Controller

Grassi; Elmont (NY); On-site; USD 240,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Grassi in Elmont, NY is seeking a Corporate Controller to lead all accounting and financial operations for a closely-held, family-financed construction-focused firm. The role requires hands-on management of corporate and project accounting, payroll, AR/AP, and audits, with emphasis on accuracy, internal controls, and scalable processes.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years in construction accounting, 5+ years in senior leadership, and deep knowledge of WIP, GMP and contract accounting.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years progressive accounting experience in construction.
• At least 5 years in a senior leadership role (Controller).
• Experience with multi-entity consolidations and bonded/surety reporting.
• Strong knowledge of GMP, lump-sum, CM and GC accounting practices.

Responsibilities

• Own all accounting and financial operations of the company.
• Build and lead a multi-functional accounting department.
• Oversee audits and coordinate with external auditors.
• Prepare monthly/quarterly/annual financial statements and analyses.
• Manage cash flow, banking relations, and risk controls.
• Ensure compliance with federal/state/local tax and payroll regulations for construction.

Skills

10+ years accounting experience

5+ years leadership

Construction accounting

GAAP expertise

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Advanced Excel

Multi-entity consolidation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance

Tools

CMiC

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Job Information

Location: Elmont, NY (in Person 5 days)

Compensation Range: starting $250,000 + standard benefit package

Position Summary

The Corporate Controller serves as the organization's senior accounting leader, providing financial oversight, strategic guidance, and operational support to ownership and executive leadership while ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and scalability of the company's financial systems. They are both strategic and tactical - a hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves executive who is as comfortable working directly in the numbers as they are building trusted processes, systems, and people. This individual serves as a trusted financial steward to ownership, earning and maintaining the confidence that a closely-held, family-financed organization requires from its senior accounting leader, while building and leading a high-performing, multi-functional accounting organization spanning corporate accounting, project accounting, payroll, and accounts receivable/payable.

The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in construction accounting, financial reporting, payroll administration, taxation, compliance, and accounting department leadership. This individual must have a deep understanding of the financial requirements associated with commercial construction, including job cost accounting, work-in-progress reporting, union payroll, certified payroll, prevailing wage compliance, retainage, and multi-entity financial management. The candidate should have a background in both lump sum and GMP accounting projects and the differences in CM and GC work.

Leadership

Key Responsibilities:

• Own all accounting and financial operations of the company.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing, multi-functional accounting department spanning corporate accounting, project accounting, payroll, and accounts receivable/payable.
• Hire, mentor, and establish clear goals and trusted processes across the accounting function.
• Partner effectively with other departments on matters where responsibilities intersect or are shared, to reach aligned, company-wide outcomes.
• Build and maintain direct, ongoing relationships with external CPA firms, bonding companies, and banks - proactively managing these relationships rather than engaging only during audit season or renewal periods.
• Lead and coordinate annual audits, working directly with external auditors.

Oversight & Compliance

• Develop and maintain sound financial policies, procedures, and internal controls.
• Prepare and oversee the review of accurate monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual financial statements, including financial analysis and reporting to ownership and executive leadership.
• Produce executive financial reports, forecasts, cash flow projections, and key performance indicators.
• Manage company cash flow and banking relationships.
• Partner with executive leadership on strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, and business decision-making.
• Oversee job cost accounting, work-in-progress (WIP) schedules, and percentage-of-completion accounting across all active projects.
• Oversee project profitability reporting, contract billing, change order accounting, retainage management, and cost code management.
• Apply GMP, lump sum, CM, and GC accounting treatment appropriately across project types.
• Manage general ledger reconciliation.
• Oversee project financial performance reporting and partner with project managers and operations teams to identify cost issues, margin risks, forecasting variances, and corrective actions.
• Oversee payroll administration and compliance for union and non-union employees, including certified payroll, prevailing wage requirements, deductions, and tax reporting.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local tax and regulatory requirements affecting the company's accounting and financial operations, including timely filing of taxes.
• Manage surety reporting requirements, including preparation of financial information provided to bonding companies and monitoring bonding capacity.
• Improve departmental efficiency through process improvements and technology.
• Ensure accurate month-end and year-end closing processes.
• Create, implement, and manage internal controls and risk management programs, identifying financial risks and implementing corrective measures as needed.
• Oversee cost-to-complete forecasting and estimated cost at completion (EAC) reporting to evaluate project profitability and financial performance.
• Oversee analysis of project overbillings, underbillings, and related revenue recognition impacts.
• Develop and analyze backlog reporting, including awarded work, remaining contract value, projected revenue, and profitability trends.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive accounting experience in construction, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role (e.g., Controller) at GC/CM.
• Extensive experience in commercial or heavy civil accounting, including in union environments.
• Proven experience building and leading a multi-functional accounting department (corporate accounting, project accounting, payroll, AR/AP).
• Experience with multi-entity/multi-company consolidated financial reporting.
• Experience managing bonding/surety relationships and banking covenant compliance.
• Experience with certified payroll and prevailing wage compliance.
• Experience supporting proposal/bid financial analysis and project-level budgeting and forecasting.
• Established experience working directly with external auditors, CPA firms, bonding companies, and financial institutions.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including financial modeling, multi-entity consolidation, and pivot table-based reporting.
• Experience with construction ERP/accounting software (CMiC preferred).
• Experience working for a large commercial GC, heavy civil, or comparable construction contractor.
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and city accounting, tax, and payroll regulations relevant to construction - including FLSA wage and hour requirements, IRS/ERISA employee benefit plan reporting, and prevailing wage law - with particular attention to New York City's distinct regulatory requirements, which often go beyond state and federal baselines.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and city recordkeeping and document retention requirements applicable to financial, tax, and payroll records.

Preferred:

• CPA designation.
• MBA or master's degree in accounting or finance.
• Experience leading or supporting an ERP/accounting system implementation or conversion.
• Familiarity with lien waivers, AIA billing, and owner/GC contract billing formats.
• Knowledge of GAAP percentage-of-completion accounting and ASC 606 revenue recognition.
• Prior experience in a closely-held or family-owned organization

Core Competencies

• Trusted Financial Steward — Earns and maintains the confidence of ownership/principals in a closely-held, family-financed organization; operates with the transparency and judgment that level of trust requires.
• Team Development & Accountability — Builds and scales a high-performing, multi-functional accounting organization.
• Strategic Thinking & Data-Driven Decision-Making — Connects day-to-day financial data to long-term company goals, drawing sound conclusions from complex, multi-project and multi-entity data to inform recommendations to ownership.
• Risk Management & Judgment — Identifies financial and compliance risk early and acts decisively.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration — Works effectively with other departments, including those with overlapping or conflicting responsibilities to reach aligned outcomes.
• Continuous Learning & Regulatory Currency — Proactively stays current on evolving federal, state, and city accounting, tax, and payroll regulations, as well as emerging financial systems and practices, and translates that knowledge into updated company practices.