POSITION OVERVIEW
The Controller is a strategic leadership position at Relentless Hospitality Collective, overseeing all financial functions to ensure fiscal responsibility, compliance, and profitability across our catering and hospitality operations. This role is essential to maintaining financial health and transparency across multiple business units and locations, including affiliate companies. The Controller will lead financial planning, accounting, budgeting, and reporting efforts, while partnering with department heads to support data-driven decision-making and operational efficiency in a dynamic, high-volume food and beverage environment.
WORK HOURS
This role is required to work a minimum of 40 hours per week. A flexible schedule is necessary based on business needs, with core availability Monday through Friday. Occasional nights, weekends, and travel to various locations or events will be required, particularly during financial close periods or key planning cycles.
RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES include but are not limited to:
FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP & STRATEGY
- Lead the budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning process in coordination with the CFO and department leaders.
- Support the CFO in executing company-wide financial strategies aligned with business objectives.
- Provide financial insights and operational recommendations that contribute to long-term growth and performance goals.
- Help guide investment decisions by providing accurate projections, cost-benefit analysis, and scenario modeling.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ANALYSIS
- Deliver accurate and timely financial reporting, dashboards, and KPIs to internal stakeholders.
- Analyze performance trends, variances, and potential areas for financial improvement.
- Oversee the preparation and consolidation of financial statements, budgets, and forecasts.
- Manage cash flow analysis, working capital oversight, and liquidity tracking.
- Conduct variance analysis and assist department managers in understanding budget-to-actual performance.
ACCOUNTING OPERATIONS & CONTROLS
- Oversee the day-to-day accounting operations including A/P, A/R, payroll oversight, general ledger, and month-end close.
- Ensure compliance with GAAP and applicable tax regulations for multi-entity, multi-state operations.
- Establish and maintain internal controls to safeguard company assets and ensure accuracy in financial data.
- Coordinate and lead annual audits, tax filings, and financial reviews with external firms.
TAX COORDINATION & CPA PARTNERSHIP
- Collaborate closely with the company’s CPA partners to ensure timely, accurate filing of all federal, state, and local tax obligations for all entities.
- Oversee the preparation, review, and organization of required tax documents, payments, and schedules.
- Maintain a detailed tax calendar to manage critical reporting and payment deadlines across the organization.
- Monitor regulatory and tax law changes in partnership with CPAs, and support any necessary process or compliance updates.
- Prepare supporting schedules and documentation for audits, quarterly filings, and annual reviews.
- Ensure effective coordination between the accounting team and external partners to streamline tax compliance.
BUDGETING & REPORTING
- Manage the annual budgeting process in collaboration with CFO and department heads.
- Monitor adherence to budget guidelines across departments and provide regular financial updates.
- Support location managers with budget understanding, P&L analysis, and spending oversight.
- Develop tools, templates, and reporting processes that support efficient, clear financial communication.
- Prepare financial reports and summaries for leadership, including the CFO and CEO.
MULTI-ENTITY & LOCATION SUPPORT
- Consolidate financials across multiple affiliated companies and venues (restaurants, catering divisions, etc.).
- Develop systems and processes to streamline reporting and performance tracking by location or business unit.
- Work closely with location managers to train and support budgeting, P&L review, and expense management.
- Maintain accounting integrations with POS systems, catering/event management software, and payroll systems.
COST & INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
- Implement and monitor systems for food & beverage cost control and inventory reconciliation.
- Partner with culinary and operations teams to identify areas for margin improvement and cost savings.
- Ensure accurate COGS reporting and compliance with purchasing policies.
CROSS-DEPARTMENT COLLABORATION
- Act as a financial liaison across departments including Operations, Culinary, Sales & Marketing, and HR.
- Provide financial support for pricing strategy, event profitability analysis, and capital expenditure reviews.
- Promote cross-functional understanding of financial objectives and cost awareness.
- Support leadership in aligning financial processes with operational goals.
TEAM LEADERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT
- Lead and mentor the accounting team, ensuring accountability, accuracy, and collaboration.
- Promote a culture of continuous learning, process improvement, and shared ownership of financial outcomes.
- Identify training needs and support the professional growth of finance staff.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field (CPA or MBA preferred).
- 7+ years of progressive financial experience, including multi-entity and multi-location environments.
- Strong understanding of hospitality/food & beverage accounting practices.
- Hands-on experience with QuickBooks, POS systems, Gusto, inventory tracking tools, and Excel.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
- Proven ability to lead teams, improve processes, and collaborate across departments.
- Detail-oriented and deadline-driven with a strong sense of financial accountability.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be detail-oriented, deadline-driven, and capable of managing multiple priorities.
- Willingness to travel to company locations as needed.
- Strong integrity and commitment to maintaining confidentiality and ethical standards.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial hospitality setting.