Complex Controller

The Complex Controller serves as the senior on-site finance leader for a high-volume poultry processing complex, overseeing financial operations spanning live production through processing, packaging, cold storage, and shipping. Reporting to the Division/Regional Finance Leader, this role partners closely with the Complex Manager, Live Operations leadership, and Plant Managers to ensure financial accuracy, operational discipline, and continuous performance improvement.

This position owns all financial stewardship for the complex, translating live production and plant metrics into clear financial insights that drive yield optimization, labor efficiency, throughput performance, cost control, and margin expansion. The Complex Controller leads a team of plant accounting professionals while fostering a service-oriented, data-driven finance culture aligned with operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

1. Operations Finance Leadership

• Serve as the primary finance business partner to Complex and Plant Managers.

• Translate operational KPIs-including live cost per pound, mortality, plant yields, downtime, line speeds, labor productivity, WIP levels, shrink, giveaway, and specification adherence-into actionable financial outcomes.

• Lead daily production finance reviews and weekly performance huddles; identify root causes of variances and drive corrective actions.

• Develop and maintain robust standard costing models for live and processed products, including by-products and co-products.

• Perform detailed variance analysis (material, yield, labor efficiency, overhead absorption, purchase price, mix, and volume).

• Lead yield and giveaway deep-dives by line, product, and customer spec to identify profitability drivers.

• Quantify the financial impact of downtime, rework, and quality deviations.

• Support capital expenditure analysis, ROI modeling, and post-implementation reviews for plant automation and efficiency projects.

2. Financial Planning, Budgeting & Reporting

• Own the annual operating plan (AOP) for the complex, including live operations, processing, warehousing, and support functions.

• Lead monthly forecasting cycles and weekly outlook updates, ensuring alignment with live bird placements and processing volumes.

• Consolidate and analyze financial results across multiple operational departments within the complex.

• Deliver timely and accurate financial reporting packages, including:

  • Plant P&L statements

  • Variance bridges (budget vs. actual, prior year vs. current year)

  • Yield impact analyses

  • Labor and overhead absorption reporting

• Develop and maintain KPI dashboards that integrate operational and financial data.

• Provide forward-looking risk and opportunity analysis tied to throughput, commodity markets, and customer demand.

3. Inventory, Costing & Internal Controls

• Ensure integrity and accuracy of Bills of Materials (BOMs), product recipes, routings, and standard cost updates.

• Maintain accurate inventory valuation across:

  • Live inventory

  • Chilled/frozen WIP

  • Finished goods

  • By-products and rendered materials

• Oversee physical inventories and cycle counts; reconcile variances and investigate root causes.

• Enforce strong internal controls consistent with SOX-level standards across production, warehousing, and shipping activities.

• Monitor and improve processes related to inventory accuracy, shrink reduction, and cut-out optimization.

• Review and approve journal entries, accruals, and cost allocations.

• Ensure timely month-end close with full reconciliation of plant sub-ledgers and balance sheet accounts.

4. Compliance, Governance & Audit

• Ensure full compliance with U.S. GAAP and corporate accounting policies.

• Support internal and external audits, providing required documentation and analysis.

• Maintain financial controls aligned with food safety and regulatory requirements, including oversight of cost impacts associated with compliance activities.

• Partner with USDA and quality teams to ensure financial reporting properly reflects compliance-related costs.

• Lead remediation efforts for audit findings and continuously strengthen internal control frameworks.

5. Systems, Data & Process Improvement

• Serve as business owner for ERP and manufacturing execution systems (e.g., SAP or Oracle ERP, MTech or similar yield systems).

• Drive data accuracy between production systems and financial reporting.

• Improve reporting automation and reduce manual processes.

• Partner with IT and corporate finance to enhance system functionality and reporting capabilities.

• Develop analytical tools using Excel and business intelligence platforms (e.g., Power BI).

• Leverage data to support decision-making around yield optimization, cost reduction, and margin improvement.

6. People Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop the on-site accounting and cost accounting team.

• Oversee coordination with AP, AR, and Payroll functions as applicable.

• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability standards.

• Build bench strength and succession plans for key finance roles.

• Foster a high-urgency, collaborative culture that supports plant operations while maintaining strong financial discipline.

• Provide training to operations leaders on financial literacy and cost drivers.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field (MBA or CPA preferred).

• Minimum 5-8 years of progressive accounting/finance experience, including plant or operations finance leadership.

• Strong preference for experience in poultry, protein processing, or high-volume food manufacturing.

• Deep expertise in:

  • Standard costing

  • Inventory accounting

  • Manufacturing accounting

  • Variance analysis

  • Yield and by-product costing

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.

• Experience with ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, or similar) and yield management systems (e.g., MTech).

• Experience with business intelligence tools (Power BI preferred); SQL knowledge a plus.

• Strong understanding of GAAP, internal controls, and audit readiness.

Leadership Competencies

• Strong business acumen with the ability to connect operational drivers to financial outcomes.

• Proven ability to influence cross-functional leaders without direct authority.

• Results-oriented with a bias toward action and continuous improvement.

• High integrity and commitment to compliance and control rigor.

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-throughput manufacturing environment.

• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial concepts for non-financial audiences.

Scope & Impact

• Full financial responsibility for a large, multi-department poultry processing complex.

• Direct impact on yield optimization, labor efficiency, inventory accuracy, and margin performance.

• Key member of the Complex Leadership Team, contributing to strategic and operational decision-making.

• Influences capital investment decisions, cost control initiatives, and operational excellence programs.