Financial Controller

Job Description

----Position Overview

Eaton Construction Services, Inc. is seeking an experienced, highly detail-oriented Construction Controller to take hands-on ownership of the company’s accounting, project financial reporting, financial controls, cash management, compliance, and month-end reporting.

This is not a supervisory Controller position . The Controller must be capable of independently performing and owning the accounting function—from transaction-level accounting and reconciliations through construction WIP, financial statements, cash-flow forecasting, and management reporting.

The Controller will operate at two levels : the project level (job cost, WIP, billing, subcontractor payments, and project forecasting) and the company level (financial statements, overhead, treasury, banking, bonding, tax, audit, internal controls, and financial leadership support). At both levels the Controller reports directly to the VP of Finance .

We are specifically seeking someone with strong General Contractor/construction accounting experience who understands how job costs, commitments, change orders, progress billings, retainage, WIP, cost-to-complete, subcontractor payments, and project cash flow ultimately affect company financial performance.

----Key Responsibilities

Job Cost & Project Accounting

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• Maintain accurate job-cost accounting by project and cost code.
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• Monitor contract values, budgets, commitments, actual costs, change orders, and estimated costs to complete.
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• Review project financial performance and investigate cost, budget, and margin discrepancies.
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• Reconcile accounting records with project-management systems.
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• Perform cost allocation and ensure project team costs are accurately reflected in project financials.
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• Work directly with Project Managers to validate project forecasts and identify financial exposure.
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WIP & Revenue Recognition

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• Prepare and reconcile monthly WIP schedules .
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• Manage percentage-of-completion/cost-to-cost accounting and applicable ASC 606 revenue recognition.
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• Analyze estimated cost to complete, earned revenue, gross profit, underbillings/overbillings, contract assets/liabilities, backlog, and projected losses.
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• Identify and communicate margin fade, cost overruns, excessive underbilling, unapproved change-order exposure, and other project financial risks.
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Billing, AR, AP & Retainage

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• Manage owner progress billings, including Schedules of Values, AIA G702/G703 or similar applications, change-order billing, stored materials, and retainage .
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• Maintain AR aging and actively monitor collections, billing delays, and retainage receivable.
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• Process/review subcontractor payment applications and vendor invoices against subcontracts, purchase orders, commitments, and approved changes.
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• Track subcontractor/vendor retainage, lien waivers, and required payment documentation.
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• Maintain accurate AP records and payment obligations.
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General Ledger, Close & Financial Reporting

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• Own the general ledger, chart of accounts, accounting policies and procedures, and the monthly close calendar.
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• Own the monthly and year-end close, including journal entries, accruals, bank/credit-card reconciliations, balance-sheet reconciliations, and supporting schedules.
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• Ensure financial statements comply with U.S. GAAP , including leases ( ASC 842), estimates, reserves, and contingencies, and manage intercompany or multi-entity accounting where applicable.
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• Prepare accurate monthly Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, WIP, AR/AP aging, retainage, backlog, project profitability, and budget-to-actual reporting , with variance commentary for the VP of Finance and leadership.
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• Develop and track company KPIs such as gross margin, backlog, overhead rate, working capital, cash burn, ROI, and DSO/DPO.
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• Personally investigate discrepancies and unreconciled balances rather than allowing unexplained items to carry forward.
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Cash Flow, Treasury & Banking

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• Prepare rolling cash-flow forecasts covering owner collections, subcontractor/vendor payments, payroll, overhead, debt service, and other obligations.
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• Monitor project working-capital requirements, underbillings, retainage, collections, and unapproved change-order exposure.
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• Manage daily cash positioning and banking relationships, and monitor lines of credit, term debt, and other financial obligations.
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Budgeting, Forecasting & Financial Analysis

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• Support the VP of Finance with annual budgets, revenue and gross-profit forecasts, overhead planning, project forecasts, and financial modeling.
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• Monitor G&A and overhead costs and overhead recovery against budget.
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• Provide financial analysis for bid and pricing decisions, capital purchases, lease-versus-buy decisions, and new markets or investments.
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Payroll, Fixed Assets & Equipment

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• Own payroll accounting and reconciliation, and certified/prevailing -wage payroll where applicable.
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• Manage fixed assets, equipment and vehicle accounting, and depreciation.
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Tax, Insurance, Surety & Compliance

