Senior Accountant- Project Accounting

SunEnergy1; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

SunEnergy1 is seeking a Senior Accountant – Project Accounting to manage project financials for EPC and construction initiatives. The role focuses on maintaining precise cost records, monitoring commitments, and supporting monthly close while collaborating with project managers, controls, procurement, and corporate accounting.

The ideal candidate brings construction/EPC accounting experience and a solid grasp of how costs, contracts, change orders, and billings flow into financial statements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field is required.
• 5+ years of accounting experience in construction, EPC, engineering, or project-based environments.
• Strong understanding of project/job-cost accounting and WIP.
• Experience with percentage-of-completion accounting and revenue recognition.

Responsibilities

• Own project-level accounting activities for assigned EPC/construction projects.
• Maintain accurate project cost structures, budgets, commitments, and actual costs.
• Prepare and analyze monthly project financial reports (budget-to-actual, forecast-to-actual).
• Monitor project revenue, costs, gross margin, commitments, and profitability.
• Reconcile project subledgers and general ledger accounts; review transactions for proper coding.
• Assist with EAC preparation and project closeout.
• Support billing processes and project cash-flow forecasting.

Skills

Project / Job Cost Accounting

Construction & EPC Accounting

WIP & Percentage-of-Completion

Budget vs. Actual Analysis

Forecasting & EAC

Project Cost Control

Revenue Recognition

Month-End Close

Account Reconciliations

Excel / Financial Modeling

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Problem Solving & Analytical Thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field

Tools

NetSuite

ERP Systems

Job description

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly detail-oriented Senior Accountant – Project Accounting to support project financial management, accounting, reporting, and analysis for a growing EPC organization. This role will be responsible for maintaining accurate project financial records, monitoring project costs and commitments, supporting monthly close, and partnering closely with Project Management, Project Controls, Procurement, and Corporate Accounting.

The ideal candidate has strong construction or EPC accounting experience and understands how project costs, contracts, purchase orders, change orders, commitments, billings, and project profitability flow through the financial statements.

Key Responsibilities

Project Accounting & Financial Reporting

• Own project-level accounting activities for assigned EPC and construction projects.
• Maintain accurate project cost structures, cost codes, budgets, commitments, and actual costs.
• Prepare and analyze monthly project financial reports, including budget-to-actual and forecast-to-actual results.
• Monitor project revenue, costs, gross margin, committed costs, and projected profitability.
• Review project transactions for accuracy, proper coding, and appropriate accounting treatment.
• Assist with preparation of project financial forecasts and estimates at completion (EAC).
• Identify project cost variances and work with Project Managers and Project Controls to understand and resolve discrepancies.
• Support accurate job-cost reporting and project financial closeout.

Month-End Close

• Prepare and post project-related journal entries and accruals.
• Review accounts payable, accrued expenses, prepaid expenses, and other project-related accounts.
• Reconcile project subledgers and general ledger accounts.
• Analyze work-in-progress (WIP), unbilled costs, and other project balance sheet accounts.
• Assist with percentage-of-completion and revenue recognition accounting.
• Ensure project accounting is completed accurately and within established monthly close deadlines.

Project Cost & Commitment Management

• Track purchase orders, subcontracts, change orders, commitments, and invoices against project budgets.
• Review project expenditures for proper cost classification and allocation.
• Partner with Procurement and Project Management to ensure commitments are accurately reflected in project forecasts.
• Monitor subcontractor and vendor costs and identify unusual or unexpected variances.
• Assist with project accruals for work performed but not yet invoiced.
• Support analysis of labor, material, equipment, subcontractor, and other direct project costs.

Billing & Cash Flow

• Support project billing processes, including progress billings, milestone billing, retainage, and change orders.
• Reconcile project billings to contracts and accounting records.
• Assist with accounts receivable and collections related to assigned projects.
• Support project cash-flow forecasting and analysis.
• Investigate billing discrepancies and coordinate resolution with Project Managers and customers when necessary.

Financial Analysis & Business Partnership

• Provide financial insight and analysis to Project Managers and senior leadership.
• Develop recurring and ad hoc project financial reports.
• Analyze project trends, cost overruns, margin erosion, and potential risks.
• Help Project Managers understand financial performance and the impact of operational decisions.
• Support management with project profitability analysis and forecasting.
• Assist with internal and external audits related to project accounting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• 5+ years of accounting experience, preferably within construction, EPC, engineering, infrastructure, renewable energy, or another project-based environment.
• Strong understanding of project/job-cost accounting.
• Experience with percentage-of-completion accounting and WIP.
• Experience with project budgets, forecasts, commitments, purchase orders, and change orders.
• Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, formulas, and financial analysis.
• Experience working with an ERP/accounting system; NetSuite experience strongly preferred.
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to analyze large amounts of financial data and identify discrepancies or trends.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively with both accounting and operational teams.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with utility-scale solar, renewable energy, electrical construction, T&D, or large-scale EPC projects.
• Experience supporting projects with budgets of $50M+.
• Construction accounting or contractor accounting experience.
• Experience with NetSuite or similar ERP systems.
• Experience with project controls, earned value, forecasting, and EAC processes.
• CPA or CPA-track is a plus.

Skills & Competencies

• Project / Job Cost Accounting
• Construction & EPC Accounting
• WIP & Percentage-of-Completion Accounting
• Budget vs. Actual Analysis
• Forecasting & EAC
• Project Cost Control
• Revenue Recognition
• Month-End Close
• Account Reconciliations
• Financial Reporting
• Excel / Financial Modeling
• ERP Systems
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Problem Solving & Analytical Thinking