Project Accounting Specialist

The Project Accounting Specialist supports construction project financials by maintaining accurate job cost records, preparing billing, and ensuring compliance with contract terms and company accounting policies. This role works closely with Project Managers, Superintendents, AP/AR teams, and Project Accounting Management to ensure timely and accurate financial reporting throughout the life of a construction project

Responsibilities

Job Cost Accounting

• Maintain accurate job cost records by phase and cost code for labor, materials, equipment, and subcontractors.

• Review and post job cost transactions from AP, payroll, and equipment systems.

• Investigate and resolve job cost discrepancies or miscoding's.

• Monitor forecasts vs. actual costs and flag potential overruns.

Billing & Revenue Support

• Prepare monthly project billings in accordance with contract terms

• Calculate retainage on billings and track retainage held and released.

• Support revenue recognition using percentage-of-completion

• Reconcile billed-to-date amounts with job cost and project status reports.

• Support monthly close by validating job cost postings and accruals.

• Prepare recurring and project-specific journal entries.

• Reconcile job cost subledger to the general ledger.

• Maintain audit support schedules for projects.

Collaboration & Communication

• Serve as a financial contact for assigned projects.

•  Communicate billing requirements and discrepancies with clients and internal teams.

Compliance & Controls

• Ensure compliance with company policies, GAAP, and contract requirements.

• Maintain accurate project documentation for audits and reviews.

• Follow internal controls related to job cost, billing, and revenue recognition.

Qualifications

Education

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, Construction Management, or related field.

• 2–5 years of accounting experience, preferably in construction or project-based accounting.

• Experience with job cost accounting and construction contracts strongly preferred.

Technical Skills

• Proficient in Excel (SUMIFS, XLOOKUP, IF statements, PivotTables).

• Understanding of percentage-of-completion revenue recognition.

• Excel Functions for a Project Accounting Specialist

• SUMIFS

• COUNTIFS

• SUBTOTAL

• XLOOKUP

• IF/IFS

• ROUND

• LEFT / MID / RIGHT

• TRIM / CLEAN

• CONCAT / TEXTJOIN

• PIVOT TABLES/ PIVOTBY

• INDEX + MATCH