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• Coordinate accounting requirements for tax filings, 1099s, state business tax, sales and use tax, property tax, and other applicable compliance matters , working with the outside CPA on income tax filings, tax planning, and book-to-tax differences for long-term contracts.
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• Prepare and maintain information required for general liability and workers’ compensation audits, insurance renewals, and experience modification .
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• Prepare surety and bonding financial packages, including WIP, work-on-hand, and bonding-capacity analysis, and support the VP of Finance in surety, and carrier relationships.
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• Maintain calendars and support so tax, licensing, and regulatory deadlines are met.
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• Coordinate and manage contractor license and business license renewals across applicable states, including tracking expiration dates, preparing and submitting renewal documentation, and ensuring compliance with state requirements.
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Audit & Internal Controls

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• Maintain strong internal controls over payments, vendor setup, credit cards, job-cost coding, billing, journal entries, and reconciliations, including segregation of duties and approval authority limits.
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• Serve as the primary contact for CPA reviews/audits , including preparing audit-ready schedules and responding to auditor requests.
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• Maintain organized supporting documentation, audit trails, and records-retention practices.
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Systems & Process Improvement

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• Maintain data integrity between accounting and construction-management systems and resolve discrepancies.
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• Identify opportunities to strengthen controls, automate processes, and improve financial reporting.
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----Required Qualifications

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• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
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• Significant progressive accounting experience with hands-on construction accounting experience , preferably with a General Contractor.
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• Demonstrated experience with job costing, WIP, percentage-of-completion/cost-to-cost accounting, cost-to-complete forecasting, under/overbillings, retainage, progress billing, change orders, and project profitability .
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• Experience independently performing month-end close, reconciliations, and financial-statement preparation under U.S. GAAP.
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• Strong Excel (required), QuickBooks (required), analytical, reconciliation, and problem-solving skills.
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• Proficiency in using AI tools, such as Claude or similar platforms, to streamline accounting processes, reduce manual tasks, improve efficiency, and support analysis and problem-solving.
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• Exceptional accuracy, organization, follow-through, and attention to detail.
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• Ability to independently manage accounting responsibilities and deadlines.
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• Working knowledge of banking and debt covenants, surety/bonding financial requirements, and multi-state or Tennessee tax and compliance matters.
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• Ability to work at both the project and company level, communicating clearly with Project Managers, the VP of Finance, lenders, sureties, and outside CPAs.
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Preferred: Prior Controller experience with a General Contractor; construction software, bonding, insurance-audit, and construction tax experience.

----Who We Are Looking For

We need someone who is hands-on, technically strong, investigative, accountable, and proactive .

The right candidate does not simply produce reports—they understand the numbers and investigate when something does not make sense. They should be able to identify incorrect job costs, unrealistic project forecasts, margin deterioration, billing problems, cash-flow exposure, reconciliation differences, and control weaknesses before they become management surprises .

This position is likely not a fit if:

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• Your accounting experience is primarily outside construction.
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• You have never personally prepared or meaningfully worked through a construction WIP schedule.
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• You cannot clearly explain underbillings/overbillings, cost-to-complete, retainage, or margin fade.
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• Your Controller experience primarily involved supervising others who performed the underlying accounting work.
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• You expect routine accounting, reconciliations, billing, AP, or detailed financial work to be delegated.
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• You rely on an outside CPA to determine how routine monthly accounting should be completed.
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----What Success Looks Like

The Controller should enable the VP of Finance and leadership to confidently know:

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• Whether the financial statements and WIP are accurate.
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• The true projected profitability of each project.
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• Which projects are gaining or losing margin and why.
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• What has been billed, collected, underbilled, retained, and remains outstanding.
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• What cash is expected to come in and go out.
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• Which projects are consuming working capital or creating financial exposure.
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• Whether accounting, tax, insurance, bonding, lender-covenant, and compliance requirements are current.
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• Whether company overhead, profitability, and liquidity are on track against budget.
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• What financial risks require management attention before they become problems .
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The Controller will report directly to the VP of Finance and is expected to independently own the day-to-day accounting function, project-level financial control, and company-level financial management of Eaton Construction Services.