Senior Development Accountant Recruiters

This role hinges on your ability to reconcile project costs against budgets. You need someone who catches errors in draw requests before they reach your ledger. This person must control the flow of cash from your partners to the subcontractors.

This hire sits between project management and finance. They own the job cost close and verify every line item matches the contract documents. Ask them for a specific example of when they explained variances to project managers without getting defensive.

Ask them to explain their process for auditing a draw request from a contractor. Ask how they track change orders against the original GMP contract. Ask them to describe the specific steps they take when a project cost exceeds the allocated contingency.

You need to push hard on evidence during our intake call to verify this candidate can survive a heavy development cycle. Do not settle for descriptions of what they observed. Demand specific accounts of what they owned. Ask them to walk you through a scenario where a project manager ignored a budget cap. If they cannot describe the precise journal entries or the exact process they used to push back against that manager, they lack the independence required for this seat. Require them to produce a redacted sample of a monthly project cost report they prepared. Scrutinize the WIP schedule for gaps. If the cost to complete figures do not align with the progress billings, they do not understand the math behind the development cycle. Ask them to identify the biggest risk in a construction draw process. If they talk about filing paperwork rather than the risk of overpayment to a subcontractor for work not yet in place, move to the next candidate. We must verify they understand the mechanics of lien waivers. Ask them what happens if they process a payment before a waiver arrives. If they do not immediately identify the risk to the lien position, they are not ready for this responsibility. Discuss how they manage the trade partners. They must explain how they verify compliance with insurance requirements before releasing funds. If their process relies on a different department, they lack the direct ownership we need here. Ask about their workflow during a audit. If they cannot explain how they pull documentation for a change order from two years ago, they will fail your month end cycle. We also need to confirm they understand the constraints of the accounting software used. Ask them to describe a technical limitation they encountered in their previous system and how they circumvented it using manual reconciliations. Their answer will reveal if they think like an accountant or just a data entry clerk. This role requires someone who views the project through the ledger, not through the project schedule. If their focus remains on deadlines rather than accounting accuracy, they will create more work for you. Keep the conversation centered on the ledger and the contract.