What are the responsibilities and job description for the Project Accountant position at CPH?
Department: Corporate/Administrative
Location: Sanford, FL
Position Overview:
CPH is seeking a skilled Project Accountant who will play an instrumental role in monitoring the progress of projects and key performance indicators (KPIs), investigating variances, approving expenses, and ensuring that project billings are issued to customers and payments collected. Project accounting is a specialized branch of accounting that tracks and reports the financial performance of individual projects. It helps project managers, stakeholders, and clients to monitor the progress, costs, and profitability of each project.
Top Qualities of a successful Project Accountant at CPH:
Understand the project scope and objectives
Before you start any project accounting, you need to have a clear understanding of the project scope and objectives. This will help you to define the project budget, timeline, deliverables, and milestones. You also need to identify the project risks, assumptions, and constraints that may affect the project accounting. By understanding the project scope and objectives, you can align your project accounting with the project goals and expectations.
Communicate and collaborate with the Project Managers (PMs)
Project accounting is not a solo activity. It involves communicating and collaborating with the project team and stakeholders, such as the project manager, the project sponsor, the project client, and the project vendors. You need to communicate and collaborate with them to ensure that the project accounting reflects the actual project status, progress, KPIs, and performance. You also need to provide them with timely and relevant project accounting information and reports, such as the project budget variance, the project cash flow, and the project profitability. Communicating and collaborating with the project team and stakeholders will help you to build trust, rapport, and accountability in your project accounting.
Review and update the project accounting regularly
Project accounting is not a one-time or a static process. It is a dynamic and ongoing process that requires regular review and update. You need to review and update the project accounting system and analyses frequently if the project changes or faces issues. You need to compare the project actuals with the project budget, identify and explain any variances, and adjust the project forecast accordingly. You also need to review and update the project invoices, receipts, and statements, and ensure that they are accurate and timely. Reviewing and updating the project accounting regularly will help you to keep track of the project performance, manage the project risks, and optimize the project profitability.
Learn from the project accounting feedback and lessons learned
Project accounting is not only a way to report the project financial results, but also a way to learn from the project financial experiences. You need to learn from the project accounting feedback and lessons learned, both during and after the project. You need to solicit and analyze the feedback from the project team, such as their satisfaction, suggestions, and complaints about the project management. You also need to document and share the lessons learned from the project accounting, such as the best practices, the challenges, and the opportunities for improvement to optimize and improve profitability on new projects.
Key Responsibilities:
- Project set-up, monthly revenue recognition identifying trends through contract and variance analysis
- Compiling and analyzing reports to assist the Project Managers (PMs) in achieving profitability goals
- Verify employee's chargeable time and expenses in accordance with the established accounting standards and billing policies
- Maintain project contracts, supplemental agreements, and task work orders within Vision software.
- Contract management and review
- Communicate effectively with PMs regarding contract and contract modifications, approvals, and any additional services related to revenue generation and billing
- Coordinate with PMs, clients, sub-consultants, and other key internal departments to guarantee timely payments, responses to inquiry and contract modifications
- Perform additional assignments as directed by the Controller and/or Accounting Manager
- Ability to perform in a quick turnaround environment
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
- Proficiency in Excel (comfortable with formulas, pivot tables, and vlookups)
- ERP software experience
- Deltek is highly desirable, but not required
- Dependent upon experience.
- CPH offers Medical, Dental and Vision and Long-Term Disability with a quality insurance company.
- Company Paid Life Insurance and Short-Term Disability.
- 401K, Paid Personal Time Off, Paid Holidays, and Paid Paternal Leave.
