[Hiring] Financial Controller @Living in a Bubble

Role Description

Living in a Bubble sells premium campervan and outdoor accessories, direct to consumers and through marketplaces in Australia, the United States, Canada and Germany. We operate across two legal entities and five tax jurisdictions. We are a team of fourteen — two in Australia, twelve working remotely across the Philippines and elsewhere. We are small, run properly, and our bookkeeping is handled by an external firm. What we do not have is a finance professional who owns the output.

You would take that. Not the bookkeeping — an external firm does the bookkeeping. The layer above it: whether the numbers are right, whether the filings are on time, and whether someone other than the founder can read the business.

This is a build-and-run role in a business that has never had one. You will inherit real processes that mostly work and real gaps that do not. You bring the analysis and the judgement; the CEO keeps the final call on pricing, payments, tax and structure.

What you would own

• The monthly close:
  • Own the calendar, quality bar, and query queue while the external bookkeeper executes.
  • Settlement reconciliation for two marketplace accounts.
  • Consolidated group P&L across both entities.
  • Stock take and year-end pack for Australian tax advisors.
  • Getting the close to business day five is a first-half objective.
• Indirect tax in five jurisdictions:
  • US sales tax, German VAT, UK VAT under Making Tax Digital, Canadian GST, Australian BAS.
  • Run the control over filings with a filing calendar, data preparation, reconciliation, and a written query log.
• Management reporting:
  • Daily channel P&L across both marketplace accounts.
  • Weekly sales report.
  • Monthly P&L analysis with an executive summary.
  • KPI scorecard and product/range performance.
• Pricing and unit economics:
  • Standing price review and margin verification after every price change.
  • Markdowns on aged stock and contribution by channel.
  • Third-party logistics cost analysis.
• Landed cost:
  • Monthly reference refresh and verification of cost uploads.
  • Address backlog of known cost conflicts in the first half-year.
• Controls and documentation:
  • Written SOP for every recurring process.
  • Access map for function continuity.
  • Audit-readiness file.

Not in this role

• Payment release stays with the CEO.
• Accounts payable processing and payroll preparation remain with the EA and external bookkeeper.

Your first 90 days

• Month 1:
  • Access to everything, mapped and documented.
  • Take over daily and weekly reporting.
  • Document the actual close process.
  • Inherit the filing calendar and confirm two quarters of deadlines.
• Month 2:
  • Own the close on its current timetable, fully documented.
  • Provide a plan to bring it forward to business day five.
  • Produce the consolidated group P&L without CEO involvement.
  • Run the landed-cost refresh end to end.
  • Write your first three SOPs.
• Month 3:
  • The monthly pack is delivered without being asked.
  • The filing calendar operates independently.
  • The CEO reviews exceptions rather than reports.
• Month 6:
  • Close at business day five with variance inside tolerance.
  • SOP set and access map complete.
  • First formal review.

Where this role goes

• Months 0 to 6:
  • Take over the recurring reporting, close, and filing calendar.
  • Success is measured in the CEO's calendar.
• Months 6 to 18:
  • Controller proper with judgement work starting.
  • Focus on FX convention, SKU mapping, landed-cost integrity, and discount bands.
• Months 18 onward:
  • Role splits into two paths: Head of Finance or transaction readiness.
  • Review at month six to discuss future direction.

How you will be checked

• External quality control by design.
• External bookkeeping firm checks work at the close.
• Australian tax advisors check annually at year-end.

Qualifications

• CPA or CA qualified, with a Big 4 audit or advisory background at manager or assistant manager level, or equivalent depth in industry.
• Multi-entity, multi-currency reporting experience.
• Close discipline: calendar, working papers, reconciliations, variance tolerance.
• Indirect tax experience across multiple jurisdictions.
• Comfortable building before delegating.
• Strong writing skills for executive summaries.
• Based in the Philippines, able to work as an independent contractor.

Useful, not required

• E-commerce or consumer goods experience.
• Power BI or similar modelling experience.
• Experience in inventory-heavy businesses and landed-cost work.
• Exposure to Australian tax.

We expect to teach you

• Marketplace analytics stack, settlement journals, and fee mechanics.
• SKU conventions and inventory system mid-implementation.

Benefits

• Generous remuneration depending on experience, invoiced monthly in US dollars.
• Annual bonus arrangement in line with the rest of the remote team.
• Fully remote with an agreed daily availability window.
• Formal review at six months covering performance and potential conversion to a permanent arrangement.
• Defined path beyond year one — Head of Finance or transaction readiness.
• Direct reporting line to the CEO.
• External assurance by design with checks from bookkeeping firm and tax advisors.