Opportunity Overview

We are hiring today with an eye on tomorrow. This is a high potential opportunity where you'll be groomed to fill the very large and accomplished shoes of our Controller, who is due to retire in three short years. If you have a cost accounting background within a global environment and expertise in dealing with multiple entities, SOX regulations and cash control, you owe it to yourself to consider this high-impact opportunity at Lamons Gasket, one of the largest global suppliers of gaskets and bolts to the chemical and petrochemical industries. Here's why:

• Global playing field -- we hit a record-breaking $130M in sales last year and are poised for additional growth--in spite of a recessionary economy--as we make inroads into the global market. You will manage accounting for 5 entities including our US operations with 12 locations; the Canadian entity with 2 locations; and two separate entities in China. While you'll start out managing our $10M Canadian entity with 28 employees, we'll quickly look to you to show us what you've got and assume greater responsibilities.
• Skills development -- you'll gain exposure to an ever-evolving spectrum of complex accounting issues ranging from foreign currency transactions and parent-subsidiary tax/payroll reporting to G/L reconciliations, inventory/cash management, fixed assets, annual budgeting, financial reporting, internal operational auditing and external audits. In addition to managing these key accounting areas, you'll also have the opportunity to refine and improve our systems/processes and drive improvements.
• Great environment -- our Accounting team is highly respected throughout the organization and valued as a forward-looking partner to the rest of the business; our leadership team is committed to offering a quality day-to-day work environment. You'll be based out of our Houston headquarters, a sprawling cosmopolitan metropolis where you'll not only enjoy a low cost of living with bargain housing prices and a low tax burden, but also be able to take advantage of a plethora of family attractions, cultural treasures and natural wonders.
• Excellent compensation -- we offer a competitive salary, a generous performance incentive plan, and a comprehensive benefits package.

Our Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Accounting; CPA is a plus.
• Minimum 5+ years of related general accounting experience in a manufacturing environment with a standard cost system, including some supervisory experience.
• Solid exposure to multiple accounting entities; must-have hands-on expertise with SOX regulations.
• The ability to learn new things quickly with minimal direction and function effectively in a fast-paced, demanding environment.
• The ability to balance tactical and strategic responsibilities, including managing day-to-day fiscal operations and advising senior management on "big picture" issues.
• Solid interpersonal skills and some experience managing the payroll requirements of a diverse, multicultural staff; ADP experience is helpful.
• Computer literate with advanced proficiency in MS Office suite, especially Excel.
• Knowledge of Syteline or similar ERP system like JD Edwards or SAP.
• Ability & willingness to travel to international destinations, mostly to Canada, China and Rotterdam.
• Operational/internal auditing background and/or experience is a plus.
• Training background and/or ability to write/document procedures and train multi-cultural users at remote locations is a plus.

More About Your Role

Reporting directly to the Controller, you will provide oversight to a Staff Accountant and Tax Specialist as you join our Accounting group of 12 personnel. As you can imagine, this is a hit the ground running position and we'll expect you to learn quickly and start making contributions in short order.

During the first year, you'll focus on achieving the following goals:

• Assume full accounting ownership of the Canadian entity.
• Assume ownership of the Capital Expenditure and Fixed Asset audit controls globally.
• Assume ownership of Lamons inter-company transactions audit and controls.
• Participate in financial analysis, reporting and audit responsibilities globally.
• Participate in the TriMas Audit Exchange program.

In general, your responsibilities are to:

• Perform key account analysis and reconciliation for specified balance sheet accounts for the quarterly binder books.
• Review all capital appropriation requests and track spending; maintain all records for audit and update the company's Fixed Asset program "FAS".
• Review sales/cost reports for corporate accounting, review sales/cost/inventory transfer JV for company.
• Perform analysis and recommend amount of monthly accruals or reserves and maintain accurate posting of the recurring journals.
• Review and perform analysis on all financial bookings and resolve any discrepancies.
• Create and post manual journal entries in a timely and accurate manner.
• Assist in the annual financial and capital budgeting process.
• Participate in the annual physical inventory process include organizing, staffing and auditing upon request.
• Participate in the yearly annual audit; prepare audit schedules for interim and year-end as assigned and work with both internal and external auditors to answer questions regarding same.
• Communicate inventory and other concerns to appropriate parties.
• Perform analysis on the cash control records for Lamons Canada, China and Rotterdam locations.
• Prepare the payroll ledger analysis and journal entries and serve as a back up to the Payroll Supervisor.
• Participate in weekly staff meetings, offer solutions to problems and stay informed on issues that directly effect facility.
• Inform site managers on budget status; you'll review and analyze financial statements as well as manage inventory.
• Prepare property tax reporting to TriMas; ensure that all taxes are accrued properly and paid timely.
• Review and approve state and local sales tax returns to ensure that they are properly recorded and paid in a timely manner.

Keys to Success

Your success in this role will largely derive from your technical and analytical abilities -- and the help of your inquisitive nature and keen attention to detail -- as we look to you to distill key findings from complex analyses and propose insightful solutions that will help us achieve our growth objectives. Other facets of success are to:

• Showcase the power of personal engagement; you'll forge strong working relationships with people at all levels of the organization, adjusting your approach and style to different groups. You'll also showcase the utmost integrity, tact and diplomacy in dealing with the inherent personal sensitivities of confidential information and retain your objectivity in handling payroll issues.
• Articulate your ideas clearly, translating technical concepts into practical language, and persuasively demonstrate how your ideas can positively affect the firm's bottom line.
• Emanate discernible energy and be able to energize the team to deliver on multiple, competing priorities; you'll model a strong adherence to timelines and make everyone aware that they have to "dance to the same rhythm".
• Maintain robust attention to detail without losing sight of the big picture and how those details fit in; you'll not only assist in planning our strategic goals but also take an active role in ensuring we achieve them.

If this sounds like the right mix of challenge and opportunity for you, and you meet the minimum qualifications, we want to hear from you!

Who We Are

Lamons is one of the largest gasket and bolt suppliers in the world, committed to quality and exceptional service. Our major manufacturing facilities are in Houston and Hangzhou, Zhejiang near Shanghai, with sales and service facilities located throughout the U.S. and Canada. We have recently added three additional sales facilities in Zhang Jai Gang, Rotterdam and Salt Lake City and also have many licensees and distributors throughout the world, which are strategically located to provide our customers with the widest selection of gasket materials ready for immediate delivery. Our locations feature leading technology and state of the art manufacturing facilities capable of producing engineered products to custom specifications serving the refining, chemical, power generation, and pulp and paper industries. For more information, please visit www.lamonsgasket.com

Our parent company, TriMas Corporation, has over 5,000 employees in 80 facilities and is comprised of five groups of high-end, specialty-niche companies that manufacture a variety of products across a wide spectrum of markets and industries around the world. For more information, please visit www.trimascorp.com.