Outsourced Controller (Odoo ERP)

Job Description and Scope of Work 

Outsourced Controller / Senior Accounting Services (Odoo ERP) 

1. Background 

We have an in-house accounting resource managing the day-to-day. We do not have,  and do not intend to hire, a VP Finance or full-time Controller. We are seeking a  fractional senior accounting professional to act as a control layer above our internal  accountant — verifying accuracy, closing the books, and ensuring our financial data is  reliable for management decisions, lenders, our external CPA firm, and tax authorities. 

2. Engagement objective 

Engage a qualified supplier to provide ongoing controller-level accounting oversight on a  fractional basis. The supplier is expected to: 

• Take ownership of period-end close (monthly, quarterly, annually) within Odoo. 

• Independently verify the accuracy and completeness of the financial data  produced by our in-house accountant. 

• Identify, document, and post all required adjusting and reclassifying entries. 

• Deliver clean, auditable trial balances and supporting reconciliations to our  external CPA firm at year-end. 

• Flag risks, weaknesses, and process gaps with concrete recommendations. 3. Current accounting infrastructure 

The supplier is replacing neither our internal accountant nor our external CPA firm. The  division of responsibility is as follows:

Function	Owner	Notes
Customer invoicing &   billing	Internal accountant	Daily, in Odoo
AR collections & cash   application	Internal accountant	Daily, in Odoo
AP entry, supplier   payments	Internal accountant	Daily, in Odoo

 

Function	Owner	Notes
Bank deposits & posting	Internal accountant	Daily / weekly
Payroll processing	Internal / external service	Bi-weekly
Period-end close &   adjustments	SUPPLIER (this SOW)	Monthly / quarterly /   annually
Balance sheet verification	SUPPLIER (this SOW)	Monthly
GST/QST review & filing  support	SUPPLIER (this SOW)	Monthly / quarterly
Year-end file preparation  for CPA	SUPPLIER (this SOW)	Annual
Financial statement   compilation / review / audit	External CPA firm	Annual
Corporate tax returns (T2,  CO-17)	External CPA firm	Annual

 

4. Detailed scope of services 

The supplier shall perform the following services. Frequencies are minimums; the  supplier must propose any additional cadence required to maintain control quality. 

4.1 Monthly close 

• Verify that all bank, credit card, and merchant accounts have been reconciled by  the internal accountant; review reconciliations and clear stale items. 

• Review and clear suspense, clearing, and undeposited funds accounts to zero  (or document the residual). 

• Review AR sub-ledger versus general ledger; investigate unmatched receipts,  unapplied credits, and aging anomalies. 

• Review AP sub-ledger versus general ledger; verify cut-off, accruals, and  unrecorded liabilities.

• Review credit card subsidiary accounts and reconcile to statements. 

• Review payroll postings against the payroll provider report; reconcile source  deductions payable, vacation accrual, CNESST, group insurance, and  RRSP/DPSP balances. 

• Post recurring accruals (rent, insurance, utilities, professional fees, bonuses,  commissions, vacation). 

• Post prepaid expense amortization and deferred revenue recognition (SLA,  maintenance, monitoring contracts). 

• Post depreciation and amortization on fixed assets and intangibles. 

• Post interest accruals on loans (BDC, equipment finance, line of credit) and  verify principal/interest split against lender statements. 

• Reconcile inter-company balances between operating and holding entities to  zero variance. 

• Review project / job costing: WIP, costs incurred to date, billed vs unbilled,  deferred revenue, percentage-of-completion adjustments where applicable. 

• Review inventory: equipment on hand, equipment allocated to projects,  demo/loaner units, write-downs, and shrinkage. 

• Produce a closed trial balance, balance sheet, and P&L within an agreed number  of business days from month-end. 

• Provide a written close summary highlighting unusual items, manual entries,  risks, and recommendations. 

4.2 Quarterly review 

• Re-verify all material balance sheet accounts with supporting schedules. 

• Review margin trends by line of business (cameras, VMS, access control, alarms,  cabling, guard services, SLAs). 

• Review GST/QST returns prior to filing; reconcile ITC/ITR claims to source  documents. 

• Review aged AR and AP and recommend write-offs, allowances, or escalations. 

• Brief management (CEO and partner) on financial position vs prior period and  budget.

4.3 Year-end close & CPA hand-off 

• Produce a full year-end working paper file: lead schedules for every balance  sheet account, supporting reconciliations, and cross-references to source  documents. 

• Reconcile all balance sheet accounts as of fiscal year-end with documented  support. 

• Roll forward fixed asset, intangible, and lease (IFRS 16 / ASPE 3065 as  applicable) schedules. 

• Confirm inter-company balances and eliminate where required. 

• Prepare deferred revenue and unbilled revenue schedules with contract-by contract detail. 

• Document SR&ED-eligible costs and any active tax credit claims (e.g., Revenu  Canada / CRA in-progress files) to support the external claim preparer. 

• Deliver the full file to our external CPA firm in their requested format. 

• Act as primary point of contact for CPA queries during their compilation/review  work; respond, gather, and reconcile within agreed SLAs. 

• Post final CPA-recommended adjusting entries in Odoo and lock the prior-year  period. 

4.4 Balance sheet verification 

The supplier must produce, maintain, and review a documented reconciliation for every  balance sheet account, every month, including but not limited to: 

• Cash and bank accounts (all currencies). 

• Accounts receivable, allowance for doubtful accounts, and unbilled receivables. • Inventory, work-in-progress, and reserves. 

• Prepaid expenses and deposits. 

