Hybrid Senior Cost Accountant—Gov't Contracting & FAR Expert

High Country Search Group; Thornton (CO); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work schedule

Job summary

High Country Search Group is seeking an experienced accounting professional with a government contractor background to manage and analyze project and contract costs, ensure FAR/DCAA compliance, and drive cost accounting excellence across contracts. The role supports billing, audits, and financial reporting within a hybrid office structure.

The ideal candidate holds a related bachelor's degree and 4+ years of experience, with strong Excel skills and the ability to partner across programs,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• 4+ years of accounting experience, preferably including experience with a government contractor.
• Strong knowledge of cost accounting and project accounting.
• Working knowledge of FAR and DCAA accounting requirements; CAS experience preferred.
• Experience with indirect cost pools and rate calculations.
• Experience supporting government contracts including Cost Plus, T&M, and/or Fixed Price.
• Strong Excel skills with large datasets.
• Analytical, reconciliation, and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with accounting and operations.
• Attention to detail with multiple contracts, projects, and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Manage and analyze project and contract costs, including labor, materials, subcontractors, and indirect expenses.
• Maintain accurate cost accounting records by contract, project, task, and cost center.
• Perform monthly project cost reconciliations, accruals, journal entries, and account analysis.
• Monitor contract performance, budgets, actual costs, commitments, and EAC projections.
• Calculate, monitor, and analyze indirect cost rates, including fringe, overhead, and G&A.
• Support preparation of provisional billing rates, incurred cost submissions, and indirect rate reconciliations.
• Ensure accounting practices comply with FAR, CAS, and DCAA requirements.
• Partner with Program Managers and Finance leadership for budget-to-actual analysis, forecasting, and contract profitability reporting.
• Assist with government contract billing (cost-plus, T&M, fixed-price).
• Manage and reconcile inventory accounting, including valuation, allocations, cycle counts, reserves, and variance analysis.
• Support DCAA audits, external audits, and internal compliance reviews.
• Assist month-end and year-end close (reconciliations, accruals, revenue recognition, financial reporting).
• Identify opportunities to strengthen controls and cost-accounting procedures.
• Collaborate with Contracts, Program Management, Accounting, FP&A, and operations on financial and contractual matters.

Skills

Cost accounting

Project accounting

FAR knowledge

DCAA compliance

Indirect costs

Excel

Budget-to-actual

Forecasting

Audit support

Cross-functional

Education

Accounting degree

Tools

Deltek Costpoint

Unanet

JAMIS

Job description

High Country Search Group is seeking an experienced accounting professional with a government contractor background to manage and analyze project and contract costs, ensure FAR/DCAA compliance, and drive cost accounting excellence across contracts. The role supports billing, audits, and financial reporting within a hybrid office structure.

The ideal candidate holds a related bachelor's degree and 4+ years of experience, with strong Excel skills and the ability to partner across programs,