Financial Controller

SageWater; Alexandria (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SageWater is a leading turnkey plumbing and mechanical infrastructure provider focused on multi-family communities. The Controller role reports to the CFO in Alexandria, VA, and partners with operations and executives to scale systems and controls while balancing rigor with fast growth.

You will own the monthly close, manage WIP and POC for long-term contracts, oversee AR/AP/payroll, lead M&A accounting workstreams, and deliver visibility to drive operational decisions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance is required.
• 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, including 3+ years leading a team.
• Experience with multi-entity consolidations and intercompany accounting.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and be a strong leader.

Responsibilities

• Own the monthly, quarterly, and year-end close under U.S. GAAP—GL reconciliations, consolidated statements, and variance analysis across entities.
• Own the WIP schedule and lead monthly POC meetings with accounting and operations—ASC 606 revenue recognition for long-term contracts.
• Oversee day-to-day accounting operations—AR, AP, payroll, GL, consolidations, and AIA billing.
• Lead M&A accounting workstreams—due diligence, purchase accounting, opening balance sheets, and post-close integration.
• Partner with operations to deliver job-level financial visibility, profitability analysis, and estimate-to-actual reporting.
• Support planning, treasury, and lender reporting—budget process, cash flow forecasts, KPI dashboards, and covenant compliance.
• Design and maintain internal controls and process documentation toward SOX readiness; draft memos on GAAP changes.
• Manage external audits, tax, and insurance audits; oversee multi-state taxes and intercompany accounting.

Skills

GAAP accounting

Leadership

Multi-entity consolidations

ASC 606 / revenue recognition

NetSuite

UKG Ready

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance

CPA or master's in accounting

Tools

NetSuite

UKG Ready

Job description

SageWater has repiped more than 100,000 occupied multi-family units and replaced over 35 million feet of pipe since 1988. The company is the nation's leading provider of turnkey plumbing and mechanical infrastructure solutions for multi-family condominium and apartment communities, delivering expert diagnosis, design, and construction with minimal disruption to residents.

Reporting to the CFO, the controller will balance accounting rigor with the ambiguity of a fast-growing, project-driven business. You will partner closely with operations and executive leadership and serve as a key technical resource for percentage-of-completion accounting, M&A integration, and the systems and controls that will scale with us.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the monthly, quarterly, and year-end close under U.S. GAAP — including GL reconciliations, consolidated financial statements, and actual-to-budget variance analysis across all entities and divisions.
• Own the WIP schedule and lead monthly percentage-of-completion (POC) meetings with accounting and operations — including over/under billings, gross profit fade tracking, and ASC 606 revenue recognition for long-term construction contracts (change orders, variable consideration, contract modifications).
• Oversee day-to-day accounting operations — AR, AP, payroll, GL, consolidations, and monthly AIA billing — with explicit accountability for cycle times, accuracy, and team productivity.
• Lead M&A accounting workstreams — due diligence, purchase accounting (ASC 805), opening balance sheets, chart of accounts harmonization, and post-close integration of systems, policies, and reporting.
• Partner with operations to deliver job-level financial visibility, profitability analysis, and estimate-to-actual reporting that drives operational decision-making.
• Support planning, treasury, and lender reporting — annual budget process, weekly cash flow forecasts, KPI dashboards, debt covenant compliance, and surety/bonding capacity reporting.
• Design and maintain internal controls and process documentation, with a long-term path toward SOX-level readiness; perform technical accounting analysis and draft memos on evolving GAAP standards.
• Manage external audit, tax, and insurance audit cycles (workers' comp, GL), and oversee multi-state sales/use tax, multi-state payroll, and intercompany accounting as the footprint expands.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the accounting team (5 direct reports).

Must haves:

• Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance
• 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, including 3+ years leading a team
• Experience with multi-entity consolidations and intercompany accounting
• Ability to work in fast-paced environment and be a great leader

Nice to haves:

• Construction industry accounting experience
• Audit experience, CPA, or master's in accounting
• M&A integration experience & purchase accounting
• Experience with NetSuite & UKG Ready