Chief Financial Officer

Job Title: Chief Financial Officer

Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Salary Range: $200K-$250K

About the Company:

Our client is a rapidly growing manufacturing company specializing in steel fabrication for commercial, industrial, and infrastructure applications. Recognized for its precision, craftsmanship, and reliability, the company is expanding both organically and through potential strategic acquisitions.

To support this next phase of growth, the organization is seeking a Chief Financial Officer who brings both strategic vision and a hands-on execution. This individual will play a critical role in strengthening financial operations, building scalable systems, and guiding long-term business strategy in collaboration with the executive team.

Position Summary:

As a key member of the leadership team, the CFO will serve as a strategic and operational finance leader, partnering with ownership and senior management to drive financial performance, support expansion initiatives, and ensure the company's continued success.

The ideal candidate will combine big-picture financial strategy with a roll-up-your-sleeves approach to process improvement, cost control, and financial modeling-someone equally comfortable in the boardroom and on the production floor.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Financial Leadership

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO and executive team, driving the financial strategy to support growth and long-term business objectives.
• Develop and maintain financial models for forecasting, scenario analysis, and capital planning.
• Evaluate and support acquisition opportunities, including due diligence, valuation, and integration planning.
• Lead budgeting and forecasting processes that align operational performance with financial goals.

Financial Reporting & Analysis

• Oversee all aspects of financial reporting, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with U.S. GAAP.
• Provide actionable insights on revenue, margin, and cost trends to guide operational and strategic decisions.
• Develop and present clear financial dashboards and KPI reports to ownership and management.

Accounting & Systems

• Direct all accounting operations, including general ledger, cost accounting, inventory management, and internal controls.
• Strengthen cost accounting processes to improve visibility into material, labor, and overhead costs.
• Oversee the current Great Plains ERP system, while evaluating the long-term need for a new ERP implementation to better support scalability, automation, and reporting.
• Lead preparation for financial audits and manage relationships with external accounting and banking partners.

Operational & Manufacturing Finance

• Partner closely with operations, engineering, and production leaders to improve job costing, pricing accuracy, and efficiency tracking.
• Drive financial discipline in evaluating capital expenditures, new product initiatives, and process improvements.
• Implement strong controls and reporting around inventory valuation, work-in-progress, and production variances.

Team Leadership & Development

• Build and mentor a capable finance and accounting team aligned with the company's growth and complexity.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Provide leadership that blends technical expertise with approachability and a deep understanding of manufacturing operations.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field; CPA or CMA strongly preferred.
• 10-15+ years of progressive financial leadership experience, ideally within manufacturing or steel fabrication.
• Strong understanding of cost accounting, inventory management, and standard costing methodologies.
• Proven experience improving and modernizing financial systems; familiarity with Microsoft Great Plains required, and comfort leading a future ERP evaluation/implementation.
• Demonstrated success leading budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling in a hands-on environment.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to influence across all levels of the organization.