Assistant Controller in Herndon, Virginia at The One 23 Group Inc.

Position Overview

The One 23 Group is seeking an Assistant Controller to support the Corporate Controller and execute accurate, timely, and well-documented accounting operations. This hands-on role supports accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, journal entries, account reconciliations, month-end close, expense administration, government-contract billing support, and recurring accounting reporting.

The Assistant Controller will work across Unanet, Paylocity, WAWF/PIEE, Excel, and approved AI and automation tools.

Key Responsibilities

Accounts Payable & Expense Administration

· Process vendor and subcontractor invoices; validate coding, supporting documentation, approvals, and project or account assignment before entry and payment.

· Support vendor payment runs, AP aging, vendor inquiries, statement reconciliations, vendor setup, W-9 maintenance, employee expenses, corporate cards, travel reimbursements, and year-end 1099 activities.

· Coordinate with Contracts, Program Control, Project Managers, and vendors to resolve discrepancies and validate subcontractor and project costs.

Accounts Receivable, Billing & Cash Application

· Prepare and support customer invoicing for Cost Plus, Time & Materials, and Firm Fixed Price contracts, including billing schedules and required supporting documentation.

· Post invoices and cash receipts, apply payments, monitor AR aging, support collections, research unapplied cash, and reconcile billed and unbilled receivable activity.

· Maintain accurate project, contract, funding, labor-category, billing, and charge-code data in Unanet and support submission through WAWF/PIEE when applicable.

Payroll, General Ledger & Close

· Support payroll processing by validating approved employee changes, timekeeping, compensation data, deductions, and labor charging in coordination with Human Resources and Finance.

· Prepare journal entries, accruals, reclassifications, prepaid schedules, and assigned bank, cash, payroll, credit-card, AP, AR, and balance-sheet reconciliations.

· Complete assigned month-end and year-end close tasks, schedules, workpapers, supporting documentation, and timely resolution of reconciling items.

AI-Enabled Accounting Operations

· Use company-approved AI and automation tools to support first drafts of reconciliations, variance explanations, workpaper narratives, accounting procedures, reporting summaries, and recurring checklists.

· Develop reusable prompts, templates, queries, and workflow automations that reduce manual effort across invoice intake, coding review, payment support, cash application, close tracking, reconciliation preparation, and document organization.

· Use AI-assisted analysis to identify duplicate transactions, incomplete support, unusual activity, aging trends, reconciliation differences, and data-quality issues for follow-up.

· Evaluate accounting automation use cases and track outcomes such as cycle-time reduction, error rates, exception volume, timeliness, and hours saved.

· Validate AI output to original source records and applicable accounting policies before use; maintain required approvals, audit trails, access controls, and segregation of duties.

· Protect company, employee, customer, vendor, banking, contract, and financial information by using only approved tools and never entering controlled or sensitive data into unapproved AI systems.

Controls, Reporting & Audit Support

· Maintain complete accounting files, reconciliations, transaction support, workpapers, and audit trails consistent with company procedures and internal controls.

· Prepare recurring reports and schedules including AP aging, AR aging, cash activity, payroll reconciliations, close status, billing status, and other information requested by the Controller.

· Provide transaction detail, schedules, reconciliations, and source documentation for financial audits, DCAA/DCMA requests, Incurred Cost Submission support, customer reviews, and other compliance activities.

· Support accounting-process improvements, system enhancements, data cleanup, SOP development, and other initiatives that improve accuracy, efficiency, control, and scalability.

Required Qualifications

· Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

· Approximately 3-5 years of progressive accounting experience with hands-on responsibility for transactional accounting and recurring close processes.

· Practical experience with AP, AR, payroll support, journal entries, accruals, account reconciliations, and month-end close.

· Working knowledge of accrual accounting, expense classification, cash application, balance-sheet reconciliations, accounting controls, and supporting documentation.

· Practical experience using generative AI, automation, advanced Excel, or other productivity tools to improve accounting work products, workflows, analysis, or reporting.

· Strong attention to detail, judgment, confidentiality, organization, communication, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage recurring deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

· Experience supporting a small or mid-sized federal government contractor, professional services company, or similarly fast-paced organization.

· Hands-on experience with Unanet or a comparable GovCon ERP/accounting system and Paylocity or a comparable payroll platform.

· Experience with Microsoft 365, Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise or equivalent approved generative AI tools, Power Automate, Power Query, or Power BI.

· Familiarity with Cost Plus, T&M, and FFP billing; WAWF/PIEE; FAR cost principles; labor charging; indirect-cost structures; or DCAA audit support.

· CPA-track education, CPA, CMA, or another relevant accounting credential is a plus but not required.