Sr. Project Accounting Manager
Farnsworth Group • Champaign, Illinois • Contractor
Posted on Fri, Jun 5, 2026
- Lead, manage, and develop a team of 10–15 Project Accountants supporting multiple practice groups and Group Leaders across the firm.
- Establish clear performance expectations, conduct regular one-on-ones, and deliver timely, constructive feedback and formal performance reviews.
- Design and deliver structured onboarding and ongoing training programs to build team proficiency in project accounting fundamentals and Deltek VantagePoint/Vision workflows.
- Identify individual development opportunities and support career growth paths for team members at all experience levels.
- Foster a team culture grounded in accuracy, accountability, client service, and continuous improvement.
- Manage workload distribution across the team, balancing assignments to Group Leaders and project portfolios equitably and strategically.
- Recruit, interview, and onboard Project Accountants as the team grows or turnover occurs, partnering with HR on hiring practices.
- Oversee accurate and timely project setup in Deltek VantagePoint/Vision, including contract values, fee structures, billing terms, phases, tasks, and labor categories.
- Review and interpret prime contracts, subconsultant agreements, and task orders to ensure billing plans and revenue structures are configured correctly.
- Ensure all contract modifications, amendments, and scope changes are reflected in the project accounting system promptly and accurately.
- Establish and enforce project setup standards and naming conventions to support consistent reporting across the firm.
- Partner with Group Leaders and Project Managers during contract negotiation to advise on financial terms, billing structures, and fee adequacy.
- Direct the full invoicing cycle for the firm’s project portfolio, ensuring invoices are prepared, reviewed, and issued accurately and on schedule.
- Review draft invoices prepared by Project Accountants for completeness, accuracy, contract compliance, and appropriate backup documentation.
- Manage the invoice approval workflow in coordination with Project Managers and Group Leaders, ensuring timely client delivery.
- Monitor accounts receivable aging across the portfolio; escalate delinquent accounts and support collection efforts in coordination with project leadership.
- Ensure proper handling of retainage, subconsultant pass-through costs, and reimbursable expenses per contract terms.
- Support the preparation and submission of billing on government, federal, and cost-plus contract types, including compliance with FAR billing requirements where applicable.
- Oversee monthly revenue recognition for the firm’s project portfolio, ensuring compliance with applicable accounting standards (ASC 606 / percentage-of-completion).
- Review and approve earned value calculations, percent-complete estimates, and EAC (Estimate at Completion) updates prepared by Project Accountants.
- Prepare and deliver monthly project financial reports to Group Leaders, including contract status, revenue earned, billed-to-date, backlog, and profitability metrics.
- Identify projects with financial risk: budget overruns, write-downs, scope creep, or stalled billings, and escalate proactively to leadership.
- Coordinate with the Sr. Controller and Finance Director on month-end close activities related to project revenue, unbilled receivables, deferred revenue, and WIP adjustments.
- Serve as a subject matter expert and internal resource for Deltek VantagePoint (or Vision), providing guidance to Project Accountants, Project Managers, and Group Leaders on system use.
- Oversee the accuracy of the project accounting database, including periodic audits of project setup, labor posting, expense coding, and billing data.
- Partner with IT and finance leadership on system upgrades, module implementations, and workflow enhancements within VantagePoint/Vision.
- Develop and maintain standard operating procedures for all VantagePoint/Vision project accounting processes and train team members accordingly.
- Leverage reporting and business intelligence tools within VantagePoint/Vision (e.g., Reporting, Dashboards, AI) to produce actionable financial data for stakeholders.
- Serve as the primary liaison between the Project Accounting team and Group Leaders, Practice Leaders, and Project Managers across all service lines.
- Facilitate regular project financial review meetings with Group Leaders to discuss backlog, billing pipeline, collections, and project profitability.
- Educate and coach Project Managers on financial responsibilities, contract awareness, timesheet compliance, and project cost management.
- Translate financial data into clear, accessible reporting that enables non-financial project leaders to make informed decisions.
- Act as a trusted advisor to Group Leaders on matters of fee negotiation, scope management, cost recovery, and financial performance improvement.
- Oversee the processing and tracking of subconsultant invoices, ensuring alignment with executed teaming agreements, contract budgets, and project phase allocations.
- Ensure subconsultant costs are accurately posted, billed to clients, and reconciled to commitments in VantagePoint/Vision.
- Work with Project Managers to monitor subconsultant budget utilization and flag potential overruns before they impact project profitability.
- Coordinate with Accounts Payable to ensure timely and accurate payment of subconsultants in accordance with contract pay-when-paid provisions.
- Support the Finance Director in the annual revenue budgeting process by providing project-level data, pipeline insights, and portfolio-level projections.
- Maintain and update the firm’s project backlog and revenue forecasting models in coordination with Group Leaders and business development leadership.
- Provide monthly net revenue and billing forecast data to finance leadership to support cash flow planning and financial reporting.
- Analyze trends in utilization, project profitability, write-up/write-down rates, and collection performance to inform management decisions.
- Establish and enforce internal controls over project accounting processes, including invoice review thresholds, approval workflows, and audit trail requirements.
- Ensure compliance with firm-wide accounting policies, GAAP, and contract-specific billing and reporting requirements.
- Lead or support internal and external audits as they relate to project accounting, WIP, and revenue recognition.
- Continuously evaluate and improve project accounting workflows, reducing manual effort, increasing accuracy, and shortening billing cycle times.
- Develop and maintain the Project Accounting department’s policies, procedures manual, and training documentation.
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field required.
- CPA or CMA designation a plus, but not required.
- Minimum of 8–10 years of project accounting experience, with at least 3–5 years in a supervisory or management role overseeing a team of project accountants.
- Experience at a mid-to-large AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and/or Survey) firm with annual revenues well in excess of $100 million strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated expertise in all phases of AEC project accounting: contract setup, invoicing, revenue recognition, WIP management, and project closeout.
- Proven track record managing a team of 10 or more direct reports in a fast-paced, multi-project environment.
- Experience supporting multiple Group Leaders or Practice Leaders simultaneously across diverse project types and contract structures (lump sum, T&M, cost-plus, IDIQ, etc.).
- Familiarity with government and federal contracting billing requirements, including FAR-compliant invoicing, a plus.
- Expert-level proficiency in Deltek VantagePoint or Deltek Vision required; ability to train others and navigate system administration tasks is highly valued.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and financial modeling.
- Proficiency in Microsoft 365 suite including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and SharePoint/Teams.
- Experience with business intelligence or reporting tools (Power BI, Deltek Reporting, etc.) a plus.
- 401(k) with 100% Company Match up to 5%
- Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance Plans
- Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts
- Short & Long-Term Disability
- Maternity and Paternity Leave
- Professional Development and Training
- Mentoring Program
- Paid Time Off
- Wellness/Fitness Reimbursements
- Pet Insurance Plan
- Hybrid Work Program