Cost Accountant

Remote Raven is hiring a Cost Accountant on behalf of a long‑established commercial electrical contractor headquartered in Arizona. The company builds complex electrical systems on healthcare, mission‑critical/data‑center, industrial, and commercial projects across the state and works with major national general contractors. Multiple projects run in parallel; each has its own budget, schedule of values, change‑order activity, and life cycle to close out.

This role sits inside the accounting team and pairs directly with project management on the money side of each job.

You will monitor job costs, track budgets, analyze variances, prepare work‑in‑progress schedules, and reconcile project cost detail to the general ledger. You will be part of the monthly job cost review with project managers, and you will flag risks and overruns early so leadership can act on them. The role calls for someone who is confident in construction accounting mechanics — WIP, percentage‑of‑completion, committed costs, change orders — and who can explain those mechanics in plain language to non‑accountants.

• Collaborate with project managers to develop and maintain detailed project budgets and financial forecasts.
• Track and analyze all job costs across each project life cycle, including labor, materials, equipment, and subcontractor expenses.
• Monitor change orders end‑to‑end and ensure accurate documentation, pricing, and budget adjustments are reflected in the ERP.
• Maintain accurate records of purchasing, vendor contracts, and committed costs on each active project.

• Prepare monthly job cost reports and variance analyses for management review.
• Participate in monthly job cost meetings with the Project Management team, identifying variances and recommending corrective actions.
• Assist in preparing WIP schedules and contribute to monthly financial statement preparation.
• Review project billing and revenue recognition to ensure compliance with company policies and contract standards.

• Reconcile project costs with general ledger accounts; ensure data accuracy across all financial systems.
• Maintain the integrity of project cost data through consistent data entry standards and regular reconciliation reviews.
• Identify and resolve discrepancies between project‑level cost tracking and GL records.

• Support internal and external audits with detailed cost documentation, reconciliations, and organized project records.
• Continuously evaluate and improve cost tracking methods, accounting processes, and financial controls.
• Ensure the company’s cost accounting practices remain compliant with contract requirements and accounting standards.

• Work closely with Project Management as the financial counterpart to project leadership.
• Communicate financial insights, budget status, and cost concerns clearly to non‑financial team members.
• Proactively flag financial risks, cost overruns, or budget anomalies to accounting leadership and project management.

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Three or more years of cost accounting experience, preferably in construction or electrical contracting.
• Strong understanding of construction job cost accounting, WIP schedules, and percentage‑of‑completion revenue recognition.
• Proficiency in a construction accounting platform such as CMIC, Viewpoint Vista, Sage 300 CRE (Timberline), or a comparable system.
• Advanced Excel skills for financial modeling, variance analysis, and reporting.
• Excellent attention to detail, organization, and problem‑solving.
• Clear and effective written English.
• Comfortable working independently in a remote environment.
• Overlap with US Mountain Standard Time business hours (Arizona does not observe DST).

• Direct experience in electrical contracting, commercial construction, or specialty‑trades accounting.
• CPA or CMA certification (or local equivalent).
• Experience managing job cost reporting across multiple simultaneous projects.
• Bac…