Senior Project Accountant

CPKC; Calgary; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible and competitive benefits

Pension and retirement plans

Employee share purchase plan

Performance incentive plan

Annual fitness subsidy

Job summary

CPKC, North America’s first transnational railroad, is seeking a Senior Project Accountant (Specialist Project Accounting) in Calgary. You will manage accounting, analysis, and reporting for capital and operational projects, ensuring expenditures are accurate and compliant with SOX controls, supporting asset capitalization and financial statements.

You will collaborate with project teams and business partners, prepare journal entries, perform reconciliations, analyze variances, and identify

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in commerce, accounting, finance, economics, or other relevant field.
• CPA/CA/CMA/CGA or other accounting designation.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in related financial roles.
• Expert knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
• Strong financial acumen and ability to apply financial principles.

Responsibilities

• Review project proposals and determine appropriate accounting treatment.
• Monthly, quarterly, and annual analysis and presentation of project spend.
• Prepare and post monthly journal entries for transactions.
• Perform account analysis and monthly reconciliations of key balance sheet accounts.

Skills

Excellent collaboration

Time management

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor’s degree in commerce, accounting, finance, economics, or related field

CPA/CA/CMA/CGA or other accounting designation

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Join CPKC, North America’s first transnational railroad connecting U.S., Canada, and Mexico, where your career drives progress and safety is paramount. We connect communities, fuel economic growth, and provide meaningful work in a culture that values diversity, accountability, and pride. With opportunities for training, development, and advancement, you’re not just building a career—you’re part of something bigger. Together, we move goods, connect people, and create lasting change. Your future starts here.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:

Reporting to the Manager, Project Accounting, the Senior Project Accountant (internally known as Specialist Project Accounting) is responsible for the accounting, analysis, and financial reporting of capital and operational projects, ensuring expenditures are accurately recorded, analyzed, and reported in accordance with accounting standards and internal control requirements. The role provides accounting expertise to project teams and business partners, supports asset capitalization activities, performs account reconciliations and financial analysis, and contributes to process improvement initiatives that enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and integrity of financial reporting for more than $2.5 billion in annual capital project expenditures.

POSITION ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Review project proposals and determine appropriate accounting treatment
• Monthly, quarterly, and annual preparation, analysis and presentation of project spend
• Prepare and post monthly journal entries for necessary business transactions leading up to the financial statements
• Perform account analysis and monthly reconciliations of key Balance Sheet accounts
• Review ongoing projects and setup final assets upon project completion
• Identify, analyze, and reconcile inconsistent information and recommend adjustments where necessary
• Ensure financial data generation process comply with applicable internal control (SOX) requirements
• Review complex accounting concerns, in consultation with accounting policy team
• Identify and analyze process improvement opportunities and implement selected solutions
• Address and respond to queries from auditors and internal reviewers

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in commerce, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Mathematics, or other relevant fields
• Accounting designation CFA, CPA (CA/CMA/CGA) or other
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in related financial roles
• Expert knowledge of Microsoft Excel
• Financial acumen and ability to practically apply financial principles & theories
• Ability to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders
• Ability to manage conflicting timelines/requirements and to prioritize

WHAT CPKC HAS TO OFFER:

• Flexible and competitive benefits package
• Competitive company pension and/or retirement plans
• Employee share purchase plan
• Performance incentive plan
• Annual fitness subsidy

PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS:

• Criminal history check
• Education verification
• Professional references

BECOMING A RAILROADER:

As an employee with a North American presence, the possibility does exist that the location of your position may be changed based on organizational requirements.

Management Conductor Program

Becoming a qualified conductor or locomotive engineer is the single best way for a management employee to learn the business at CPKC. You may be required to obtain a certification or to maintain your current certification/qualification as a conductor or locomotive engineer.

CULTURE OF INCLUSION:

For our U.S. applicants, CPKC is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, inclusive of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For Canadian applicants CPKC is an employment equity employer committed to the principles of employment equity and inclusion. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply including: women, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), members of the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities. Accommodations for the job application process can be provided, as appropriate, upon request. All applicant information will be managed in accordance with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).