Project Accountant

THE JESS HOWARD ELECTRIC COMPANY IS A FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS THAT HAS BEEN DOING ALL PHASES OF ELECTRICAL CONTRACTING WORK SINCE 1945.
We have established lasting relationships with many residential, commercial, and industrial utility customers. We are a unique electrical contractor due to the fact that we perform so many different types of electrical work. We perform residential, commercial, and industrial electrical work, including sports lighting, airport lighting, traffic signal, underground systems, pole-line, and utility work. With over 120 employees and 300 pieces of equipment, there is no job too small or too large for Jess Howard Electric Company.

Position Overview:
Jess Howard Electric Company is seeking a Project Accountant to join our growing accounting team and play a key role in the modernization of our financial and operational processes. This position offers a unique opportunity to work cross-functionally with project managers, estimators, and operations leaders to enhance financial visibility, streamline job costing, and support company-wide process improvements.

The Project Accountant will work closely with the Accounting Manager and department leads to monitor project financials, support job cost analysis, and help lead a multi-year initiative to refresh and refine business systems and workflows. This is not a traditional accounting desk job—it's a collaborative, high-impact role ideal for someone eager to understand the business beyond the numbers and grow into a leadership path, such as Project Accounting Manager.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field preferred; equivalent experience in lieu of degree considered.
• 3–5+ years of experience in project accounting or job costing within commercial construction required.
• Solid understanding of percentage-of-completion accounting, retention, and project billing.
• Experience with Sage 300 Construction & Real Estate or similar ERP software preferred.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, data analysis).

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage and analyze job costing for commercial construction projects, including percentage-of-completion and time-and-materials jobs.
• Prepare and review monthly Work in Progress (WIP) reports in collaboration with project managers to ensure financial accuracy and alignment with field realities.
• Support project managers in understanding project profitability, retainage, and billing schedules.
• Assist with month-end close activities, journal entries, reconciliations, and financial reporting.
• Maintain accuracy of job cost data, inventory allocations, and materials applied to projects.
• Participate in project review meetings to discuss cost performance, revenue recognition, and progress updates.
• Partner with operations, IT, and accounting teams to document, revise, and implement process improvements across the organization.
• Assist in evaluating and implementing system enhancements and software add-ons within Sage 300 or similar ERP systems.
• Develop Excel reports and data analysis tools (using pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, etc.) to provide insights to internal teams.
• Support ongoing process modernization efforts through collaboration, documentation, training, and team buy-in.
• Perform ad-hoc financial analyses and reporting as requested.

WORK ARRANGEMENT
In Office

SALARY RANGE
Starting at $80k, then commensurate with experience

WHAT WE OFFER

• Competitive Salary commensurate with experience
• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability
• 401k with match
• Paid vacations and holidays
• Company sponsored events

We offer full-time hours, terrific teammates, and unlimited growth potential.

We conduct background checks as part of our pre-employment screening process and follow all EEOC and FCRA regulations regarding the use of criminal records in the hiring process.