ASSISTANT CONSTRUCTION CONTROLLER, FIRST TIER SPECIALTY CONTRACT

ASSISTANT CONSTRUCTION CONTROLLER, FIRST TIER SPECIALTY CONTRACTOR

With over seventy years in business we are a profitable private growth company in need of an assistant controller for assorted financial project management roles. This job has a clearly defined path to divisional controller, and we are a career destination.

The job is a combination of the management of a portion of our accounting department, and the assembly of a coordination process between operations and finance to accurately track projects, change of scope and change orders, to keep billings accurate, complete and current, and to help control aging.

We are a construction company. The service business makes unique demands on the finance department that differ profoundly from demands in other sectors. To make matters even more complex, we are a public works contractor, and detail and precision rank right up there with speed and agility in performing the job. If you do not send those bills in precisely in the form and format required, the government simply does not pay those bills. Our work is also project based and accounting is really opening and closing little companies which have a start date, and dissolve at a finite date at the end of the contract. All of this leads us to respectfully request input from folks in the self-performing construction business. We have been unsuccessful moving folks from other business types into construction.

Having been in business for a very long time, we have constantly evolved systems to manage, track and measure our work progress. We have a full ERM system, and use computer aided estimating tools. We report quantities on projects, do routine WIP cost accruals and forecasts. We have a trained and professional project accounting staff. With all of that in place, the company still depends upon the vigilance of field management to responsibly capture, track and record constantly changing activities on numerous projects in multiple locations. The assistant controller may be asked to manage a financial team that is tied to a large project, and my coordinate activities between field project accountants, internal finance, and the AR functions.

Missions may be anything from making certain cost accruals for specific projects are correct, to having breakfast with a big agency to review their satisfaction (they owe us money and you are being “known”). An eternal mission is keeping positive relationships with field leadership to maintain their enthusiasm for supporting financial reporting. It is an endless campaign. It is that classic business mission of “being liked, being seen, being understood and being known”, and the need to be all of those things an eternal responsibility.

There is a sales element to being in financial management in construction. The reality is that it is always in the personal interest of field superintendents, project managers and division managers to run with completely up to date and accurate financial reports. It is always necessary to capture all change orders and change of scope and to get paid for it. It is always important to report all such information to the financial department so that they can do their thing.

Projects would be more successful, problems would be seen sooner, and the ultimate profits for those jobs would be higher for jobs run under control with complete, accurate and timely information getting into finance. Add to that the fact that bonus paid to all the field managers is profit derived and it would make sense that the field managers would be running to finance to provide all that finance needs. After seventy plus years in business you would want to believe those ducks are in a row. They are not, and as humanity trudges on, getting that information is an endless struggle. The assistant controller needs to be able to motivate the field operations department by maintaining personal relationships and demonstrating personal stakes for those field managers in each and every mission.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Assist the controller in finance departmental management, with the ultimate goals of accurate recording of financial operations of the company, departmental efficiency, the preservation of positive cash flow, and assurance of complete recovery of fees due for services rendered in an at-risk, self-performing multi-state public works construction environment.

The direction of accounting staff on project specific work.

Personal leadership and mentoring of operational people with the goal of selling sound financial management principles and administrative excellence to be applied on their jobs.

Personal relationship building when interfacing with clients with the goal of attaining positive client recognition and personal support for our company, thereby enhancing collection efforts.

QUALIFICATIONS

Experience and history performing the duties and responsibilities as above in a self-performing construction environment.

Solid financial acumen.

A bachelor’s degree in finance, or relevant degree. CPA always an asset, but not necessary.

Writing skills for business will be required.

Good general computer skills. Quick study adapting to new software systems.

Management skills and attendant communications skills: The ability plan, prioritize, to organize and allocate personnel for tasks. Good skills at getting work done with and through others.

Toughness, and passion. Some endurance and fortitude will be necessary.

Creativity and adaptability: The ability to take all your resources and apply them to something entirely new and in new ways.

CULTURE:

This is a nice place to work, and that is not achieved accidentally. Our management is in touch with how the work gets done here. Construction is a people business. Generally speaking it is the old school application of highly skilled and specific labor that makes the money for us. The strength and earning power of the company is in the field. Keeping folks working together and in good spirits makes or breaks the company. Here we are hiring a position that fits into an overhead category, but sensitivity to the essence of the business as a people business helps us all.

The company is private and it is not a family business with layer after layer of highly compensated people who are related and essentially untouchable (an often unproductive). We run an ethical business and you will find executives here a “keep it simple” lot. Our managers benefit from open book financial management. Most private companies do not share raw financials with the staff in the way we always have.

Our miracle is very similar to the miracle of L.L. Bean at Christmas time. Delivering a package seems to be a very straightforward and simple enterprise. But doing that under immense pressure with precision as Christmas approaches is a monumental achievement as far as I am concerned. We do construction work some very basic and some highly specialized. What really makes us a standout is that we relentlessly refine operational systems and even invent specialized equipment to do those jobs better and faster, and with schedule integrity and quality day after day and year after year, though we do not ramp up at Christmas.

People stay with us. We are able to retain our performers in a very competitive marketplace. We allow for consideration and consensus from our staff regarding important policy matters. Ownership is not looking for rubber stamp mentality; people providing feedback and solid justification and support for their opinions and people providing good solutions to problems are what we are wanting.

Growth is planned, and so is reasonable diversification. Some of our expansion has been initiated by new market pursuits, some by the acquisition of specialized capital equipment that gives the company unique capacity / capabilities, and some growth has taken place by way of M&A activity. All of this has been planned out and mapped against cash flow and human capital.

In summary, we are actually nice to one another, we actually listen to one another, we are progressive and have guts, we have tools and systems that allow us to crush the competition in the markets we want to dominate, and we actually think and plan about where we are going in the future.

CAREER PATH:

For this job the next step up is a division controller. It will not be long for a good hand.

PAY AND BENEFITS:

The range of base compensation is $75 - 90K. We are an open book and profit sharing company. The company provides that base salary, company profit sharing, merit/performance bonus, 401K with match, medical and dental insurance, computer equipment, cell phone, and business expense account as required. Bonus for folks in this type of position has been on the order of 15-20% of salary.
EMAIL: [Click here for email].
SUBJECT LINE: ACONTROLLER

All information will be handled with the utmost discretion and will in all cases be regarded as confidential.

Thank you.
REQUIREMENTS
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