Senior Controller

Ascent Inc. is a leading HVAC Manufacturer's Representative firm providing the highest quality heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions in Northern California, Washington and data centers across North America. We represent premier HVAC manufacturers and deliver a "Higher Level of Service" through our team of skilled Sales Engineers, Controls & Service Experts. We specialize in custom air handling solutions with particular expertise in data center cooling applications. We are currently playing a major role in building the data centers housing the newest AI servers that will support the compute of tomorrow.

We’re a fast-growing company that values our people, creating a collaborative and supportive environment where everyone can thrive. With a stable and expanding industry driving us forward, we offer exciting opportunities for individuals to grow, innovate, and make meaningful impacts. If you’re ready to be part of a dynamic team where your contributions matter, we’d love to hear from you!

Core Values & Culture:

Our company operates with very high integrity and professionalism, guided by our core values: Focus, No Ego, Integrity, Listen, Accountability, No Bad Jobs

Title: Senior Controller

Reporting to: Director of Business Operations

Salary: $120,000-$200,000

Who You Are:

You are an experienced accounting professional with expertise in accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, month-end close, and financial reporting. You take full ownership of your work, seeing tasks through from start to finish, and have experience in construction accounting and have proactively managed project Liens.

You excel at managing accounts receivable and mechanic’s liens, protecting legal and financial interests, and finding practical solutions to diverse challenges. Comfortable working with data, you have experience building custom reports, collaborating on dashboard development, and leveraging data analysis to drive informed decision-making. You’re adept at manipulating business intelligence reports, with exposure to data analytics platforms being a plus.

Adaptable and collaborative, you strive to understand existing processes while driving progress through innovative solutions. If you’re ready to make an impact in a fast-growing, dynamic company, this role is for you.

Job Descriptions:

As the Controller, you will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of accounting operations and financial reporting. This is a hands-on position that requires both strong technical accounting skills as well as the ability to drive process improvements and leverage data to support strategic decision-making.

Key Responsibilities:

Finance & Accounting

-Annual Responsibilities:

• Prepare state and federal income tax documents and perform year-end clean-up.
• Oversee retirement plan census data and contributions.
• Manage 1099 reporting.

-Monthly Responsibilities:

• Handle multi-state sales tax filings and payments (CA, NV, UT, KY).
• Close fiscal months and generate financial reports, including P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.
• Perform or review reconciliations (bank accounts, AMEX transactions).
• Manage advances and payments to the line of credit (LOC).
• Process wire transfers for non-US vendors.
• Maintain accrual and deferral accounts through journal entries.
• Collect and organize monthly service statements (Chase, Optum, Microsoft, Paysimple, Health Insurance/HIPAA).
• Segmenting Income by Vertical Markets for Ascent.
• Help architect and maintain segmentation of multiple P&L’s rolling up into a single P&L (Ascent SF, Ascent Sacramento, Ascent Service, Ascent WA, additional Ascent locations as we expand)
• Aggregating and using company financial data to create custom reports/dashboards to communicate to the CEO on individual Sales Engineer Performance and company performance.

-Daily Responsibilities:

• Oversee AP/AR processes, including bill entry, invoicing, and adjustments.
• Monitor and manage weekly cash flow.
• Conduct bill payments and check reviews.
• Review aging receivables and update cash flow projections.
• Enforce expense reimbursement policies and personal expense accounting.
• Commission tracking and payment

Credit & Compliance

• Manage credit approval processes, including lien filings and creditworthiness assessments.
• Conduct credit research and determine hold statuses.
• Process requests for financial statements, credit information, and W-9 documentation.
• Ensure compliance with internal control procedures and industry standards.

HR & Payroll

• Create and validate commission statements (quarterly).
• Manage payroll processing (semi-monthly), bonus payments, and reimbursement requests.
• Oversee 401(k) and HSA contributions and year-end company contributions.
• Monitor state UI withholding changes for CA, IL, WA and MN.

Process Improvement & Leadership

• Analyze financial data, identify trends and issues, and provide recommendations to leadership
• Implement process improvements and automation to increase efficiency and accuracy
• Collaborate cross-functionally to provide financial insights and support business objectives
• Create and continuously improve documented processes for all major accounting functions.

Additional Responsibilities

• Provide backup support for order entry, sales orders, and business registration renewals.
• Support leadership with financial analysis, budgeting, and forecasting to drive strategic decision-making.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Accounting or Finance is a plus but not required
• 5 years of accounting experience, ideally in construction, manufacturing, manufacturer’s representative business or a similar industry.
• Proficient in QuickBooks and Excel. Experience in Smartsheet and Airtable is a plus.
• Strong knowledge of work-in-progress accounting required
• Prior experience or knowledge of mechanic’s lien processes strongly preferred.
• Ability to take full ownership of financial operations and drive continuous improvements.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work cross-functionally.
• Problem-solving mindset with a hands-on, detail-oriented approach.
• Use of Chat LLM’s to improve work product and increase efficiency.

Benefits Package:

• Health Insurance – United Healthcare or Kaiser, with 50% employer coverage
• Retirement Plan – 401(k) with a 3% Safe Harbor contribution
• Paid Sick Time: Employees receive 40 hours of paid sick time annually, awarded on their anniversary date.
• Paid Vacation: Employees accrue up to 80 hours of paid vacation per year, with a cap on the total amount of vacation time that can be accrued.
• Year-end bonuses opportunity

This position will play a crucial role in supporting Ascent's expansion plans while maintaining our commitment to providing a Higher Level of Service to both manufacturers and customers.