Controller

AZALEA WANG Controller (Wholesale Footwear & Fashion)

Azalea Wang is a dynamic wholesale footwear and fashion brand with distribution through major national retail accounts, including Urban Outfitters and Von Maur. We operate at the intersection of creative brand-building and disciplined wholesale operations, requiring finance leadership that can move between strategic oversight and hands-on execution.

Our finance team is a small, high-ownership group embedded in the business. We don’t have layers of process handed down from a large corporate parent — we build what we need, own what we build, and move fast. The person in this role will be expected to bring the same energy.

The Position: Controller (Wholesale Footwear & Fashion)

Location: Chicago, IL - Onsite

Department: Finance & Accounting

Reports To: Controller / Senior Leadership

Position Summary:

Azalea Wang is seeking an experienced Controller to lead the accounting function and serve as the primary finance leader for the business. This is a full-ownership role: you will be responsible for the complete accounting cycle, from daily transactional operations through month-end close, financial reporting, and audit readiness.

The right candidate has deep experience in fast-fashion, wholesale apparel or footwear, or a similarly high-velocity inventory-driven environment. You have led a close, built processes from scratch, managed a team, and understand the full scope of what it means to be the top accounting resource in a fast-moving wholesale business.

Month-End Close & Financial Reporting

• Own and execute the full monthly, quarterly, and annual close cycle end-to-end
• Prepare and review financial statements, supporting schedules, and variance analysis
• Ensure timely and accurate revenue recognition, inventory accounting, and expense accruals
• Maintain general ledger integrity and manage the chart of accounts
• Deliver clean, audit-ready financials to leadership on a consistent close calendar
• Support budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow planning

Wholesale AR & Retailer Reconciliation

• Manage accounts receivable for wholesale retail accounts including department stores and specialty retailers
• Reconcile retailer remittances against open invoices — identify, dispute, and resolve deductions and short payments
• Maintain deduction aging reports and track recovery on disputed retailer deductions
• Partner with sales and operations on retailer compliance requirements and EDI-related billing issues
• Develop and document AR processes to reduce deduction exposure and improve cash application accuracy

Accounts Payable & Vendor Management

• Oversee AP operations, including high-volume invoice processing, vendor reconciliation, and payment management across a large domestic and international vendor base
• Manage payment runs, vendor statement reconciliations, and dispute resolution
• Work directly with international and domestic vendors on payment timing, invoice discrepancies, and account cleanup
• Ensure accurate three-way matching and proper cut-off for accruals

Inventory & Cost Accounting

• Ensure accurate inventory accounting across wholesale channels and product categories
• Manage inventory reconciliations, reserves, and shrink/write-off analysis
• Oversee COGS accounting and gross margin reporting by channel and category
• Partner with merchandising and operations on inventory controls, costing, and landed cost accuracy
• Support seasonal inventory roll-forwards and physical count reconciliation

Systems, Controls & Process Improvement

• Serve as the accounting owner of the ERP system (NetSuite preferred) — including saved searches, reporting, and workflow optimization
• Lead or support system implementations, upgrades, or integrations as needed
• Build and maintain strong internal controls and process documentation
• Identify and drive process improvements that increase accuracy, efficiency, and scalability
• Partner with IT/admin on system configuration, data integrity, and automation opportunities

Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Manage, review, and develop accounting team members
• Collaborate with operations, sales, merchandising, and logistics on financial reporting and planning
• Serve as a key finance partner to leadership on ad hoc analysis, business decisions, and strategic initiatives
• Support annual audit preparation and act as primary contact for external auditors

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance; CPA preferred but not required
• 7+ years of progressive accounting experience in wholesale apparel, footwear, fast fashion, or retail
• Demonstrated ownership of the full month-end close cycle
• Hands-on experience with wholesale AR — retailer deductions, remittance reconciliation, and high-volume vendor management
• Strong understanding of inventory accounting, COGS, and cost of goods in a wholesale environment
• NetSuite experience strongly preferred; proficiency in other ERP systems considered
• Advanced Excel skills — comfortable building and maintaining complex reconciliation workbooks
• Experience managing direct reports and building team capacity
• Proven ability to build, improve, and document accounting processes in a fast-moving environment
• Strong communicator with the ability to work cross-functionally and present to senior leaderships

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Has worked in a high-SKU, high-velocity environment where speed and accuracy both matter
• Understands wholesale AR from the inside — how retailer deductions get disputed and recovered, and how to manage high-volume vendor relationships with accuracy and accountability
• Has owned a close cycle, not just contributed to one, and has a track record of hitting the calendar
• Has been through a system implementation and can speak to what went wrong and how they managed through it
• Self-directed, high standards, and comfortable operating without a detailed playbook
• Brings strong process instincts — identifies gaps and fixes them without being asked
• International vendor experience (AP reconciliation, payment coordination) is a plus

We are committed to fair and transparent compensation practices. Compensation for this position (Pay Range $130,000 - $160,000) will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors. Additional compensation and benefits may also apply and will be discussed during the hiring process.

Job Type: Full-Time