Job Title: Controller

About the Role

We are seeking a Controller to own and execute all accounting operations for a fast-growing, multi-state temporary staffing business. This role is responsible for ensuring the company maintains accurate, timely, and reliable financials, with a primary focus on driving an efficient month-end close, maintaining strong accounting controls, and supporting financial reporting that helps leadership understand how the business is operating.

The Controller will be hands-on in managing the close, reconciliations, and accounting accuracy, while overseeing payroll accounting, billing/AR, AP, and treasury operations. This role owns accounting execution and integrity; the CFO relies on this position for technical accounting leadership and confidence in the numbers.

Key Responsibilities

Accounting Ownership & Close Leadership

• Own and drive the monthly close process end-to-end
• Establish and manage the close calendar, task ownership, and deadlines
• Prepare, review, and post journal entries as needed
• Review account reconciliations and ensure timely resolution of issues
• Maintain clean, well-supported balance sheet accounts
• Ensure financial statements are complete, accurate, and GAAP-compliant

Oversight of Core Accounting Operations

• Oversee and support (but do not fully execute) the following functions:
• Billing and accounts receivable
• Accounts payable
• Payroll accounting (in partnership with Payroll & Tax Compliance Lead)
• Ensure workflows are clearly owned by team members and functioning effectively
• Ensure accounting processes scale with business growth without breaking accuracy

Payroll, Revenue & Cost Accounting

• Ensure payroll costs, taxes, and related liabilities are recorded accurately
• Review payroll accruals, reconciliations, and allocations
• Ensure alignment between payroll costs, client billing, and revenue recognition
• Support accurate gross margin reporting by client and service line
• Ensure consistent accounting treatment of payroll burden components

Banking, Cash & Treasury Operations

• Own day-to-day banking and treasury operations, including:
• Daily and weekly cash position monitoring
• Bank account management and reconciliations
• Cash receipts and disbursement controls
• Monitoring returned items, ACH activity, and cash exceptions
• Prepare short-term cash flow visibility in support of payroll and operations
• Ensure strong segregation of duties and cash controls
• Partner with the CFO on cash forecasting and liquidity planning

Financial Reporting & CFO Support

• Prepare and review monthly financial statements and supporting schedules
• Partner with the CFO on reporting that explains operational drivers, not just results
• Support variance analysis, margin trends, and operational insights
• Ensure financial data is reliable, explainable, and decision-ready
• Support budgeting, forecasting, and ad hoc financial analysis as needed

Compliance & Controls

• Maintain accounting policies, procedures, and internal controls
• Partner with external tax advisors on income, payroll, and indirect taxes
• Ensure accounting records are audit-ready and well-documented

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and support the accounting team through hands-on guidance and review
• Set expectations for accuracy, timeliness, and accountability
• Act as the primary escalation point for accounting issues
• Help develop scalable accounting processes and team structure

Qualifications

Required

• 7–12 years of progressive accounting experience
• Prior experience as a Controller, Assistant Controller, or Senior Accounting Manager
• Strong technical accounting and month-end close experience
• Hands-on experience with bank reconciliations and cash controls
• Experience overseeing payroll, AR, and AP functions
• Comfort operating in a fast-growing, operationally complex environment
• Strong understanding of accrual accounting and internal controls
• Ability to operate both strategically and tactically
• Clear communicator able to explain accounting outcomes to non-accountants

Preferred

• Experience in staffing, professional services, or payroll-intensive businesses
• Experience supporting multi-state operations
• Experience partnering closely with a CFO in a scaling company
• Experience with M&A transactions

What Success Looks Like

• Month-end close is timely, repeatable, and well-controlled
• Financial statements are accurate, supported, and trusted
• Bank accounts and cash balances reconcile cleanly
• Payroll, billing, and AP accounting operate smoothly with proper oversight
• Cash position and short-term liquidity are visible and well-managed
• The CFO has confidence in the numbers and can focus on strategic priorities

Why This Role Matters

As the company scales, payroll volume, billing complexity, and cash management risk increase rapidly. This role is critical to ensuring strong accounting discipline, accurate reporting, and operational visibility to support sustainable growth.

About Vangst

Vangst is the cannabis industry’s hiring platform. We help cannabis companies find the talent they need to grow their business—from on-demand gig workers to trained and credentialed full-time employees. Vangst proudly partners with over 1,200 leading cannabis businesses and supports a talent network of hundreds of thousands of professionals nationwide.

Since raising its seed round in 2018, Vangst has become one of the fastest-growing companies in the cannabis industry and was recognized by Fast Company as one of the Most Innovative Companies. With more than 300,000 people currently employed in cannabis—and that number expected to triple over the next five years—Vangst is on a mission to fill every job in the cannabis industry.

Headquartered in Denver, CO, Vangst is a Series B company backed by Lerer Hippeau, Colle Capital, Level One Fund, Casa Verde Capital, and others.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Vangst provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.