What are the responsibilities and job description for the Assistant Controller position at vineyard vines?
About Us
vineyard vines is a highly successful, privately held, American clothing and accessory retailer founded in 1998 on Martha’s Vineyard by brothers, Shep & Ian Murray. With Shep & Ian still at the helm today, vineyard vines has experienced exponential year over year growth and now operates over 120 retail locations including an outlet division, a successful e-commerce business, domestic distribution center, and expanding corporate headquarters. In addition, vineyard vines is carried in major department stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdales as well as numerous specialty boutiques across the US.
vineyard vines was founded on a state of mind that Every day should feel this good.
You don’t need to be on a beach, by the ocean or on vacation to have Every day should feel this good moments. It’s a state of mind that we all experience, and one where everyone is invited. At vineyard vines, we don’t just live an #EDSFTG life away from our desks—we bring it to work with us, too.
In our stores, at our Harbor Drive headquarters or working remotely, our company culture is fun, encouraging and welcoming to all. We work hard and play harder, and we never take ourselves too seriously. And while we have many company goals, our number one priority is making vineyard vines a great place to work for all employees.
Our team is our family, and we’d never have grown to where we are today without them.
We’re committed to building an inclusive team across all channels, departments and stores within our community. We hope you’ll join us and see what the smiling pink whale is all about.
Overview
The Assistant Controller will play a key leadership role in overseeing the company’s accounting operations and inventory control functions within a fast-paced retail environment. This role supports the Controller in ensuring accurate financial reporting, strong internal controls, and compliance with GAAP, while driving process improvements and scalability. The ideal candidate brings hands-on experience from both public and private company environments and a deep understanding of retail accounting and inventory management.
Key Responsibilities
Accounting & Financial Reporting
Education & Experience
vineyard vines is a highly successful, privately held, American clothing and accessory retailer founded in 1998 on Martha’s Vineyard by brothers, Shep & Ian Murray. With Shep & Ian still at the helm today, vineyard vines has experienced exponential year over year growth and now operates over 120 retail locations including an outlet division, a successful e-commerce business, domestic distribution center, and expanding corporate headquarters. In addition, vineyard vines is carried in major department stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdales as well as numerous specialty boutiques across the US.
vineyard vines was founded on a state of mind that Every day should feel this good.
You don’t need to be on a beach, by the ocean or on vacation to have Every day should feel this good moments. It’s a state of mind that we all experience, and one where everyone is invited. At vineyard vines, we don’t just live an #EDSFTG life away from our desks—we bring it to work with us, too.
In our stores, at our Harbor Drive headquarters or working remotely, our company culture is fun, encouraging and welcoming to all. We work hard and play harder, and we never take ourselves too seriously. And while we have many company goals, our number one priority is making vineyard vines a great place to work for all employees.
Our team is our family, and we’d never have grown to where we are today without them.
We’re committed to building an inclusive team across all channels, departments and stores within our community. We hope you’ll join us and see what the smiling pink whale is all about.
Overview
The Assistant Controller will play a key leadership role in overseeing the company’s accounting operations and inventory control functions within a fast-paced retail environment. This role supports the Controller in ensuring accurate financial reporting, strong internal controls, and compliance with GAAP, while driving process improvements and scalability. The ideal candidate brings hands-on experience from both public and private company environments and a deep understanding of retail accounting and inventory management.
Key Responsibilities
Accounting & Financial Reporting
- Manage the monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes, ensuring timely and accurate financial statements
- Prepare and review journal entries, account reconciliations, and supporting schedules for 3 USD legal entities
- Support the preparation of U.S. GAAP consolidated financial statements, ensuring accurate cut-off, revenue recognition, and compliance with accounting policies across all sales channels
- Oversee accounting for retail, eComm and wholesale operations, including but not limited to sales audit, wholesale revenue recognition, cash, fixed assets, lease accounting and accruals
- Manage annual external audit
- Ensure compliance with company policies, accounting standards, and internal controls
- Oversee inventory accounting, including valuation, reserves, shrink, obsolescence, and cost of goods sold
- Partner with operations, merchandising, and supply chain teams to ensure accurate inventory tracking across stores, warehouses, and e-commerce channels
- Review and analyze inventory transactions, cycle counts, and physical inventory results
- Develop and enhance inventory controls, reporting, and reconciliation processes
- Analyze inventory trends and variances to support business decision-making
- Help design, implement, and maintain strong internal controls, leveraging public company best practices
- Identify opportunities to streamline accounting and inventory processes and improve efficiency
- Support Net Suite system implementations (go-live scheduled June 2026)
- Manage documentation of accounting policies and procedures
- Supervise and mentor accounting and inventory control staff, providing guidance and development support
- Act as a key business partner to cross-functional teams, including operations, IT, and FP&A
- Serve as a backup to the Controller as needed and contribute to special projects and ad-hoc analysis
Education & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance (CPA strongly preferred)
- 10 years of progressive accounting experience, including a combination of public accounting and private company experience
- Prior experience in retail, consumer goods, or inventory-intensive environments required
- Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP and financial reporting
- Deep understanding of inventory accounting and cost accounting principles
- Experience with NetSuite ERP systems (retail ERP experience a plus)
- Advanced Excel skills; ability to analyze and interpret large data sets
- Strong attention to detail with the ability to see the big picture
- Proven ability to operate in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Proactive, hands-on, and solutions-oriented mindset
- We have a fun-spirited entrepreneurial culture filled with truly “good” people
- We offer a generous employee discount so you can rep our lifestyle on-and-off the boat
- We offer a competitive salary package, 401-K, commuter benefits, and paid-family leave, health savings , flex spending accounts, life & disability insurance
- We have an onsite gym as well as financial wellness programs to keep you active
- We offer 2 summer Fridays to take off in addition to a competitive vacation policy & holiday calendar