Accounting Director​/VP

Recruiting Director, Accounting and Finance at Vaco

Senior Director / VP of Accounting (Northern NJ – Hybrid Travel)

A leading global apparel and consumer products organization is seeking an experienced Senior Director of Accounting or an emerging VP of Accounting to lead U.S. accounting operations, manage financial reporting, and drive process improvements across a multi‑location environment. This is a high‑visibility role supporting executive leadership and overseeing a distributed accounting team.

Required:

CPA
, strong experience within retail/apparel/CPG
, and comfort working in a large, complex organization with inventory accounting and high‑volume transactions.

This is an on‑site leadership role with monthly overnight travel to a regional accounting office.

• Lead all U.S. accounting operations, including general ledger, AP/AR, payroll, tax compliance, and month/quarter/annual close activities.
• Oversee the quality and accuracy of financial statements in compliance with U.S. GAAP.
• Partner with FP&A to compare actuals to forecast, analyze variances, and identify corrections during close cycles.
• Review monthly journal entries, balance sheet reconciliations, payroll entries, accruals, and variance analyses.
• Prepare and review AR reserves, inventory reserves, and other key accounting estimates; drive process improvements to accelerate monthly close timelines.
• Manage sales & use tax, property tax, business licenses, and compliance filings.
• Support internal controls, policies, and accounting process enhancements; identify opportunities for efficiency and standardization.
• Oversee treasury functions, including cash flow, borrowing base, approvals for weekly wires, and payment cycles.
• Coordinate with cross‑functional teams and external stakeholders on compliance, tax, and audit matters.
• Provide financial insights and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Contribute to ERP enhancements and partner with IT on reporting improvements; exposure to SAP
  , particularly during implementation, is highly preferred.
• Build strong working relationships with an off‑site accounting team and travel monthly for on‑site collaboration.

• Active CPA (non‑negotiable).
• 15–20+ years of progressive accounting experience within retail, apparel, or consumer products
  .
• Strong background in inventory accounting, sales & use tax, and multi‑state compliance.
• Experience working in a large enterprise with complex operations and high‑volume financial processes.
• Prior leadership experience managing team performance, workflows, and multi‑location alignment.
• Strong U.S. GAAP foundation, internal controls knowledge, and hands‑on technical accounting skills.
• Advanced Excel skills and comfort with ERP systems;
  SAP implementation experience is strongly preferred.
• Ability to travel monthly (overnight).

• A seasoned, stable accounting leader seeking a long‑term home with limited turnover.
• Someone with strong operational accounting roots who has supported sizeable retail/CPG environments.
• High attention to detail, process‑driven, and effective in lean teams.
• Comfortable interfacing with senior executives and presenting financial insights.
• Flexible, reliable, and capable of managing both strategic and hands‑on accounting duties.

Location:

Northern NJ – Hybrid Travel;
Monthly overnight travel required.