Controller — Denver, CO, Colorado | Pacific Executive Search

Controller

(Job ID: 2072)

Denver, CO, Colorado

On-Site

Direct Hire

Fin Serv - Venture Ca

$150,000 – $175,000 base

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Overview

A boutique investment firm managing over $1.7 billion in municipal assets seeks a Controller to lead accounting and financial operations across private funds, a Registered Investment Adviser, and an in-house broker-dealer. This role offers direct collaboration with senior leadership and ownership of fund accounting processes enhanced by proprietary automation tools. Ideal for an experienced accounting professional with a strong background in fund administration, fixed income, and regulatory reporting within a small, specialized team.

Title: Controller
Industry: Municipal Bond Brokerage
Location: Denver, CO

Responsibilities

Manage comprehensive fund accounting activities, including NAV calculations, capital account maintenance, and investor allocations for multiple private funds.
Oversee accounting and valuation of municipal bond holdings and interest rate swaps, ensuring accurate performance reporting and reconciliation.
Coordinate annual audits and tax filings for funds and management entities, supporting preparation of investor K-1s and regulatory submissions.
Direct financial reporting and compliance for the broker-dealer, including net capital computations, FOCUS reports, and adherence to FINRA and SEC requirements.
Maintain management company accounting using QuickBooks, handling month-end close, reconciliations, payables, and financial statement preparation.
Track and analyze management fees and revenue streams across the firm’s investment products, delivering timely financial insights to leadership.
Continuously refine accounting processes and controls, leveraging existing automation tools to enhance efficiency within a lean operational structure.

Qualifications

Must-Have:
- Proven fund accounting experience within an investment manager, credit fund, hedge fund, or fund administrator environment.
- Hands-on expertise with fixed-income or credit investment strategies, including NAV reporting and investor allocations.
- Strong proficiency in QuickBooks and advanced Excel skills.
- Ability to independently manage accounting operations and financial reporting in a small, entrepreneurial setting.
- Familiarity with broker-dealer financial reporting and regulatory compliance, preferably within a FINRA-regulated environment.
Nice-to-Have:
- CPA designation.
- Series 27 (FINOP) license or willingness to obtain shortly after hire.
- Experience with interest rate swaps, derivatives accounting, or municipal securities.
- Background in public accounting serving financial services or asset management clients.
- Exposure to accounting automation tools or programming languages supporting fund accounting workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Accounting Manager hires fail?
Because companies hire for close execution when the real need is issue ownership and team leadership. Many candidates can manage a checklist. Far fewer can stabilize the function under pressure, improve weak processes, coach staff, and hold the line during audit, turnover, or reporting stress.
What are strong Accounting Manager candidates evaluating during the interview process?
They are usually trying to understand whether they are walking into a stable environment, a cleanup situation, or an under-resourced function. Strong candidates do not just evaluate title and compensation. They assess whether success is realistically achievable and whether leadership understands what the accounting team actually needs.
Why are finance and accounting roles in private equity-backed companies different?
Because the expectations are usually sharper. These environments often involve more pace, more visibility, more accountability, and more change than slower-moving businesses. Candidates are often expected to produce cleaner reporting, better discipline, and faster adaptation while operating under leadership that is highly focused on results. Pacific Executive Search's private equity insights explain why these environments require more specialized hiring.
Is the CPA really required for roles like this?
Sometimes yes, and often functionally yes even when the posting says "preferred." At leadership levels especially, the CPA frequently acts as a credibility signal for hiring managers, auditors, lenders, investors, or boards. There are exceptions, but in many accounting searches it remains one of the clearest markers of technical foundation.
How do strong candidates typically evaluate opportunities like this?
Strong candidates rarely evaluate a role based on title alone. They look at what the position actually owns, how the function is viewed internally, whether the environment is stable or in transition, and what success will realistically look like in the first 6 to 12 months. Many first discover a role through a posting, but the strongest career decisions usually come from understanding the context behind the opportunity, not just the job description. In accounting and finance hiring, that level of context is often what separates a lateral move from a meaningful one. Learn more about how strategic accounting and finance searches differ from transactional recruiting.