What Does a Project Accountant Do?

A project accountant is responsible for monitoring the financial aspects of projects while they are being completed. This includes investigating variances, approving expenses, and ensuring that project billings are issued to customers and payments collected. Project accountants may also be involved in best practices activities to streamline the flow of project-related information.

Principal Accountabilities

Create project accounts in the accounting system
Maintain project-related records, including contracts and change orders
Authorize access to project accounts
Authorize the transfer of expenses into and out of project-related accounts
Review and approve supplier invoices related to a project
Review and approve time sheets for work related to a project
Review and approve overhead charges to be applied to a project
Review account totals related to project assets and expenses
Investigate project variances and submit variance reports to management
Confer with receivables staff regarding unpaid contract billings
Report on project profitability to management
Report to management on any opportunities for additional billings
Report to management regarding the remaining funding available for projects
Create or approve all project-related billings to customers
Investigate all project expenses not billed to customers
Respond to requests for more detail from customers
Approve the write-off of any project-related billings that cannot be billed to or collected from customers
Close out project accounts upon project completion
Create and submit government reports and tax returns related to projects
Compile information for internal and external auditors, as required

Project Accountant Experience Requirement

A project accountant has one of the more detail-oriented and demanding jobs in the accounting department. For this reason, you should usually require at least three years of prior experience in project accounting, with additional years for someone in a lead role. You might give preference to someone who already has experience using your project accounting software.

Desired Qualifications

A bachelor's degree in business or engineering, with detailed knowledge of project contracts and change order documents. Must have excellent communication and writing skills.