Controller- Small Business

Hands-On Controller — Build & Lead the Finance Function

Alpine Tree Service | Morristown, NJ
Full-Time | On-Site
Salary: $100,000–$120,000 annually + Company Performance-Based Bonus

The Opportunity

Alpine Tree Service is a rapidly growing, entrepreneurial company seeking an experienced, highly motivated Hands-On Controller to build and lead our financial function.

This is not a traditional corporate Controller position overseeing an established accounting department.

We need someone with experience in a small to mid-sized business who understands what it means to wear multiple hats, work without layers of support, identify what needs to be done, and take ownership of getting it done.

During the first year, this will be a highly hands-on position. You will work across the entire finance function—from bookkeeping, reconciliations, AP/AR, collections, and month-end close to budgeting, forecasting, job costing, financial analysis, and advising ownership.

As Alpine continues to grow, we plan to add bookkeeping and accounting support, allowing this position to evolve into broader financial leadership.

The opportunity is to build the function first and lead the function as it grows.

What You Will Own

• Full-cycle accounting and general ledger
• Monthly and year-end close
• Accounts payable, vendor management, and purchasing controls
• Customer invoicing, accounts receivable, and collections
• Bank and credit-card reconciliations
• Payroll review and labor allocation
• Financial statement preparation and management reporting
• Cash management and cash-flow forecasting
• Annual budgeting and rolling forecasts
• Job-costing and profitability reporting
• Internal controls and accounting procedures
• Financial dashboards and KPIs
• Coordination with accountants, tax professionals, banks, insurance providers, and other financial partners
• Financial analysis to support operational and strategic decisions

During the first year, no accounting responsibility will be considered beneath this position.

You must be equally comfortable reconciling an account, resolving a billing issue, reviewing payroll, analyzing margins, building a forecast, challenging an expense, and presenting financial information to ownership.

What You Will Be Expected to Build

The Controller will be responsible for strengthening Alpine’s current accounting operation and developing the financial infrastructure required to support continued growth.

This includes:

• A disciplined and timely monthly close
• Accurate management reporting
• Cash-flow forecasting and working-capital visibility
• Annual budgets and rolling forecasts
• Job, crew, department, and service-line profitability reporting
• Job-costing and labor-cost analysis
• Stronger AR and collections processes
• Documented accounting policies and procedures
• Internal financial controls and accountability
• Fleet, equipment, and capital-expenditure reporting
• Better use of accounting technology and automation
• A scalable structure for the future finance department

You will not be handed a finished system. Part of your job is determining what needs to be built and then building it.

Who We Are Looking For

The right candidate is:

• Highly motivated, energetic, and action-oriented
• Experienced working in a small to mid-sized business
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
• Accustomed to wearing multiple hats across accounting and finance
• Willing to perform transactional accounting while also providing higher-level financial analysis
• Able to operate independently without constant direction
• Resourceful when systems, information, or processes are incomplete
• Naturally curious when numbers do not make sense
• Organized, disciplined, and highly accurate
• Comfortable creating structure where it does not currently exist
• Confident enough to challenge assumptions and raise concerns
• Able to communicate directly with ownership and leadership
• Looking for a long-term career with increasing responsibility

This Position Is Not a Fit If You:

• Have only worked in large corporate accounting environments
• Only want to review work prepared by others
• Are unwilling to perform bookkeeping or transactional accounting
• Require an established finance team or corporate infrastructure
• Need every task clearly assigned before taking action
• Are uncomfortable with change, ambiguity, or accountability
• View routine accounting work as beneath a Controller-level position
• Want a narrowly defined position with limited responsibilities

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field
• Minimum 5 years of progressive accounting or financial-management experience
• Demonstrated experience working in a small to mid-sized business
• Experience in a growing organization where financial processes, controls, reporting, or systems needed to be developed or improved
• Strong hands-on accounting and bookkeeping capabilities
• Strong knowledge of general ledger accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, cash-flow management, and internal controls
• Experience managing monthly and year-end close
• Experience preparing financial statements and management reporting
• Strong Microsoft Excel and accounting-system skills
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving abilities
• High degree of professional judgment, discretion, accountability, and integrity

Strongly Preferred Experience

Experience in an operationally complex service business is strongly preferred, including:

• Construction
• Tree care or landscaping
• Home services
• Field services
• Skilled trades
• Fleet- or equipment-intensive businesses
• Other businesses involving significant labor, equipment, and job costing

Also preferred:

• Previous Controller, Assistant Controller, or Accounting Manager experience
• Experience building or professionalizing an accounting function
• Experience cleaning up weak accounting systems or processes
• Experience implementing accounting software or automation
• Job-costing and labor-cost analysis experience
• CPA or CMA designation

What Success Looks Like

Within the first year, the successful Controller will have:

• Established a reliable monthly close
• Improved financial accuracy and reporting
• Given ownership better visibility into cash flow and profitability
• Strengthened AR and collections
• Built stronger job-costing and profitability reporting
• Created documented accounting processes and controls
• Improved financial systems and automation
• Developed a plan for future accounting staffing
• Become a trusted financial partner to ownership and executive leadership

About Alpine Tree Service

Alpine Tree Service is a rapidly growing tree-care and property-services company serving residential and commercial clients throughout Northern New Jersey.

We are building a disciplined, professionally managed organization and want people who take ownership, solve problems, move with urgency, and want to grow with the company.

Our Core Values:

• Actively Seek Knowledge
• Think Ahead to Solve Problems
• Be Adaptable
• Loyalty to the Team
• Motivation to Be the Best

Application Requirements

To be considered, please submit your résumé along with a brief written response addressing:

1. Describe the most significant accounting or financial process you have built or improved.
2. What actions did you personally take?
3. What was the measurable result?
4. Describe a role where you handled both detailed accounting work and higher-level financial leadership.

If you are looking for an established Controller position where the systems and team are already built, this is probably not the right opportunity.

If you are energized by the opportunity to build, improve, problem-solve, and ultimately lead the financial function of a growing company, we want to hear from you.