Role and industry
Project Accountant Recruiters for Government contractors
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: When project accountants lack DCAA compliance knowledge your firm faces audit failures and funding delays on government contracts.
This is what we do all day: recruit accounting, finance, banking and insurance professionals.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- Controller
- CFO
- VP Finance
- FP&A Director
- Accounting Manager
- Director of Accounting
- Assistant Controller
- Tax Director
- Treasury Manager
- Internal Audit Director
- Senior Accountant
- Financial Analyst
- Head of Financial Reporting
- Commercial Lender
- Chief Credit Officer
- Business Systems Finance Lead
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Accounting, finance, banking and insurance
- We reach people who aren’t on job boards
- Replacement terms on standard searches
01
What does this hire really come down to?
Who prepares incurred cost submissions and manages indirect rate pools? How do they prepare incurred cost submissions without hand-holding? If they do not understand FAR and CAS regulations, your firm risks audits and potential funding delays.
Your new hire handles the math behind project lifecycle management. They reconcile complex billing structures including progress payments and cost-plus contracts. They must speak the language of project managers, translating cost variances into actionable data before they become major budget problems.
Ask them: How do you handle a mismatch between an invoice and a subcontractor COI? Describe your process for adjusting indirect rate pools during the fiscal year. What steps do you take when a project hits a cost overrun before an approved change order exists?
To verify if a candidate manages government project accounting, I press them on how they reconcile discrepancies between incurred costs and billable milestones. I ask them to detail a time they identified an unallowable cost within an indirect expense pool and what steps they took to strip that cost before an incurred cost submission. This conversation moves into evidence of their daily work. I look for examples of how they handle CAS disclosure statement revisions when project scope changes. If a candidate cannot explain the effect of a project budget shift on their final billing rates or DCAA audit readiness, they lack the depth for this role. I evaluate their technical workflow by asking how they configure billing rules in Costpoint or Unanet to flag cost overruns against contract funding caps. A candidate who relies on spreadsheets rather than software controls presents a high error risk. During these discussions, I challenge them to explain the difference between direct and indirect labor mapping under FAR clauses. If they struggle to define the regulatory boundaries of their own reporting, they will fail to protect your firm during an audit. This scrutiny confirms we present individuals who have functioned as the final authority on project data. You need a person who treats every ledger entry as an audit point. We focus on this depth of evidence to confirm they own the portfolio without constant oversight.
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
Before you interview, we conduct a discovery call to map their previous project volume against your contract types. We ask them to describe the specific data points they pulled for their last incurred cost submission and how they handled a recent audit finding. You face a choice between hiring for sheer years of general ledger work or hiring for specific project-cycle speed. We push for the latter, prioritizing people who sacrifice minor accounting perfection for faster, auditable data flows that prevent billing backlogs. If they cannot explain the trade-off between manual ledger entry speed and automated compliance checks, we disqualify them.
- 01Software proficiencyThey must demonstrate hands-on experience in Deltek Costpoint or Unanet systems.
- 02Regulatory literacyWe confirm they have worked with FAR and CAS standards in active government contract environments.
- 03Audit trail creationWe verify they have managed DCAA-compliant filing systems for incurred cost submissions.
- 04Billing accuracyWe check their ability to prepare progress billings that pass review for government project types.
- 05Portfolio scopeWe confirm they managed multiple concurrent projects with varying contract types.
- 06Communication checkWe verify they can explain budget variances to project managers who lack financial backgrounds.
03
Where do we find them?
We source from mid-to-large government contracting firms. We look for individuals at smaller defense contractors who outgrew their current ceiling or those at larger firms feeling trapped by rigid, narrow silos. We prioritize candidates who want to move to firms where they can own the entire project life cycle.
Candidates move when their current project portfolio shrinks or when they seek higher exposure to complex CAS compliance work. We also target those at firms that recently lost a major prime contract, forcing them to find a more stable long-term environment.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
- 01Hiring someone with generic construction accounting experience who lacks the specific regulatory knowledge for government contract billing.
- 02Focusing on tenure at one firm instead of actual experience with complex DCAA audit requirements and indirect rate structures.
- 03Overlooking the need for technical software expertise, which forces the firm to spend months training a new hire on Costpoint or Unanet.
05
The search in three steps
- 01Initial filterWe review candidates based on their specific experience with FAR and CAS compliant systems.
- 02Technical interviewWe conduct a deep dive into their specific use of Unanet or Costpoint for project reporting.
- 03Selection processWe present only candidates who have cleared all compliance and project billing thresholds.
06
Which related hiring decisions are worth comparing?
How your Project Accountant search runs
How does The Six-Step Search work?
One sequence, from a well-defined seat to a shortlist you can judge.
Search Calibration
We start with a call about the seat, the books, the owners and the people the hire will work with. We learn what the role must fix in the first year and what would make a candidate wrong even if the resume looks right.
You get: A written search brief: scope, must-haves, deal-breakers and the pay range, agreed with you.
Market Mapping
We map the companies and institutions where the right people already work: similar size, similar ownership, similar complexity, in your market and in others.
You get: The target list of companies and institutions we will search, reviewed with you before outreach.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We find direct ways to reach the people on the map. Most are employed and not reading job boards, so reaching them takes real research.
You get: Direct routes to people who are not on job boards, researched for your search.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We call and write to people individually and follow up. Interest varies, so we discuss the actual opportunity rather than promising a particular response.
You get: One-to-one conversations about your actual role, followed up, never a mass email blast.
Live Candidate Qualification
We speak with every candidate before you do. We check scope, systems, reporting lines, compensation expectations, location and why they would move.
You get: Only candidates we have spoken with, checked on scope, systems, pay, location and motive.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You receive a short written brief on each finalist covering what they have done, where they are thin and what they want. Then we help with interviews, references and the offer.
You get: A short written brief on each finalist, plus help with interviews, references, counteroffer risk and the offer.
Questions people ask
Is there a charge to start the search for an accountant handling DCAA compliance?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
How does this role differ from a corporate accountant?
This role is restricted to project-level financial management, focusing on project cost-to-complete, billing, and regulatory compliance. It does not involve the broader consolidated corporate financial statement preparation.
What is the decision-making authority of this hire?
They manage the financial accuracy of project data and hold authority to pause billing if compliance requirements are not met. They do not set overall company indirect rates but calculate and report them for management review.
How do you verify they know Deltek or Unanet?
We require candidates to walk us through specific workflows within the software. We ask about their experience with project setup, billing cycles, and reporting modules unique to those platforms.
What is the fee for a Project Accountant search?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The fee and terms are agreed in writing before we start.
How soon will I see a Project Accountant shortlist?
It depends on the seat, the location and the pay. We give you an honest read after the calibration call and we do not promise dates we cannot control.
What about counteroffers on a Project Accountant hire?
We ask every Project Accountant candidate early why they would move and what their employer might do to keep them. Counteroffer risk goes in the written brief before you make an offer.
What is your guarantee?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What don't you do?
We do not post your Project Accountant job and forward whoever applies. We do not send stacks of unscreened resumes, and we do not recruit outside accounting, finance, banking and insurance.
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No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
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