Controller

TBL Mission Critical provides electrical contracting, construction, and service and maintenance for mission-critical facilities. The Controller leads the accounting function, ensuring accurate financial reporting, reliable construction job accounting, disciplined cash management, and effective internal controls across the business.

This is a hands-on player-coach position responsible for both team performance and technical accounting. The successful candidate brings an active CPA license, strong management skills, practical construction WIP and AR/AP knowledge, and expert QuickBooks Online proficiency. The Controller must be ready to independently lead the close, resolve accounting issues, and manage the team from day one.

Reporting to the Director of Operations and Head of Finance, the Controller has direct responsibility for all accounting staff and the opportunity to strengthen processes as TBL grows. The role partners with project and operations leaders to provide clear information on financial results, job margins, and cash needs.

Key Responsibilities

Close, Reporting & Balance-Sheet Integrity

• Own monthly, quarterly, and annual close; deliver GAAP-basis financial statements, supporting schedules, reconciliations, and a signed close checklist by the agreed deadline.
• Require and approve monthly reconciliations for cash, AR, retainage, contract assets and liabilities, AP, accrued expenses, payroll liabilities, credit cards, fixed assets, debt, and tax accounts.
• Maintain controls over cutoff, journal entries, period closing, account reviews, and the release of financial statements.
• Prepare a monthly management package covering financial statements, job margins, WIP, backlog, AR, working capital, and material variances to budget or forecast.

Construction Accounting, Job Cost & WIP

• Own job-cost and WIP controls covering contract values, change orders, estimated final costs, costs to date, percent complete, earned revenue, billings, retainage, and loss contracts.
• Reconcile underbillings and overbillings by job to QuickBooks Online contract-asset and contract-liability accounts every month.
• Ensure timely, accurate allocation of labor, payroll burden, materials, subcontractors, equipment, and applicable overhead to jobs; investigate missing or miscoded costs.
• Lead monthly WIP reviews with project leadership; evaluate cost forecasts, margin changes, pending change orders, billing variances, and potential losses, applying supportable accounting treatment.
• Translate project managers’ documented estimates into supportable accounting, with operations retaining responsibility for scope, progress, and estimated costs to complete (ETC).

Transaction Oversight, Cash & Controls

• Oversee AP, AR, project and service billing, cash application, payroll accounting, vendor records, fixed assets, debt, accruals, and accounting compliance; coordinate tax matters with external advisers.
• Improve billing-to-cash workflows across QBO, project systems, and customer portals. Work with operations to resolve incomplete source data, missed handoffs, rejected pay applications, disputed invoices, and collection delays.
• Prepare and maintain a weekly 13-week cash forecast and working-capital view; surface timing risks, concentration, disputed amounts, and funding decisions early.
• Establish segregation of duties and approval matrices appropriate for a lean private contractor; protect vendor setup, bank access, disbursements, credits, journal entries, payroll changes, and reconciliations.
• Coordinate external accountants, tax advisers, auditors, lenders, and sureties; provide reconciled schedules and timely support for reporting, reviews, and information requests.

QuickBooks Online & Systems Ownership

• Own QBO configuration, project coding, reconciliations, permissions, close controls, integrations, and reporting; personally resolve coding errors, duplicate records, and unsupported balances.
• Create controlled templates and source-of-truth registers where QBO or project systems do not fully support construction workflows.
• Partner with the technology team on accounting workflow improvements, automation, and integration controls; evaluate proposed system changes against business needs, cost, and expected benefit.
• Directly manage all accounting staff, including project finance, project accounting/AR, project billing, and AP/payroll support. Set priorities, delegate work, coach employees, and manage performance and capacity.
• Document accounting procedures, close calendars, review standards, and backup coverage so work is consistent and responsibilities are clear.
• Prepare or correct work personally when needed while developing the team’s ability to complete routine work independently.
• Coordinate billing, project-finance analysis, and accounting so transaction processing supports timely insight into job margins and cash; project managers retain ownership of operational estimates.

Required Qualifications

• Active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license required.
• Progressive accounting experience in construction or specialty contracting, including independent ownership of the monthly close, financial statements, and related controls.
• Proven people-management skills, including setting priorities, delegating effectively, coaching staff, and managing performance in a lean accounting team.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of construction WIP, revenue recognition, and over/underbillings, including the ability to prepare and review WIP schedules and reconcile them to QuickBooks Online.
• Hands-on responsibility for AR and AP, including billing, collections, aging reviews, cash application, vendor payments, reconciliations, and related controls; working knowledge of payroll accounting and cash management.
• Expert-level, recent, hands-on QuickBooks Online experience, including configuration, troubleshooting, reconciliation, close, reporting, permissions, and staff training.
• Ability to use Excel to reconcile accounts, review job data, and maintain clear, accurate supporting schedules.

Preferred Qualifications

• CCIFP or CMA certification; advanced Excel, financial modeling, or reporting-automation skills.
• Experience with construction accounting platforms or project-management systems such as Viewpoint/Vista, Sage 300 CRE, CMiC, Foundation, Spectrum, or Procore.
• Experience in electrical contracting, mission-critical services, data centers, semiconductors, multi-state operations, or certified payroll.
• Experience with AIA-style payment applications, schedules of values, lien waivers, COIs, retainage, change orders, and customer procurement portals.
• Experience supporting lender, surety, board, private-equity, audit, or transaction-diligence reporting.

Seniority Level: Mid-Level

Location: Chandler, AZ

Job Type: Full-Time