Accounting Manager for a US Construction Company

Position: Accounting Manager (Construction & Facilities Maintenance)
Job Class: Full-time (Remote)
Work Schedule: EST — New York business hours
Reports to: Company President (partners closely with the CFO)
Direct Reports: Staff Accountant; AP/AR Specialists

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.