• Fixed assets, accumulated depreciation, and CWIP. 

• Intangibles and accumulated amortization. 

• Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities. 

• Inter-company receivable / payable. 

• Investments and shareholder loans. 

• Accounts payable and accrued liabilities.

• Credit cards payable. 

• GST/QST payable and recoverable. 

• Source deductions payable (federal and provincial). 

• Customer deposits and deferred revenue. 

• Equipment financing payable, BDC loan, line of credit. 

• Income tax payable / recoverable, instalments. 

• Share capital, retained earnings, dividends declared. 

4.5 GST / QST verification 

• Review every GST/QST return prior to filing for accuracy and completeness. • Reconcile GST/QST collected to revenue and to the GL liability accounts. 

• Reconcile GST/QST paid (ITC/ITR) to expense and asset purchases; flag non recoverable items. 

• Identify and document any zero-rated, exempt, or out-of-province transactions  and apply correct treatment. 

• Maintain supporting workpapers in a format acceptable to a Revenu Québec or  CRA audit. 

• Coordinate filing dates, instalments, and refund follow-up. 

4.6 Adjusting & reclassifying journal entries 

• Identify, document, and post all required adjusting entries (accruals, deferrals,  reclassifications, error corrections). 

• Maintain a journal entry log with description, supporting evidence, preparer, and  reviewer. 

• Apply a documented materiality threshold (to be agreed with management). 4.7 Inter-company and related-entity transactions 

• Track all transactions between the operating entity and the holding company  (and any other related entities). 

• Reconcile inter-company balances monthly to zero variance. 

• Document the nature of each transaction (management fees, expense  recharges, real estate-related charges, shareholder loans, etc.). 

4.8 Project / job costing oversight

• Review Odoo project profitability against quoted margins. 

• Verify that costs (labour, equipment, subcontractors, travel) are correctly  allocated to the right project / analytic account. 

• Validate revenue recognition timing for multi-month installation projects and  recurring SLA contracts. 

• Flag projects with deteriorating margin or excessive WIP aging. 

4.9 Odoo system integrity 

• Verify that the chart of accounts is being used consistently and propose clean ups where required. 

• Verify that analytic accounts / tags are applied consistently for departmental and  project-level reporting. 

• Verify that fiscal positions, tax mappings, and product tax categories in Odoo  produce correct GST/QST treatment. 

• Verify that approval workflows, user permissions, and audit trails are appropriate  for segregation-of-duties purposes. 

• Recommend module configuration improvements (Accounting, Inventory, Sales,  Purchase, Project, Timesheets, Subscriptions) to reduce manual rework. 

• Lock closed periods and enforce period-close discipline within Odoo. 4.10 Internal controls and risk 

• Assess current segregation of duties and recommend improvements. 

• Identify control weaknesses (cash handling, AP approvals, expense reports,  credit notes, manual entries) and propose remediation. 

• Provide a quarterly written control letter to the CEO. 

5. Out of scope 

Unless explicitly added in writing as a change order, the following are NOT covered by  this engagement: 

• Day-to-day bookkeeping (AR billing, AP entry, cash application, bank deposits). • Payroll processing or T4/RL-1 production. 

• Preparation and filing of corporate income tax returns (T2, CO-17). 

• Compilation, review, or audit engagement reports — these remain with the  external CPA firm.

• SR&ED claim preparation (the supplier supports the claim preparer with data,  but does not prepare the claim). 

• Personal tax filings of shareholders or employees. 

• Treasury management, banking negotiations, or fundraising support beyond  providing data. 

• Odoo development, custom module coding, or technical implementation work. 6. Required qualifications 

• CPA designation (Quebec / Canada) or equivalent senior accounting credentials.  Staff used on the engagement must be clearly identified and qualified. 

• Demonstrated experience as a Controller or fractional Controller for SMBs in the  $5M–$25M revenue range. 

• Hands-on, current Odoo experience (Odoo 16, 17, or 18) — Accounting,  Inventory, Project, Sales, Purchase, Subscriptions modules. Provide specific  Odoo client references. 

• Strong working knowledge of GST/QST, source deductions, and Revenu Québec  compliance. 

• Working knowledge of ASPE; IFRS exposure an asset. 

• Bilingual (French and English), spoken and written. 

• Experience with project-based / installation businesses, recurring SLA revenue  models, or related-party / holding-company structures considered an asset. 

• Carries professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance — minimum  coverage to be confirmed in proposal. 

7. Deliverables

Deliverable	Frequency	Due
Closed trial balance, balance sheet, P&L	Monthly	Within 10 business  days of month-end
Balance sheet account reconciliation  pack	Monthly	With monthly close
Close summary memo (issues,   adjustments, recommendations)	Monthly	With monthly close

 

Deliverable	Frequency	Due
GST/QST return review note	Monthly or   quarterly	Before filing   deadline
Quarterly management briefing	Quarterly	Within 15 business  days of quarter-end
Internal control letter	Quarterly	Within 30 days of  quarter-end
Year-end working paper file for CPA	Annual	Within 30 days of  fiscal year-end
CPA query response and final adjusting  entries	Annual	Per CPA timeline

 

8. Communication & reporting 

• Single named lead account manager on the supplier side, with at least one  identified backup. 

• Weekly 30-minute status touchpoint with internal accountant during close  periods, monthly otherwise. 

• Monthly debrief with the CEO. 

• Response SLA of one business day on email; same-day for matters flagged  urgent. 

• All deliverables stored in a shared, access-controlled location agreed at kickoff.