Controller - Construction

Cogent Analytics

$115K — $130K *
Real Estate & Construction
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in Accounting or Finance
  • CPA or CMA preferred
  • 7-10 years in accounting, with 5+ years in construction or project-based industries
  • Proficiency with Sage 50 and advanced Excel
  • Deep knowledge of construction accounting practices including WIP reporting and AIA billing
  • Proven ability to improve processes and enhance financial performance

Responsibilities

  • Own and update the thirteen-week cash forecast weekly and communicate liquidity insights to the CEO
  • Deliver the monthly financial reporting package promptly, including job margins and budget comparisons
  • Manage job costing processes to ensure accurate reporting of labor, material, and subcontractor costs
  • Maintain and update loaded labor burden and overhead absorption rate regularly
  • Review job quotes against cost recovery thresholds, escalating potential losses proactively
  • Present key financial metrics and variances at weekly leadership meetings
  • Lead the finance team, overseeing key financial deadlines and relationships with external CPA and lenders

Benefits

  • Opportunity to lead and develop a finance team
  • Engagement with senior leadership and direct impact on financial strategy
  • Exposure to multi-market financial operations
  • Involvement with external stakeholders such as CPAs and lenders
  • Flexible work environment with ownership over critical financial processes
Full Job Description
Role Summary

Owns financial reporting, cash management, and job cost accuracy two markets. Maintains the thirteen-week cash forecast, the monthly reporting package, job costing, and the loaded rates that hold quoted work above the cost recovery floor. Leads the Purchasing Specialist and the Bookkeeper.

Core Responsibilities

  • Own the thirteen-week cash forecast. Update it weekly, publish days of cash on hand every Monday, and tell the CEO which week the plan breaks before it breaks rather than after
  • Deliver the monthly reporting package: financial statements, margin by job, and budget against actual by department, built on the close the Accounting Manager certifies and in the CEO's hands within two business days of it
  • Make job costing run. Own processes end to end so every job closed in the month carries its labor, material, and subcontractor cost against the estimate, and margin per job becomes a reported number rather than a guess
  • Maintain the loaded labor burden and the overhead absorption rate, refresh both at least annually and whenever the cost base moves materially, and reissue the pricing calculator within ten business days of any change
  • Hold quoted and won work to the cost recovery floor. Review margin on every quote above the threshold agreed with the CEO, and escalate any job proposed below the floor before it is signed rather than reporting the loss afterwards
  • Take the three company financial numbers to the weekly leadership meeting with the variance explained, and answer for the number rather than for the spreadsheet it came from
  • Lead and develop the finance team, the Purchasing Specialist and the Bookkeeper, and own the cutoff calendar that the rest of the business works to
  • Own the working relationships with the external CPA and the lenders, and make sure no filing date or scheduled obligation is missed


Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in Accounting or Finance


  • CPA or CMA preferred


  • 7-10 years in accounting, including 5+ years in construction or project-based industries


  • Proficiency with Sage 50 advanced Excel


  • Deep knowledge of construction accounting, WIP reporting, lien waivers, AIA billing, and certified payroll


  • Track record of improving processes, reducing errors, and driving operational finance performance


$115,000 - $130,000 a year

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