Senior Staff Accountant in Phoenix, Arizona at JW Water Holdings, LLC

About JW Water Holdings, LLC

JW Water is a regulated utility company that owns, operates, develops, and maintains a portfolio of water and wastewater systems serving more than 50,000 customers across the State of Arizona. The company is focused on strategic expansion and long-term growth, supported by an active pipeline of rate cases and a multi-year capital investment program.

This investment program is centered on system replacement, treatment upgrades, and new infrastructure to support growth and enhance operational resilience.

JW Water’s mission is to deliver safe, reliable water and wastewater services to the communities it serves. The company is committed to providing high-quality customer service and engaging collaboratively and productively with communities, regulators, and other stakeholders.

Position Overview

The Senior Staff Accountant is responsible for core accounting responsibilities as well as ensuring accurate classification, tracking, and capitalization of costs in accordance with regulatory requirements and company policy. This role plays a critical function in supporting rate recovery by ensuring that capital and operating expenditures are recorded appropriately, defensibly, and in alignment with regulatory standards.

Key Responsibilities

Core Accounting Responsibilities

Capitalization Governance & Policy

• Develop, maintain, and enforce capitalization policies and proceduresin alignment with:
  • Regulatory requirements
  • GAAP and utility accounting standards
• Define clear criteria for capital vs. expense classification
• Ensure consistent application of capitalization rules across departments and projects

Rate Recovery Support

• Ensure all capitalized costs are eligible, supportable, and defensible for inclusion in rate base
• Partner with regulatory teams to support:
  • Rate cases and regulatory filings
  • Data requests and audits
• Prepare and maintain documentation supporting:
  • Prudency and eligibility of capitalized costs
  • Regulatory adjustments and positions

Project Cost Tracking & Oversight

• Oversee tracking and recording of capital project costs throughout the project lifecycle
• Ensure costs are:
  • Properly coded (CapEx vs OpEx)
  • Assigned to the correct projects, assets, and work orders
• Monitor for and resolve misclassifications or inconsistencies

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Partner with:
  • Capital Planning (to align project structures and cost expectations)
  • Operations & Engineering (to understand project scope and cost drivers)
  • Finance & Accounting (to ensure accurate financial reporting)
• Provide guidance and training to field and project teams on capitalization requirements

Work Order & WIP Management

• Oversee Work-in-Progress (WIP) accounting and project closeout processes
• Ensure timely and accurate:
  • Project capitalization
  • Asset unitization and placement into service
• Minimize aged WIP and ensure proper transition to rate base

Audit, Compliance & Controls

• Establish and maintain internal controls over capitalization processes
• Support internal and external audits related to:
  • Capital projects
  • Regulatory accounting practices
• Ensure audit-ready documentation and compliance
• Develop standard operating procedures that meet AICPA level requirements

Variance Analysis & Reporting

• Analyze capital vs. expense trends and identify:
  • Misclassification risks
  • Opportunities for improved recovery
• Provide reporting on:
  • Capitalized vs. expensed costs
  • WIP balances and aging
  • Capitalization adjustments and impacts to rate base

Process Improvement & Standardization

• Improve processes related to:
  • Project setup and cost tracking
  • Capitalization workflows and approvals
• Standardize practices across regions and departments
• Support implementation or optimization of systems (ERP, project accounting, etc.)

Training & Guidance

• Serve as the subject matter expert on capitalization and regulatory accounting
• Develop and deliver training to:
  • Project managers
  • Field teams
  • Finance staff
• Ensure organization-wide understanding of what is capitalizable and why it matters for rate recovery

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field

Experience

• This is a senior level role and must demonstrate fundamental accounting skills included advanced Microsoft Excel capabilities
• 5–8+ years of experience in:
  • Utility accounting, regulatory accounting, or project accounting
• Experience in a regulated utility environment strongly preferred
• Direct experience with:
  • Capital project accounting
  • Rate case support or regulatory filings
  • Capitalization policy development

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong knowledge of:
  • GAAP and utility accounting practices (including FERC/NARUC guidance if applicable)
  • Capitalization rules and asset accounting
  • Rate base and cost recovery mechanisms
• Ability to interpret and apply regulatory requirements to accounting practices
• Strong analytical and independent problem-solving skills
• Detail-oriented with a focus on accuracy and compliance
• Ability to collaborate across technical and non-technical teams
• Strong communication skills, especially in explaining accounting concepts to operations teams
• Experience with ERP systems (e.g., Sage Intacct) and project accounting tools

Why This Role Matters

This role ensures that the company maximizes appropriate cost recovery while maintaining regulatory compliance, directly impacting financial performance, rate outcomes, and audit success. Accurate capitalization is essential to building a defensible rate base and sustaining long-term infrastructure investment.

Reports To: This will report within Finance team and the Controller but have strong collaboration with the Regulatory Team.

Location: