Director of Accounting
Eagle, ID
Full Time
Senior Executive
Cedar and Sage Homes
Correspondence: PO Box 2655 Eagle, ID 83616
Phone: (888) 397-0410
[email protected]
Idaho License #RCE-59469
Washington License # CEDARSH813R3
Director of Accounting
Job Summary:
The Director of Accounting is responsible for leading Cedar & Sage's accounting function and ensuring the accuracy, timeliness, integrity, and scalability of the company's financial and project accounting processes.
This is a hands-on leadership role requiring both deep construction accounting expertise and demonstrated success leading and developing accounting teams. The Director will lead a team that includes Project Accountants and Staff Accountants and will be responsible for establishing clear priorities, developing strong processes and controls, improving team effectiveness, and ensuring accurate financial reporting across multiple projects and entities.
The successful candidate will understand the complexities of construction and development accounting and be capable of moving comfortably between technical accounting, project-level financial analysis, process improvement, and people leadership.
This role reports directly to the CFO and is expected to build and operate an accounting function that provides reliable financial information while scaling effectively with the growth and complexity of the organization.
Key Responsibilities
Lead, Manage & Hold Accountable (LMA)
- Lead, manage, and hold accountable the Accounting team in accordance with the company's EOS operating model.
- Establish clear roles, responsibilities, priorities, expectations, and measurable outcomes for each team member.
- Ensure Right People, Right Seats throughout the Accounting organization.
- Establish an effective cadence of team meetings, one-on-ones, scorecards, and performance feedback.
- Coach and develop Project Accountants and Staff Accounting personnel.
- Effectively prioritize the department's workload and ensure resources are aligned with the company's most important financial and operational priorities.
- Create a culture of accountability, accuracy, responsiveness, continuous improvement, and ownership.
- Assess team capacity and recommend organizational or staffing changes based on demonstrated workload and business requirements.
Financial Close & Reporting
- Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual accounting close processes.
- Ensure timely and accurate financial statements and supporting schedules.
- Maintain the integrity of the general ledger and balance sheet through effective reconciliation and review processes.
- Oversee accounting across multiple companies, project entities, and affiliated entities.
- Ensure appropriate accounting and reconciliation of intercompany transactions.
- Establish and maintain a disciplined close calendar with clear ownership and deadlines.
- Provide accurate and timely financial information to the CFO and other company leadership.
- Coordinate external audit, review, and tax-related accounting requirements.
- Ensure accounting practices comply with GAAP and company policies.
Construction & Project Accounting
- Own accounting standards and processes for construction and development projects. Provide technical leadership in construction accounting, including:
- Job costing and cost coding
- Work-in-progress accounting
- Revenue recognition
- Percentage-of-completion accounting, where applicable
- Contract accounting
- Pay applications
- Commitments and purchase orders
- Change orders
- Retainage
- Subcontractor accounting
- Project accruals
- Development and construction management fees
- Project closeout
- Ensure Project Accountants maintain accurate and current project financial information.
- Partner with Construction, Development, and Finance leadership to reconcile project budgets, commitments, actual costs, forecasts, and financial reporting.
- Identify project accounting discrepancies and risks early and drive timely resolution.
- Establish consistent accounting practices across projects and entities.
- Ensure project financial information provides management with an accurate picture of project performance.
Accounting Operations & Internal Controls
- Oversee core accounting operations, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash accounting, intercompany accounting, fixed assets, and general ledger activities.
- Establish appropriate accounting policies, procedures, approval authorities, and internal controls.
- Maintain appropriate segregation of duties and financial controls as the organization grows.
- Ensure accurate and timely processing of accounting transactions.
- Maintain audit-ready accounting records and supporting documentation.
- Partner with People Operations on the financial control, reconciliation, and accounting aspects of payroll.
- Identify and mitigate accounting and financial-control risks.
- Ensure consistent application of accounting policies across companies and projects.
Process, Systems & Scalability
- Build an Accounting organization capable of supporting the company's growth without unnecessary increases in administrative complexity or headcount.
- Evaluate existing accounting workflows and identify bottlenecks, duplication, manual processes, unclear ownership, and other sources of inefficiency.
- Develop, document, and continuously improve Accounting SOPs and workflows.
- Establish measurable service levels, close timelines, processing standards, and departmental KPIs.
- Improve the integration of accounting processes with Construction, Development, Finance, and other operational functions.
- Leverage technology, automation, and standardized processes to increase accuracy and productivity.
- Evaluate workload and capacity using objective data and recommend staffing changes when justified.
- Lead accounting-related system implementations and process changes.
- Create scalable accounting processes capable of supporting additional projects, entities, markets, and revenue growth.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or a related field.
- Significant professional accounting experience within the construction industry.
- Demonstrated leadership experience managing, developing, and holding an accounting team accountable.
- Deep understanding of construction accounting and job-cost accounting.
- Strong knowledge of GAAP and financial reporting.
- Experience managing monthly and year-end close processes.
- Experience with multi-entity accounting and intercompany transactions.
- Demonstrated ability to establish priorities and successfully manage competing deadlines.
- Proven experience improving accounting processes, controls, and workflows.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to communicate financial and accounting issues effectively with both accounting and non-accounting leaders.
- High level of judgment, integrity, accuracy, and attention to detail.
Preferred Qualifications
- CPA or CMA designation.
- Experience in both construction and real estate development accounting.
- Experience with vertically integrated construction/development organizations.
- Experience with project-specific entities, joint ventures, and related-party transactions.
- Experience implementing or optimizing construction accounting, ERP, project management, or financial reporting systems.
- Experience operating within an EOS organization.
Critical Competencies
Construction Accounting Expertise
- Possesses a deep understanding of construction accounting and can identify, diagnose, and resolve complex project accounting issues without relying exclusively on outside advisors.
- Has demonstrated the ability to lead people, not to simply supervise accounting work. Sets clear expectations, establishes priorities, develops employees, addresses performance issues, and creates accountability.
- Can distinguish between urgent activity and important work, establish clear departmental priorities, and keep the team focused on the work that matters most.
- Naturally looks for root causes rather than repeatedly solving symptoms. Builds repeatable processes that improve accuracy, speed, accountability, and scalability.
- Understands how accounting connects to the underlying construction and development operations and actively partners with operational leaders rather than viewing Accounting as an isolated function.
- Takes responsibility for outcomes and follows issues through resolution. Does not allow problems to remain unresolved because responsibility crosses departmental boundaries.
- Can enter an evolving environment, assess existing practices objectively, establish structure, and successfully lead the team through process and organizational change.
Success in this role will be demonstrated by:
- Accurate and timely monthly financial close.
- Reliable project and job-cost accounting.
- Clear ownership and accountability throughout the Accounting team.
- Meaningful reduction in accounting backlog and recurring fire drills.
- Documented, standardized, and consistently followed accounting processes.
- Improved accuracy and timeliness of project financial information.
- Strong internal controls and audit readiness.
- Increased productivity and scalability of the Accounting function.
- Appropriate staffing levels supported by objective workload and capacity analysis.
- Strong partnership between Accounting, Finance, Construction, and Development.
- Development of a capable, accountable, and high-performing Accounting team.
Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate is a construction accounting leader, not simply an experienced accountant.
They have enough technical depth to earn the confidence of Project Accountants, the CFO, and operational leadership, while also possessing the leadership ability to establish priorities, build processes, develop people, and hold a team accountable.
They are comfortable entering an environment with significant activity and competing priorities, determining what truly matters, and creating the structure necessary for the team to operate effectively.
Most importantly, they understand that their responsibility is not to personally solve every accounting problem. Their responsibility is to build and lead an accounting function that consistently solves those problems well.
Core Values
These are non-negotiable characteristics we seek in our employees:
- Be Kind
- Deliver Results
- Show Commitment
- Stay Composed
- Continue to Grow
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