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 of accounting experience, with 5+ years in construction or project-based industries.
  • Proficiency in Sage 50 and advanced Excel skills.
  • Deep knowledge of construction accounting, WIP reporting, lien waivers, AIA billing, and certified payroll.
  • Proven ability to improve processes and reduce errors in financial operations.

Responsibilities

  • Own and update the thirteen-week cash forecast weekly, ensuring proactive communication with the CEO.
  • Deliver a comprehensive monthly reporting package, including financial statements and departmental budget comparisons within two business days post-close.
  • Lead end-to-end job costing processes to ensure accurate tracking of labor, material, and subcontractor costs against estimates.
  • Maintain and refresh loaded labor burden and overhead absorption rates as needed, reissuing pricing calculators promptly after any changes.
  • Review all quoted work for margin compliance against the cost recovery floor to prevent financial losses.
  • Present three critical financial metrics at weekly leadership meetings, providing context and variance explanations.
  • Develop and lead the finance team, including managing workflows and deadlines that align with overall business operations.

Benefits

  • Opportunities for leadership development within the finance team.
  • Engagement with external partners, including CPAs and lenders, fostering professional relationships.
  • Ownership of significant financial processes that directly impact company performance.
Full Job Description
Role Summary

Owns financial reporting, cash management, and job cost accuracy across 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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