Controller

Fractional Finance Operations Manager / Controller

Force of Nature | Remote — U.S.-Based | Fractional

About the Role

Force of Nature is looking for a hands-on Finance Operations Manager / Controller to build and own the financial operating system for a fast-moving, founder-led business.

We are a roughly $4M organization with an established services business, a new product company being bootstrapped from the core business, international team members and vendors, and multiple business entities and initiatives.

Our accounting is functional, but we need to significantly improve the systems around it.

This is not a role for someone who only wants to review financial statements, provide high-level CFO advice, or maintain an already mature finance function.

We are looking for someone who enjoys walking into an imperfect environment, figuring out what is happening, creating structure, and then owning the system they build.

The right person will be equally comfortable cleaning up accounting processes, building a 13-week cash-flow forecast, creating a management P&L, working directly with our bookkeeper, and helping the founder make decisions about where the next dollar should go.

What You'll OwnCash Flow & Financial Planning

• Build and maintain a rolling 13-week cash-flow forecast
• Create annual budgets and rolling forecasts
• Develop scenario models to support hiring, investment, and growth decisions
• Establish clear cash thresholds and visibility into upcoming obligations
• Help leadership understand what the company can afford, when, and under what assumptions
• Develop financial models that support capital-allocation decisions

Management Accounting & Reporting

• Rebuild management reporting so financials support real operating decisions
• Create clear visibility into the economics of different businesses, products, and initiatives
• Establish appropriate separation between Services, Product/R&D, and Corporate/G&A expenses
• Review and improve the chart of accounts and accounting structure as needed
• Develop a concise CEO-level financial dashboard
• Establish meaningful KPIs and variance reporting
• Improve month-end reporting and financial review processes

Accounting & Finance Operations

• Oversee day-to-day accounting operations and work closely with our existing bookkeeping resources
• Ensure accurate and timely month-end close
• Review reconciliations, classifications, AP/AR, payroll, credit cards, and other financial activity
• Improve internal controls without creating unnecessary bureaucracy
• Own invoicing and related finance processes
• Identify historical accounting issues and create a practical plan to clean them up
• Coordinate with outside CPAs, tax professionals, payroll providers, and other financial partners when needed

Founder & Multi-Entity Finance

• Create clean systems around founder compensation, reimbursements, distributions, and business expenses
• Establish clear boundaries and processes between personal and business financial activity
• Help organize financial flows across multiple companies/entities
• Improve visibility into intercompany activity and shared expenses
• Help leadership evaluate how cash should move between existing operations and new ventures
• Support the evolution toward a more structured multi-company/holding-company environment

Systems, Automation & AI

We want someone who naturally asks

"Why is a human doing this manually?"

You will identify opportunities to automate repetitive finance work and improve the speed and quality of financial information.

This could include

• Automated transaction classification and review
• Exception-based accounting workflows
• Automated variance analysis
• AI-assisted reporting and financial analysis
• Forecasting and scenario-modeling tools
• Improved integrations between accounting and operational systems

You do not need to be an AI engineer. You do need to be curious about modern tools and motivated to build a finance function that is significantly more automated than a traditional one.

Who We're Looking For

We are particularly interested in candidates who have personally built or rebuilt the finance function inside a founder-led business.

Ideally, you have

• Significant Controller, Head of Finance, Finance Director, or hands-on fractional CFO experience
• Experience working directly with entrepreneurs/founders
• Experience in founder-owned businesses in approximately the $3M–$30M revenue range
• Experience supporting founders with multiple businesses or legal entities
• Strong accounting fundamentals and the ability to operate at a Controller level
• Hands-on experience building 13-week cash-flow forecasts
• Experience creating budgets, rolling forecasts, scenario models, and management reporting
• Experience restructuring or improving a chart of accounts and management P&L
• Experience supervising or managing bookkeepers/accounting staff
• Experience creating financial processes and internal controls from scratch
• Comfort working directly with a fast-moving founder
• Strong Excel/Google Sheets and financial-modeling skills
• Familiarity with QuickBooks or similar SMB accounting systems
• A strong process-improvement and automation mindset

CPA is helpful but not required.

Experience in professional services, agencies, consulting, venture studios, multi-entity businesses, or other founder-led environments is especially relevant.

You May Be a Great Fit If...

You've joined a business where the books technically existed, but the CEO couldn't use them to make decisions.

You've inherited spreadsheets, processes, expense classifications, or reporting structures that didn't quite work — and fixed them.

You've built a cash forecast from scratch rather than simply reviewing one prepared by someone else.

You've helped an entrepreneur create structure around compensation, expenses, reimbursements, distributions, and taxes.

You've separated business units or product lines so leadership could finally understand where money was actually being made and spent.

You've had to tell a founder, "We can do this, but here's what it means for cash," or "No, we shouldn't spend that yet."

And when you encounter a messy process, your instinct is to build a better system rather than work around it forever.

This Role Is Probably Not a Fit If...

Your experience has primarily been inside large companies with highly developed finance departments.

You prefer reviewing work rather than getting into the details yourself.

Your background is primarily accounting compliance without meaningful FP&A experience.

You are primarily a strategic CFO/advisor and no longer want to own operational finance.

You need clearly established processes before you can be effective.

You believe adding more manual processes is the best way to create financial control.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first few months, we expect to have

• Reliable visibility into current and future cash
• A functioning 13-week cash-flow forecast
• Clear separation of the economics of our core services business, product investments, and corporate expenses
• Cleaner accounting and financial processes
• A predictable month-end and management-reporting cadence
• A practical budget and rolling forecast
• Clear systems for founder expenses, compensation, reimbursements, and distributions
• A CEO dashboard that highlights what actually requires attention
• A prioritized roadmap for further finance automation

Most importantly, leadership should be able to answer questions about cash, profitability, investment, and financial tradeoffs quickly and confidently.

Working Style

Force of Nature moves quickly. Our founder is highly entrepreneurial and operates across multiple businesses and initiatives.

We need someone who can create financial discipline without slowing the business down.

You should be comfortable working independently, identifying problems before being asked, recommending solutions, and respectfully pushing back when the numbers don't support a decision.

We value people who bring solutions, not just problems.

Role Details

• Type: Fractional / Part-Time
• Location: Remote, U.S.-based
• Reports to: Founder/CEO
• Schedule: Flexible, with consistent availability for collaboration during U.S. business hours
• Compensation: Commensurate with experience

How to Apply

Please submit your resume along with a brief response to the following

Imagine you inherit a ~$4M founder-led company. The books exist but aren't useful for management decisions. There is no meaningful budget or rolling forecast. The profitable services business is funding a new product company, but Product/R&D costs are mixed into Services expenses. Founder and business spending historically haven't had enough structure, and the founder moves extremely quickly.

Walk us through what you would do during your first 30, 60, and 90 days.

We're less interested in textbook answers than in understanding how you've handled similar situations in the real world.

Tipo de puesto: Medio tiempo

Sueldo: $60.00 - $75.00 la hora

Beneficios

* Flexible schedule

Lugar de trabajo: Empleo remoto