relationships with the Company’s banking service providers.
Leadership
· Manage 8 total professionals between the Corporate accounting, Accounts Payable, Payroll and Treasury teams; allocate resources, resolve issues, assess team performance, help team members identify efficiencies, coordinate efforts to meet deadlines, and coach team members through any process changes identified.
QUALIFICATIONS
· Minimum 10 years of experience in corporate accounting and related functions such as general ledger accounting and financial reporting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and/or treasury; at least 5 years of experience with a publicly traded Company with exposure to SOX
· Requires CPA and Bachelor’s degree from a nationally recognized university in accounting or an equivalent
· Public accounting experience preferred; experience with financial statement auditors required
· Oracle Financials (or similar large ERP system, e.g. SAP) experience highly desirable
· Strong MS Excel, Word, and PowerPoint skills
SOFTWARE / INFORMATION SYSTEMS
· Hyperion Cloud Financial Consolidation and Close reporting software
· Oracle EBS Software or similar large ERP system
· Microsoft Office (MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
COMPETENCIES AND ABILITIES
Problem Solving Ability to review financial reports for accuracy under US GAAP and to spot trends that may lead to actionable insights; analyze, distill, and communicate interpretive commentary on financial results and metrics
Communication Ability to clearly articulate issues, associated analysis and solutions clearly in both written and oral form
Leadership Capable of taking the lead in the resolution of issues and gain the commitment of others without direct reporting responsibility; ability to motivate direct reports
Team Commitment Capable of gaining respect from others, to share ideas openly and to support team decisions; willingness to cross functional boundaries as part of a corporate accounting team with shared deadlines to meet expectations
Collaboration Patience to understand current processes and practices coupled with the experience and persuasiveness to propose and implement best practices appropriate for the Company and culture
The expected base salary range for this position is $150,000 to $200,000. The actual compensation offered will be determined based on a range of factors including skills, abilities, and prior experience.