Senior Controller - Leadership role

Senior Controller

Company: The Fay Group Job Type: Direct Hire | Full-Time Experience Level: Director / Senior Leadership Experience Required: 15+ years accounting experience Education: Bachelor’s Degree Industry: Financial Services / Mortgage Servicing Job Function: Accounting / Finance / Auditing Openings: 1 Work Arrangement: Hybrid – 3 days onsite per week Relocation Assistance: Not provided Visa Sponsorship: Not available

Location: Candidates must be based in or able to work from one of the following locations:

• Tampa, FL
• Dallas, TX
• Rosemont, IL

About The Fay Group

The Fay Group is a fully integrated real estate and mortgage services organization combining the expertise of Fay Financial and Genstone Holdings.

Founded in 2008 as a special servicer, The Fay Group has grown into a diversified enterprise overseeing more than $46 billion in assets on behalf of more than 50 institutional clients. With 1,100+ professionals across 10 U.S. locations, the organization provides comprehensive solutions across loan servicing, property management, mortgage originations, renovations, insurance, and real estate services.

Position Overview

The Fay Group is seeking an experienced Senior Controller to lead the accounting, payroll, and accounts payable functions across the enterprise and its multiple entities.

This is a senior finance leadership role requiring substantial experience in mortgage servicing accounting, enterprise-level financial reporting, U.S. GAAP, MSR accounting and valuation, investor reporting, audits, internal controls, and regulatory compliance.

The Senior Controller will oversee month-end close, financial reporting, cash-flow management, balance-sheet reconciliations, intercompany accounting, payroll, accounts payable, debt reporting, lender covenant compliance, and multiple audit relationships.

The successful candidate will also serve as a key finance liaison with external auditors, valuation firms, lenders, regulators, and executive stakeholders, while driving improvements to accounting processes, controls, policies, and procedures.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead accounting, payroll, and accounts payable functions across The Fay Group and its entities.
• Oversee timely and accurate month-end close and financial reporting processes.
• Manage balance-sheet reconciliations, bank reconciliations, intercompany accounts, and cash-flow activities.
• Ensure appropriate financial controls are established and maintained to mitigate financial and fraud risks.
• Oversee internal reporting, disbursement reviews, payroll, debt reporting, and lender covenant compliance.
• Coordinate external financial audits and other required audits across multiple entities.
• Partner with third-party valuation firms on Mortgage Servicing Rights (MSR) valuation.
• Ensure appropriate application of U.S. GAAP and document management's position on current and emerging accounting matters.
• Support investor reporting requirements, including reporting associated with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae.
• Lead improvements to accounting processes, controls, policies, procedures, and documentation.
• Review contracts to determine asset ownership and ensure appropriate financial recognition.
• Partner with finance and business leadership on budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and resource management.
• Provide financial analysis and reporting to executive stakeholders.
• Develop, coach, mentor, and manage accounting team members.
• Lead cross-functional and matrix teams through accounting and process-improvement initiatives.
• Act as a finance executive liaison with auditors, regulators, lenders, valuation firms, and other external stakeholders.
• Identify risks, opportunities, and process improvements and proactively drive solutions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• CPA or equivalent professional certification.
• 15+ years of progressive accounting experience.
• 10+ years of senior-level accounting experience within mortgage servicing or a closely related financial-services environment.
• Previous Controller-level experience with responsibility for enterprise accounting operations.
• Strong hands-on experience with mortgage servicing accounting and Mortgage Servicing Rights (MSR) accounting/valuation.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP.
• Experience with investor reporting requirements, particularly Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and/or Ginnie Mae.
• Strong experience with financial audits, internal controls, regulatory compliance, and technical accounting.
• Previous experience managing and developing accounting teams.
• Strong understanding of enterprise accounting systems, cash-flow operations, cost structures, and financial planning.
• Experience with ERP and accounting systems such as SAP, Oracle, or similar platforms.
• Experience working with mortgage servicing platforms.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, along with strong proficiency in Word and Outlook.
• Excellent financial reporting, analytical, communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to communicate complex financial information effectively to executive stakeholders.
• Strong leadership, decision-making, problem-solving, and project-management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage change and drive process improvement.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to financial accuracy, quality, and compliance.
• Ability to prioritize effectively and deliver results in a fast-paced, complex environment.
• High level of professionalism, integrity, confidentiality, and business judgment.

Preferred Background

Candidates with experience in large, institutional mortgage servicing organizations or complex, multi-entity financial-services environments are strongly preferred.

Experience should ideally include exposure to:

• Large-scale mortgage servicing operations
• MSR accounting and valuation
• Enterprise-level accounting and financial reporting
• Investor reporting
• Multiple legal entities and intercompany accounting
• External and regulatory audits
• Lender covenant and debt reporting
• Formal internal-control environments
• Large accounting/finance teams

Candidates whose experience is primarily limited to small community banks or small mortgage companies may not be a strong fit unless they have directly managed comparable enterprise-level complexity and scale.

Work Location

This is a hybrid position requiring three days per week onsite.

Candidates must be located in or able to work from:

Tampa, Florida | Dallas, Texas | Rosemont, Illinois

No relocation assistance is available.

Work Authorization

The position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Candidates must already be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer and must not require current or future immigration sponsorship.

Why Join The Fay Group?

The Fay Group is committed to building an inclusive and collaborative workplace where employees with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can contribute and succeed.

Through the Fay-Genstone Foundation, employees also have the opportunity to support organizations focused on education, poverty reduction, military service members, and first responders.

The Fay Group is an equal-opportunity workplace. The Fay Group and affiliated companies participate in E-Verify.

Recommended screening questions for Connecting Odds

I would keep these shorter than the original eight questions so you don't discourage good senior candidates from applying, but still catch the critical filters:

Screening Questions

1. Mortgage Servicing Experience:

Please briefly describe your mortgage servicing accounting experience, including the mortgage servicers you have worked for, total years of mortgage servicing experience, Controller-level responsibilities, and your experience with MSR accounting/valuation, U.S. GAAP, and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac/Ginnie Mae reporting.

1. LinkedIn Profile:

Please provide the candidate’s LinkedIn profile URL.

1. Education & Certification:

What is the candidate’s highest level of education? Please confirm whether the candidate holds a CPA or equivalent professional certification.

1. Location:

Where is the candidate currently located? Please confirm whether they can work onsite three days per week in Tampa, Dallas, or Rosemont, IL. If relocation is required, please provide the preferred location and expected relocation timeline.

1. Compensation:

What is the candidate’s desired total compensation? Please specify expected base salary and bonus/incentive compensation separately.

1. Prior Company Interaction:

Has the candidate previously applied to or interviewed with The Fay Group or any of its affiliated companies? If yes, please provide details.

1. Work Authorization:

Is the candidate currently legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer?

1. Sponsorship:

Will the candidate now or in the future require immigration sponsorship or transfer of visa status to remain authorized to work in the United States?

My recommendation: for Connecting Odds, make mortgage servicing + MSR + Controller-level experience + location the first four screening filters. Those will eliminate most unsuitable accounting/finance candidates quickly, whereas generic “15+ years accounting” alone will generate a lot of irrelevant senior accountants/controllers.