Vice President of Plant Accounting

The VP of Plant Accounting is a key operational finance leader responsible for overseeing and strengthening the general accounting functions across our nine ethanol production facilities. This role embeds finance as a strategic partner within plant operations, supporting transformation initiatives, driving data-led decision-making, and ensuring disciplined financial stewardship. The VP of Plant Accounting leads plant accounting teams and partners closely with operations and finance to deliver measurable financial improvements, optimize processes, and enable scalable growth across all operational sites.

• Serve as primary financial advisor to Plant Managers, Operations Leadership, and Corporate Finance to ensure alignment between plant initiatives and enterprise financial goals.
• Own plant-level financial performance, overseeing cost efficiency, profitability analysis, and the accuracy of forecasts and reporting.
• Lead all aspects of plant accounting operations: inventory control, procure-to-pay processes, cost tracking, fixed asset and capital project accounting, and regulatory compliance.
• Authorize major expenditures and vendor contracts, ensuring alignment with budgetary and operational goals.
• Provide real-time financial data and insights to support plant managers in operational decision-making.
• Enforce cost controls and smart spending decisions to optimize plant profitability.
• Support financial readiness for key operational events including startups, shutdowns, inventory counts, audits, and capital deployment.

• Analyze plant-level financial performance to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Drive implementation and adoption of automation tools such as ERP improvements to optimize accuracy and efficiency in accounting workflows.
• Champion standardized reporting, automated entries, and enhanced analytics that promote real-time financial visibility.
• Ensure robust compliance with internal financial controls in accordance with Sarbanes-Oxley, US GAAP, and SEC requirements.
• Oversee monthly account reconciliations, documentation standards, and segregation of duties to maintain audit-readiness and risk mitigation.
• Prepare technical accounting memos and ensure accounting positions are well supported.

• Oversee capital spending and investment decisions, ensuring efficient allocation of resources.
• Develop dashboards and key performance indicators to empower plant leaders with insights that drive better decision-making and cost-conscious execution.
• Translate complex financial data into actionable operational terms, bridging the gap between frontline execution and corporate expectations.
• Collaborate with FP&A to align budgeting, forecasting, and strategic planning with production realities and financial targets.

• Build, coach, and mentor a high-performing team of Plant Accounting Managers and Accounts Payable professionals.
• Establish finance as a core leadership pillar across all sites, positioning the plant controller as trusted members of site leadership teams.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, operational curiosity, and data-driven influence in financial leadership.

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or related field
• Solid knowledge of US GAAP
• Experience managing people and positively influence others to achieve results that are in the best interest of the organization
• Ability to foster teamwork – work cooperatively and effectively with others to resolve problems and make effective decisions
• Strong accounting skills and understanding of financial reporting
• Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills
• Sound communication abilities, both written and oral

Preferred:

• CPA, CMA, or MBA.
• Minimum of 7-10 years of commodity accounting experience
• Experience in commodity or energy finance and public company reporting requirements.
• Track record in digital finance transformation, ERP implementation, and operational process optimization.
• Deep industry experience in asset-intensive operations (e.g., agri-processing, biorefining,…