Director of Accounting Compliance

Director of Accounting Compliance

LJA is offering an exciting opportunity that will allow you to reach your full career potential. The structure of our organization is designed to amplify your capabilities while gaining the benefits of being an employee-owner. What truly sets this opportunity apart is the chance to collaborate every day with dedicated, skilled, and supportive leaders. Whether you are in the office, in the field, or behind the scenes, working at LJA gives you the chance to grow through hands-on experience and exposure to a broad range of clients and services.

At LJA, our employee-owners take pride in their work and their workplace. We're guided by leaders who foster a culture of respect, collaboration and a shared vision of success. Our difference is evident in the experiences and opportunities we provide:

• Employee-owned. Client-focused
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• Consistently ranked as a Top Workplace
• Internal recruitment team, in-house training, and a marketing department specific to our industry
• We celebrate flexibility, allowing every team and office to lead with their proven approach
• Our culture champions continuous learning and personal growth
• We believe success comes through constant evolution and communication
• We are passionate about having fun and making money, all while creating impact

As the Director of Accounting Compliance, you will serve as the control point for project financial processes, ensuring consistency in the application of accounting policies, revenue recognition, and billing/collection practices. This role directly oversees the Accounts Receivable team and provides compliance oversight to project accounting and billing functions without direct reporting authority. Reporting to the Corporate Controller, this role standardizes practices across offices, partners closely with operations and finance leadership, and ensures scalable processes that support a complex nationwide organization.

A typical day might include:

• Provide governance and oversight to project accounting functions to ensure policy-aligned processes across the sectors, including project setup governance, contract and change order review support, invoicing practices, labor and expense posting, project closeout, and consistency in WIP and revenue recognition treatment.
• Drive enterprise-wide standardization of project lifecycle and accounts receivable processes.
• Lead initiatives to improve documentation, audit trails and process transparency.
• Ensure consistent adherence to company policies across project accounting, billing, and AR functions including multiple offices and states.
• Ensure accurate and consistent application of ASC 606 across all project-related activities.
• Partner with accounting and operational teams to ensure financial data integrity from project initiation through close.
• Act as the primary owner of internal controls related to project financials, AR, and revenue processes.
• Lead compliance reviews and proactively identify gaps, inconsistencies, and risk areas.
• Partner with internal audit and external auditors to support audits.
• Oversee collections escalation and accounts receivable strategies to improve cash flow and reduce risk.
• Drive accountability for DSO reduction, aging performance and cash flow predictability.
• Implement structured collections processes, escalation protocols and performance tracking.
• Ensure disciplined documentation and resolution of customer disputes.
• Implement automation and system controls to enforce compliance.
• Partner with legal, operations, and procurement leaders to ensure project financial controls align with contracts, subcontract terms, insurance requirements, and company policy.
• Develop reporting packages for executive leadership on DSO, write-offs, and collection trends.
• Lead, coach, and develop accounts receivable manager and staff, building organizational capability, succession depth, and consistent execution.
• Partner and collaborate with sector controllers to ensure compliance with ASC 606.
• Drive process improvement, standardization, and system optimization across ERP and billing platforms used in project-based accounting.
• Support acquisitions, integrations, internal controls, and external audits with a focus on scalable financial processes and compliance.

Required Education/License/

Certifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration required; CPA or CMA strongly preferred.

Required Qualifications:

• 12+ years of progressive experience in project accounting, operational finance, or professional services accounting, including significant AEC industry exposure.
• 8+ years of leadership experience managing managers and geographically dispersed teams in a multi-office environment.
• Deep knowledge of percentage-of-completion and professional services revenue recognition, project lifecycle accounting, accruals, and financial statement impacts.
• Strong command of internal controls, project financial governance, audit support, and policy design for a complex,…