Commercial Controller
Strattec Security Corporation · Auburn Hills, MI · 1 wk ago
AccountingFull-time
The Role
The Commercial Controller acts as a strategic financial partner providing hands-on leadership to ensure timely and accurate product quoting, improved commercial financial reporting and support of strategic pricing initiatives. This role, which reports to the Chief Financial Officer, ensures accurate, competitive, and profitable cost models that align with Company margin targets, operational capabilities, and long-term customer strategies.
- Drive the vision, transformation and standard work for the commercial finance team, which supports organic growth opportunities through the pursuit of automotive OEM programs.
- Ensure the quality and reasonableness of financial and cost information used in quoting, make/buy and other program decisions and proactively surface risks and opportunities.
- Develop and mentor a team, driving consistent use of procedures and tools and the ability to summarize complex data into clear decision points for leadership.
- Develop constructive relationships with leadership and influence cross-functional outcomes through strong business acumen and communication.
- Lead commercial reporting and forecasting (customer/product profitability) and annual budgeting process for commercial inputs.
Responsibilities
- Quoting, Costing & Estimating:
- Review and evaluate the reasonableness of product costs across the breadth of products; challenge inputs, assumptions, and estimating methodologies.
- Provide transparency of cost assumptions by participating in quote review meetings and summarizing risks/opportunities to decision points.
- Manage team responsible for product cost development (e.g., labor and cycle time, overhead, equipment requirements, tooling and capital) for new business and changes to existing programs.
- Ensure lessons learned from launches and serial production are fed back into future quotes.
- Oversee annual quoting rate development and ensure timely, accurate inputs into quoting.
- Review complex bills of material and manufacturing/process assumptions for reasonableness; ensure product and process knowledge is applied appropriately.
- Lead benchmark cost model development, make/buy analysis and purchasing negotiation support, including target setting for purchased items (as applicable).
- Aid innovation team in developing product cost targets and market pricing.
- Commercial Finance & Program Health:
- Financial leadership for new business opportunities and development programs, ensuring disciplined financial management throughout the development cycle prior to launch.
- Lead budgeting, planning and forecasting with the commercial team (e.g., volume, LTA’s, pricing, ED&D etc), and tracking of actual price realization.
- Actively monitor and manage accounts receivable past due (trade, ED&D, and tooling); work with commercial team to identify root causes and corrective actions.
- Actively contributes to departmental initiatives and process improvements to enhance effectiveness, quality, and cycle time.
- Communication, Executive Reporting & Decision Support:
- Summarize complex and high-volume data into clear decision points for leadership, balancing accuracy with speed.
- Communicate and educate stakeholders on cost and commercial finance drivers, assumptions, and implications to enable better decisions.
- Provide commercial input for OEM pricing models (piece price, tooling recovery, indexation, cost-sharing).
- Provide month-end reporting related to sales and pricing (by customer, by product).
- Team Leadership & Governance:
- Lead and develop the quoting organization.
- Define roles, responsibilities, and performance metrics for the quoting function.
- Ensure compliance with internal controls, audit requirements, and SOX-related documentation.
Qualifications
- Required Skills:
- A strong leader and financial partner.
- The ability to build teams and have strong problem-solving and interpersonal skills.
- A solutions-oriented approach.
- Comfortable partnering with other leaders across the Company and being a positive change agent.
- Demonstrated leadership skills and thriving in a fast-paced environment.
- Additional Required Skills and Experience:
- Previous commercial financial leadership experience in a Tier 1 automotive supplier.
- Minimum of 15+ years of experience with a history of supporting growth and business transformation.
- Bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting from a four-year college or university.
Strattec is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to status as a protected veteran or a qualified individual with a disability, or other protected status such as race, religion, color, national origin, sex, and age.