Team Lead, Project Accounting

McElhanney; Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A well-established engineering firm in Vancouver is seeking a Team Lead to oversee the Project Accounting Centre of Excellence. The ideal candidate will manage a team, ensure compliance with accounting standards, and engage with various stakeholders. A bachelor's degree and 8+ years of project accounting experience are required. A comprehensive benefits package and flexible work options are offered, with a salary range of $85,000 - $110,000.

Benefits

Flexible hours

Comprehensive benefits

Professional development reimbursement

Generous bonus plan

Career progression support

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in Financial Analysis or Accounting.
• Ability to lead and mentor a small team.
• Experience with ERP systems and advanced Excel skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop standardized best practices for project accounting.
• Provide oversight and support to project accountants.
• Engage with stakeholders to solve complex problems.

Skills

Project billing

Advanced Excel

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or diploma in business

CPA, CFA, or MBA

Tools

Microsoft Dynamics SL

Microsoft Dynamics 365

MS Office Suite

Job description

Overview

About McElhanney

Based in Western Canada for over 110 years, McElhanney offers innovative and practical engineering, surveying, mapping, planning, landscape architecture, and environmental services. As a 100% employee-owned and operated firm, with over 1,400 staff members in 30+ locations, we are proud to offer qualified staff with shareholding options in our company. At McElhanney, we work in teams to build strong connections with our staff, clients, and local communities. Our employees enjoy working here because of our varied projects, high levels of autonomy, opportunities for career development, excellent total compensation and benefits package, and collaborating with a team of great professionals.

The Opportunity: McElhanney is seeking an experienced Accounting professional to join our Finance & Accounting team as the next Team Lead for our Project Accounting Centre of Excellence. You will lead a small team of Project Accountants in developing a Project Accounting Centre of Excellence at McElhanney which includes the creation of standardized policies/processes, ensures compliance with accounting standards/internal controls, and sets enterprise-wide guidelines for project accounting and invoicing.

This role will provide oversight, guidance, and support with project accounting and invoicing to a broader group of Branch Administrators, Invoicing Staff, and Project Managers throughout McElhanney\'s branch offices. The ideal candidate for this role prioritizes learning new technology and thrives solving problems and communicating with project stakeholders. The successful candidate will have excellent knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles, project accounting, and the ability to understand how transactions/processes impact the big picture. Leadership, project billing and reporting, advanced Excel, and system support with an ERP are preferred.

While our preference is for the successful candidate to be based in our Vancouver office, we are open to considering hybrid or remote arrangements for the right candidate located in other McElhanney locations.

What You'll Do

• Developing standards, guidelines, and improving our processes
  • Develop standardized best practices that can be transferred to branches via training sessions
  • Work with other teams to design, develop and document process improvements with respect to project reporting, billing, collections, invoice formats, equipment management, and data capture
• Project accounting analysis
  • Respond to requests for assistance with complex billing, project analysis, creation of ad hoc reports, and/or resolving material project transaction errors
  • Investigate project variances, profitability, WIP or AR that are outside of a defined range
• Training and user support
  • Work directly with project accountants, billing staff and project managers to increase their understanding of processes and project financial performance
  • Be the go-to internal expert assisting staff in the use of our various Project and Financial Accounting modules, dashboards and reports to monitor, track and analyze projects
  • Oversee the annual billing rate process and help the organization improve standardization of project rates and billing categories
  • Backfill project billing staff for short-term needs that may arise from time to time
  • Take part in professional development to adapt knowledge and skills with changes in technology
• Stakeholder engagement
  • Exercise initiative and judgement to solve problems, liaise with senior colleagues on complex problems
  • Provide regular mentorship, conduct performance reviews and career/goal-setting with direct reports
  • Provide presentations or reports to management regarding issues and opportunities for improvement

What You'll Bring

• Completion of bachelor\'s degree or diploma in business or related field; an advanced degree or professional designation such as CPA, CFA, or MBA is considered an asset, though equivalent work experience may also be considered.
• Minimum of 8 years of work experience in a Financial Analysis, Accounting, Project Accounting or Invoicing role.
• Ability to establish a Project Accounting Centre of Excellence from the ground up, building rapport with operations to help streamline and standardize processes for best practices in Project Accounting for professional services.
• Ability to lead, motivate, and mentor a small team of direct reports.
• Strong people skills and an excellent communicator, fluent in both written and spoken English.
• Experience providing presentations, reports, and communicating with senior management and project stakeholders.
• Project billing experience in the professional services industry, such as engineering, architecture, construction, or geomatics is an asset.
• Prior experience working with an ERP system. Experience with Microsoft Dynamics SL, Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, and/or implementation of an ERP is considered a strong asset.
• Proficiency in MS Office including Word, Excel, PowerBI, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. Advanced Excel is required including power query, pivot tables, and lookup functions.

What Can We Offer You?

The salary range for this position is $85,000 - $110,000 per annum. McElhanney offers fair compensation that is commensurate with the individual\'s education, experience, skills, and professional qualifications. The posted base salary/wage range is representative of the required level of qualifications and experience for the position as noted in the job posting. The salary offered will be based on the experience and qualifications of the successful candidate.

• Work-Life Harmony: Balance your personal and professional commitments. Flexible hours to fit your lifestyle.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Maternity and parental leave top up program, health and dental coverage, RRSP matching, and Employee & Family Assistance Program.
• Safe & Inclusive Workplace: A culture of respect and inclusion for all.
• Compensation: Attractive total compensation package including a generous bonus plan and a future share ownership potential in our proud employee-owned company.
• Professional Development: Reimbursement for dues, educational assistance, mentorship program, workshops, and committee involvement. McElhanney is designated as a pre-approved training office for new CPA students pursuing their CPA designation.
• Career Progression: Support and mentorship to shape a career path that fits your goals.

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At McElhanney, our unwavering commitment lies in cultivating a culture that aligns with our core values and fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion. We celebrate the collective achievements of a team rich in expertise, experiences, and perspectives, and welcome applications from individuals of diverse ethnicities, religions, backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities, aboriginal statuses, various age groups, and those with disabilities. Requests for accommodations can be made at any stage of the selection process. If this job description resonates with you, we encourage you to apply even if you don\'t meet all of the requirements outlined. We\'re interested in getting to know you and explore the unique contributions you can bring to McElhanney!

If this is the opportunity for you, apply now or visit www.mcelhanney.com/careers to learn more. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. To learn more about our recognition as Canada\'s Top 100 Employers (2025), visit Top Employer: McElhanney Ltd. (canadastop100.com). Visit us on Glassdoor to learn more about our employee experience. Our Purpose: Amaze our clients. Care for our communities. Empower our people. McElhanney is aware of activities where individuals have received fraudulent job offers. Please be advised that McElhanney will not ask applicants for any form of monetary exchange at any point in the recruitment process. To learn more visit: www.mcelhanney.com/careers/fraud-warning