Financial Controller (Fractional, CPA)

Overview

This fractional Financial Controller (CPA) role supports a US-based, remote team. You will own finance end to end—ensuring accurate books, strong cash planning, compliant operations, and reliable marketplace accounting.

The position is designed as a builder role: begin hands-on in the ledger, then document and scale the processes, controls, and team that run finance as the organization grows.

Responsibilities

• Own the books: Close every month on schedule and deliver clear financials with a short narrative on what changed and why.
• Start hands-on, then scale: Work directly in the ledger initially, document processes, and lead/shape a bookkeeping team handling day-to-day transaction work.
• Plan cash and runway: Build budgets, rolling cash forecasts, and runway views; confidently answer “can we afford this?”
• Build controls: Create approval workflows, spend policies, and audit trails that apply to everyone, including founders.
• Own marketplace accounting: Revenue recognition, customer credits and refunds, and operator payables.
• Ensure compliance: Own the tax and compliance calendar, including aviation excise taxes and multi-state obligations; manage an outside CPA firm.
• Support strategy with finance: Provide the numbers that guide investment decisions and prepare for investor reporting as the organization grows.

Requirements

• Active US CPA license (hard requirement).
• 5+ years in accounting, including owning the close at a startup or high-growth company.
• Experience building a finance function from scratch (not only maintaining one).
• Strong marketplace accounting knowledge, including gross vs. net, funds held for others, refunds, and payables.
• Deep QuickBooks Online experience.
• Hands-on US tax compliance experience, including sales and use tax, multi-state payroll tax, and pass-through entities.
• Uses AI in daily work.
• Ability to explain variances to a non-accountant in a few sentences.
• Absolute discretion.

Preferred Qualifications

• Aviation, charter, or travel accounting experience.
• Federal excise tax experience.
• Fundraising and investor reporting experience.
• Experience leading a remote bookkeeping team.

Compensation & Benefits

• Pay depending on experience.

Location

• Remote, US-based.
• Must have meaningful overlap with US Pacific hours.

Schedule

• Fractional to start: More hours in the first two months while you learn the business, then about 10 hours per week, growing with the organization.