Cost Accounting Manager

We are seeking a high-caliber Job Cost Accounting Manager to serve as the subject matter expert and operational powerhouse behind our project accounting function. In this role, you will own the entire job cost lifecycle across our active construction portfolio—driving rigorous cost control, margin integrity, and precise financial tracking.

Working in direct partnership with Executive Leadership (including the CFO) and Field Project Managers, you will bring deep technical cost-accounting rigor to our operations, establishing strong WIP controls, analyzing variance trends, and elevating financial visibility across all active jobs.

Relocation assistance is available for qualified candidates.

Key Responsibilities

• Cost Accounting & Job Control (SME Level): Serve as the company’s internal authority on job costing. Establish, audit, and enforce robust cost-governance protocols to ensure direct labor, materials, equipment, and subcontractor costs are accurately coded, allocated, and tracked against baseline budgets.
• WIP & Revenue Recognition: Direct the execution and recording of Percentage-of-Completion (POC) accounting models in strict compliance with US GAAP. Manage unbilled revenue, over/under billings, and maintain absolute integrity over the Work-in-Progress (WIP) schedule.
• CFO & Executive Support: Act as a strategic financial partner to executive leadership, delivering deep-dive cost analytics, early warnings on margin erosion, and actionable insights to protect project profitability.
• Project Financial Partnership: Collaborate directly with Project Managers and Estimators to review job profitability, track change orders, analyze cost-to-complete forecasts, and identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Month-End Close & Variance Analysis: Drive the monthly close cycle for project financials. Lead deep-dive variance analyses (budget vs. actual, labor absorption, overhead allocation) to explain profit fluctuations across all active jobs.
• Balance Sheet & Sub-Ledger Integrity: Conduct rigorous monthly reconciliations of project sub-ledgers against the general ledger, focusing on contract assets (costs in excess of billings), contract liabilities (billings in excess of costs), and deferred revenue.
• Backlog & Forecasting: Evaluate monthly project backlog schedules, monitor conversion timelines, and audit margin expectations from estimate-to-completion.
• Audit & Internal Controls: Serve as the primary point of contact for external audits related to job costing and project revenue. Calculate annual labor absorption rates and maintain tight internal controls across all project accounting processes.
• Systems & ERP Optimization: Maximize ERP system functionality to streamline job cost workflows, improve reporting efficiency, and enhance tracking across active projects.

Position Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance required.
• Experience: 5 to 7+ years of progressive accounting experience, with a heavy, dedicated emphasis on advanced job costing and construction accounting
  .
• Technical Mastery: Expert-level proficiency in Job Cost Accounting
  , Percentage-of-Completion (POC) revenue recognition, WIP management, and general ledger structures in a construction environment.
• Systems: Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (complex modeling, pivot tables, data analysis) and experience with robust construction ERP platforms (e.g., Sage 300/CRE, Vista, Foundation, Deltek, or similar).
• Leadership & Communication: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to serve as a technical subject matter expert, partner effectively with a CFO, and translate complex cost data for non-finance operational teams.