Accounting Manager for a US Construction Company

Summary

The Accounting Manager owns day‑to‑day accounting and finance operations and leads a small team in a high‑volume repair, maintenance, and construction environment. This role is heavy on reconciliations and ** US GAAP accrual accounting , with deep responsibility for construction‑specific practices including ** job costing , ** percentage‑of‑completion revenue recognition , and ** Work‑in‑Progress (WIP) management, specifically ** Costs in Excess of Billings (underbillings) and ** Billings in Excess of Costs (overbillings). You’ll drive month‑end close, prepare and analyze financial statements, ensure compliance with accounting standards, and continuously improve processes and controls.

Essential Functions

Full‑Cycle Accounting & Close

• Own month‑end, quarter‑end, and year‑end close; prepare and review journal entries (accruals, deferrals, revenue, payroll, inventory/parts, prepaid, fixed assets).
• Produce accurate and timely financial statements (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow) with variance analysis and commentary.
• Maintain the chart of accounts and cost codes; ensure consistent, accurate coding across a high volume of transactions.

Reconciliations

• Perform and review bank and credit card reconciliations (monthly and as needed), merchant/processor reconciliations, and daily cash application reviews.
• Reconcile all balance sheet accounts (AR, AP, inventory/parts, payroll liabilities, accrued expenses, prepaids, fixed assets, retained earnings).
• Tie‑out subledgers to the GL (AR aging, AP aging, WIP, inventory/parts), resolving discrepancies promptly.

Construction & Project Accounting

• Manage job setup, job costing, and budget‑to‑actual tracking for construction and high‑volume R&M/quick‑turn work orders.
• Prepare monthly **WIP schedules , including ** Costs in Excess of Billings and ** Billings in Excess **, with clear roll‑forwards and GL tie‑outs.
• Apply US GAAP revenue recognition for construction (e.g., percentage‑of‑completion) and service/maintenance revenue streams.
• Oversee **progress billings **, change orders, retainage, and closeout documentation.

AP/AR, Billing & Cash

• Oversee AP (3‑way match, approvals, vendor setup, terms optimization) and ** AR** (invoicing cycles for high‑volume work orders, progress billings, cash application, unapplied cash resolution).
• Coordinate with Operations/Dispatch for timely billing of quick repairs and maintenance jobs; reduce billing cycle times and DSO.
• Maintain subcontractor compliance (W‑9/1099, COIs, lien waivers) and vendor master integrity.

Controls, Compliance & Audit

• Develop, implement, and maintain **internal controls **, accounting policies, and SOPs.
• Prepare **audit‑ready workpapers **; coordinate ** annual financial audit and insurance audits **; lead PBC responses.
• Manage business license and registration renewals (multi‑state) and coordinate insurance renewals and documentation.
• Utilize automated tax tools for sales & use tax (and VAT/GST where applicable); coordinate with external CPA on federal and state income tax filings.

Reporting, Planning & Partnership

• Prepare management reports (WIP, job profitability, backlog, AR/AP aging, cash forecasts, KPI dashboards) for leadership.
• Partner with the President and CFO on the Annual Operating Budget and rolling forecasts; provide cost and margin insights.
• Serve as a point of contact for clients, vendors, lenders, auditors, and other business partners.
• Deliver ad hoc analyses to support pricing, resource planning, and operational decisions.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance.
• 5+ years of progressive GL/full‑cycle accounting experience with ** US GAAP** in a ** construction and/or facilities maintenance** environment.
• Demonstrated expertise with reconciliations (bank, balance sheet, subledger tie‑outs) and ** accrual accounting **.
• Proven experience with WIP and ** over/under billings** (Costs in Excess / Billings in Excess) and ** job costing **.
• Advanced Excel skills (lookups, pivots, error‑tracing) and comfort working in high‑volume transaction environments.
• Strong documentation habits; able to produce clear, audit‑ready workpapers.

Preferred

• CPA (active or in progress) or public accounting/audit experience.
• Experience implementing or optimizing accounting processes and internal controls.
• Familiarity with construction/field service systems and accounting ERPs (e.g., QuickBooks Online, Sage 100/300/Intacct, NetSuite, Viewpoint/Vista, CMiC, Procore, ServiceTitan, or similar).
• Multi‑state compliance exposure (licenses, sales/use tax, payroll nuances).

Competencies

• Ownership mindset, accuracy, and urgency—especially around reconciliations and close deadlines.
• Clear communicator who can translate financials for non‑finance partners in Operations.
• Builder of processes and teams; able to coach a Staff Accountant and AP/AR specialists.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and integrity in handling sensitive financial information.

Work Environment

• **Fully remote **, working ** EST (New York) business hours **.
• Occasional overtime during month‑end/quarter‑end/year‑end and audit periods.

Success Metrics (Examples)

• On‑time monthly close with complete reconciliations and zero material unreconciled variances.
• Accurate WIP schedules and over/under billing balances that tie to the GL every month.
• Reduced billing cycle time and DSO for maintenance and quick‑repair jobs.
• Clean annual audit with minimal findings and timely insurance audit completion.