Quartz 4

Accountant

5 min read

Accountant - Job Description & Qualification Tasks

Primary Responsibility: To manage the company’s financial records, processes, and reporting, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and providing timely financial data to support business decisions.

Prerequisites:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field (or equivalent experience)
  • Basic understanding of accounting principles and financial statements
  • Proficiency with computer systems and willingness to learn specialized software

Career Path: This is a standalone professional role with opportunities for advancement to Senior Accountant, Accounting Manager, or Controller based on company growth and individual performance.

Assessment Methods

  • Accuracy audits on monthly reconciliations and financial reports (99%+ accuracy required)
  • Written exam on company financial procedures and construction accounting (80% passing score)
  • Timeliness metrics for payroll, payment runs, and financial reporting
  • Review of work by external CPA or financial auditor
  • Supervisor evaluation of attention to detail, problem-solving, and professionalism
  • Successful completion of year-end audit with zero material findings attributable to accounting errors

Key Tasks for Qualification

    1. General Ledger & Reporting: Perform monthly bank and credit card reconciliations with zero unreconciled items.
    1. General Ledger & Reporting: Generate and analyze the monthly Profit & Loss (P&L) and Balance Sheet reports.
    1. Accounts Payable (AP): Process and enter all vendor invoices, ensuring accurate cost coding against specific projects or overhead accounts.
    1. Accounts Payable (AP): Manage the weekly payment run, verifying all disbursements against outstanding AP.
    1. Accounts Receivable (AR): Generate and distribute client invoices based on project completion milestones or service contracts.
    1. Accounts Receivable (AR): Follow up on all overdue receivables (30, 60, 90+ days) and report on the aging schedule.
    1. Project Financials: Assist the Project Managers in generating weekly Work In Progress (WIP) reports, accurately tracking costs to date for active jobs.
    1. Compliance & Payroll: Run bi-weekly payroll, ensuring compliance with all tax withholdings and deductions.

Foundational Training (Before Role-Specific Courses)

  1. Company Financial Systems Overview: Understanding the company’s chart of accounts, financial structure, and reporting requirements.

  2. Accounting Software Training: Comprehensive training on the specific accounting software platform used (QuickBooks, Sage, SAP, etc.).

  3. Construction/Project-Based Accounting Principles: Understanding job costing, Work In Progress (WIP), percentage of completion, and project profitability analysis.

  4. BAS Industry Cost Structures: Overview of typical BAS project costs (labor, materials, subcontractors, overhead allocation) to understand the business context.

Required Training Course List

  1. Accounting Software Mastery: Deep dive into the General Ledger (GL), Accounts Payable (AP), and Accounts Receivable (AR) modules.

  2. Monthly Reconciliation Procedures: Step-by-step process for bank, credit card, and sub-ledger reconciliation.

  3. Financial Statement Generation and Analysis: Generating and interpreting monthly P&L and Balance Sheet reports.

  4. Accounts Payable Processes: Accurate invoice processing and cost coding (Project vs. Overhead).

  5. Vendor Management and Disbursement: Managing payment runs and verification procedures.

  6. Accounts Receivable & Collections Strategy: Invoicing generation, payment tracking, and managing the aging schedule.

  7. WIP Reporting and Project Cost Accounting: Generating accurate cost-to-date reports for active construction projects.

  8. Payroll Processing and Compliance: Bi-weekly payroll execution, tax withholding, and deduction management.

  9. Service Fusion Financial Integration: Understanding how field time, expenses, and materials flow into the accounting system.

  10. Tax Compliance for Construction: Sales tax, use tax, and contractor-specific tax requirements.

  11. Prevailing Wage Requirements: (If applicable) Understanding Davis-Bacon and state prevailing wage compliance.

Optional/Advanced Training

  • Advanced Excel for financial analysis and reporting
  • QuickBooks Advanced Certification (or equivalent for your platform)
  • Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) courses
  • Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP)
  • Financial forecasting and budgeting techniques
  • Internal controls and fraud prevention
  • Multi-company or multi-entity accounting
  • Fixed asset management and depreciation

Cross-Training Opportunities

  • Shadow Project Managers to understand job costing and change order impact
  • Attend project kick-off meetings to understand revenue recognition milestones
  • Work with Warehouse Manager on inventory valuation and material cost tracking
  • Review Service Fusion workflows to understand field data capture
  • Participate in contract review meetings to understand billing terms
  • Observe estimating process to understand how project budgets are built

Qualification Checklist

Before being considered fully qualified, the Accountant must demonstrate:

  • Complete 6 consecutive months of error-free bank reconciliations
  • Generate accurate monthly financial statements for 12 consecutive months
  • Process 200+ vendor invoices with 99%+ accuracy in cost coding
  • Manage 50+ weekly payment runs with zero payment errors
  • Generate and collect on 100+ client invoices with proper documentation
  • Maintain accounts receivable aging with proactive collections (90%+ current)
  • Produce accurate WIP reports for 20+ projects
  • Execute 25+ payroll runs with 100% compliance and zero errors
  • Pass written exam on company financial procedures (80%+)
  • Successfully support a complete fiscal year-end audit
  • Receive supervisor sign-off on all 8 key qualification tasks

Timeline Expectations

Typical Duration: 6-12 months to full qualification

  • Months 1-2: Foundational training, software proficiency, shadowing senior accountant
  • Months 3-6: Handling routine tasks with supervision, building accuracy and speed
  • Months 7-12: Full independence on most tasks, managing month-end close process
  • Ongoing: Continuous professional development and advanced certifications

Note: Timeline may be shorter for candidates with prior construction accounting experience or relevant certifications (CPA, CMA, etc.).

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