Call or text 262-893-1523 or email marc@mdmrecruitingllc.com.
I place controllers and assistant controllers at finance and accounting teams across Wisconsin and northern Illinois. If you have an open controller seat and you are tired of resumes that do not match the job, this is what I do all day.
The controller is the person who keeps the books clean, closes the month on time, and gives you numbers you can actually trust. When that seat is empty or the wrong person is in it, everything downstream gets shaky. A bad controller hire is expensive and slow to unwind, so it is worth getting right the first time.
What a controller and assistant controller actually do
At a 50 to 200 person company, the controller usually owns the monthly close, financial reporting, the general ledger, and the accounting team. They handle audit prep, keep internal controls honest, and make sure cash and revenue are recorded the right way. In a lot of companies I work with, the controller is also the person the owner or CFO leans on when a real number is needed fast.
The assistant controller carries a big share of the close and the day to day accounting so the controller can step back and look at the bigger picture. In smaller shops the assistant controller is often the next controller in waiting. Hiring one well gives you room to grow without adding a whole layer of management.
Why these roles are hard to hire
Good controllers are usually already employed and not answering job ads. They are busy people who move when the right conversation finds them, not when they are scrolling a job board. That is the part a generalist recruiter misses. You end up with a stack of resumes that look fine on paper but fall apart in the first real conversation about a month end close.
The other trap is technical fit. A controller who was great at a manufacturing company with heavy inventory and standard costing is not automatically the right fit for a services business, and the reverse is just as true. I spend my time on that gap, so the people you meet can actually do the specific job you are hiring for.
What I look for in a controller
I care about the things that do not show up on a resume. Can this person close the books without drama. Do they explain a variance in plain English or hide behind spreadsheets. Have they built or fixed a process, or just kept a good one running. Will they hold the line on a control when someone senior pushes back. Those are the questions I am asking on your behalf before you ever spend an hour interviewing.
I also pay attention to the softer fit. A controller at a 75 person company wears more hats than one at a large corporation, and not everyone wants that. I make sure the people I send you actually want the job you have, not the job title.
The kind of hire this matters for
This matters most when the seat is critical and the margin for a bad hire is thin. If your close is slipping, your last controller left a mess, or you are promoting from within and need a steady hand alongside them, that is exactly the search I am built for. One open finance role at a time, done properly, is the whole point.
Have an open controller role? Let’s talk about it.
Tell me about the seat and the team it sits on. I will tell you honestly whether I can help and what a realistic search looks like. No pressure and no obligation.
Call or text 262-893-1523 or email marc@mdmrecruitingllc.com.