Full-Time Fractional Controller - Construction Industries Experience Required

Company Background

Vessel Advisors delivers financial clarity and operational certainty to growth-stage CEOs and their companies. We serve as an outsourced financial team with a focus on strategic finance, technology, and metrics. We provide a full accounting and finance team at a fraction of the cost, and we scale up or down with our clients as they do. We work primarily with dynamic, growth-stage business leaders who need to develop and implement strategic financial and operational plans. We get to serve as trusted advisors to dynamic business leaders and equip them with the financial information they need when they need it.

Position Summary

The Controller position at Vessel Advisors reports directly to the VP of Operations and to client executive leadership on a fractional basis. This role owns accounting, job cost, work-in-progress (WIP) reporting, revenue recognition, and monthly financial reporting for a portfolio of construction clients, primarily general contractors and specialty trade contractors.

The ideal candidate has run a contractor's books from the inside. You have built and defended a WIP schedule, sat with project managers to update estimates to complete, and explained to an owner why a job that looks profitable on the P&L is losing money in the field. You bring that judgment to several clients at once, step confidently into incomplete or messy setups, and use modern tools, including AI, to take manual work out of the process.

Requirements

What We're Looking For

• Construction accounting expertise: Proven background as a Controller, Assistant Controller, or senior construction accountant for general contractors or specialty trade contractors, with direct ownership of job cost, WIP, and percentage-of-completion revenue recognition.
• Revenue recognition fluency: Command of ASC 606 over-time revenue recognition using the cost-to-cost method, including how a change in estimated costs flows through as a cumulative catch-up adjustment.
• Field-to-finance judgment: Comfortable challenging project managers on their estimates, spotting profit fade early, and explaining job-level results to owners in plain language.
• Multi-client capacity: Able to carry a portfolio of concurrent clients, keep each close on schedule, and switch context without losing quality.
• AI-first mindset: Actively uses AI tools to automate reconciliations, reporting, and recurring analysis, well beyond drafting emails. Experience building Claude Projects, custom GPTs, or similar workflows is a strong plus.
• Systems expertise: Hands-on experience with at least one construction ERP or job cost platform, such as Sage 100 Contractor, Sage 300 CRE, Sage Intacct Construction, Foundation, Viewpoint Vista or Spectrum, or QuickBooks paired with Procore. Advanced Excel and Google Workspace.
• Extreme ownership and proactive focus: Deeply organized, comfortable leading fractional engagements, and able to manage tight deadlines across multiple clients.
• Excellent virtual communicator: Superior written (Slack, email) and verbal skills for high-frequency remote client engagement.

Day to Day Operations

• Month-end close: Own the close for each assigned client, including job cost review, accruals, and a WIP schedule that ties to the general ledger.
• Estimate reviews: Lead monthly estimate-to-complete meetings with project managers and owners; challenge assumptions and document every change.
• Billing oversight: Review AIA G702/G703 pay applications, schedules of values, change orders, and retainage before they go out, and review subcontractor pay applications and lien waivers before payment.
• Client communication: Present monthly results to owners and leadership, with a clear explanation of what moved on each job and why.

Construction Accounting

• Job cost structure: Design and maintain cost codes that separate direct job costs (labor, materials, subcontractors, equipment), indirect job costs allocated to jobs (field supervision, small tools, insurance, equipment overhead), and general and administrative expenses.
• Percentage of completion: Calculate percent complete as costs incurred to date divided by total estimated costs, and recognize revenue on that basis.
• WIP schedule: Prepare the monthly WIP schedule and use it to identify over billings and under billings, explain their effect on cash, margin, and bonding capacity, and correct the underlying causes.
• Estimated cost at completion: Keep estimated total costs current, at least monthly and whenever a change order, scope change, or cost overrun occurs, and quantify the revenue and margin impact when estimates move.
• Job profitability: Track gross profit and gross profit margin by job against the original bid and the prior month, and report fade or gain with its cause.
• Compliance: Support certified payroll and prevailing wage reporting where applicable, along with job-level insurance and bonding requirements.

Cash, Reporting, and Lender Support

• Cash flow: Build rolling 13-week cash forecasts tied to billing and retainage cycles; track line-of-credit availability and prepare covenant compliance calculations.
• Surety and lender reporting: Prepare WIP schedules and financial packages for sureties, bonding agents, and lenders.
• Budgeting and forecasting: Prepare annual budgets, overhead rate analysis, and backlog and gross profit forecasts for CFO and owner review.
• Reporting and controls: Deliver accurate month-end reporting packages, track key performance indicators (backlog, gross profit by job, over and under billings, days sales outstanding, retainage receivable), establish internal controls, and coordinate reviews, audits, and tax workflows with external CPAs.
• Team and AI orchestration: Supervise Vessel Advisors and client-side staff while using AI workflows to streamline recurring accounting deliverables.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Experience: Eight or more years of progressive accounting experience, including at least three years owning job cost, WIP, and percentage-of-completion revenue recognition for a general contractor or specialty trade contractor.
• Technical accounting: Strong command of GAAP, ASC 606 as applied to construction contracts, job cost accounting, and multi-entity reporting.
• Systems: Demonstrated expertise in at least one construction ERP or job cost platform, plus advanced Excel.
• Education and credentials: Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance preferred. CPA or CCIFP strongly preferred.

Physical Location & Details

• Type: Full-time (40+ hours per week)
• Location: USA only. Fully remote working arrangement. Standard working hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in your local time zone; MST or PST preferred).
• Ability to travel preferred: Infrequent (one time per month or less) for initial client discovery assessments or strategic team meetings.
• Annual all-team retreat: Typically late summer or early fall, required attendance.
• Compensation: Starting at $95,000+ per year (DOE).

Benefits

Benefits:

• PTO at 120hr per year (3 weeks)
• Health stipend
• 10 Company Paid Holidays
• Sick Time
• Performance Bonus