Staff Accountant in Marion, Iowa at Acterra Group LLC

STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF THE ROLE

The Staff Accountant is responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of Acterra's general ledger and supporting accounting records. This role prepares and posts journal entries, performs account reconciliations, supports the monthly and annual close, maintains fixed asset and prepaid schedules, and assists with accounts payable, accounts receivable, and billing as needed. The Staff Accountant also prepares recurring internal reports and supports audits, tax filings, and multi-state compliance requirements.

Because Acterra performs project-based construction and field service work across multiple states, this role works closely with project management, field services, purchasing, and payroll to ensure costs are captured to the correct job, period, and account.

Success in this role is measured by a clean and well-documented general ledger, an on-time close, reconciliations that are complete and supported, and reporting that leadership can rely on without rework.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

General Ledger and Month-End Close

• Prepare, review, and post journal entries, including recurring, accrual, prepaid, depreciation, and adjusting entries, with adequate supporting documentation.
• Support the monthly, quarterly, and annual close process according to the published close calendar, completing assigned tasks on schedule.
• Maintain and reconcile assigned balance sheet accounts, researching and clearing variances and aged items rather than carrying them forward.
• Perform bank, credit card, and clearing account reconciliations; identify and resolve unrecorded or mis posted items promptly.
• Maintain schedules for fixed assets, depreciation, prepaid expenses, accruals, and other supporting workpapers.
• Assist in preparing internal financial statements and management reports, including variance explanations for assigned accounts.
• Help maintain and improve the chart of accounts, close checklists, and written accounting procedures.

Job Cost and Project Accounting Support

• Review job cost postings for proper coding of labor, materials, equipment, subcontractor, and freight costs, coordinating corrections with project management and purchasing.
• Support work-in-process and job cost reporting, including cost-to-date and committed-cost review with project managers.
• Assist with customer billings, including progress and milestone billings, and reconcile billed versus earned amounts on assigned projects.
• Support tracking of subcontractor documentation that affects payment, such as lien waivers, certificates of insurance, and W-9s, in coordination with purchasing and project teams.

Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Cash

• Support accounts payable processing, including invoice coding, three-way matching to purchase orders and receipts, approval routing, and vendor statement reconciliation.
• Support accounts receivable, including invoice generation, cash application, and follow-up on past-due balances with sales and project management.
• Assist with cash reporting and daily or weekly cash activity as assigned.
• Research and resolve vendor and customer inquiries related to invoices, payments, credits, and account balances.

Compliance, Audit, and Reporting Support

• Prepare supporting schedules and documentation for external audits, reviews, and tax return preparation.
• Support multi-state compliance activities, including sales and use tax filings, exemption certificate maintenance, business registrations, and property tax filings.
• Maintain documentation supporting internal controls over assigned processes, and follow established approval and segregation-of-duties requirements.
• Support reporting requirements associated with government and federally funded project work, including cost documentation and contract flow-down requirements, in coordination with the CFO and project teams.
• Handle financial, payroll-related, customer, and vendor information with strict confidentiality.

Coordination and Administration

• Serve as a dependable point of contact for internal teams on coding, documentation, and account questions.
• Communicate clearly and promptly with project managers, field services, purchasing, payroll, and leadership, raising issues early rather than at deadline.
• Maintain organized accounting records in accordance with company retention practices and contract requirements.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, automate, or better document recurring accounting tasks.
• Follow all company safety policies and procedures, and support a culture in which safety is the first consideration in every task.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the finance and accounting function.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to accomplish each essential job function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

OTHER COMPETENCIES AND NATIVE GENIUS

• Accuracy under deadlines: Holds work quality steady during month-end and year-end close, when volume and time pressure are highest.
• Analytical problem solving: Traces a variance to its actual cause rather than forcing an entry to balance.
• Organization and prioritization: Manages a long list of open items across the close calendar without letting any of them slip.
• Ownership and follow-through: Carries items to resolution and returns a complete answer, not a partial one.
• Confidentiality and integrity: Handles financial, vendor, customer, and payroll-adjacent information appropriately without exception.
• Business partnership: Explains coding and documentation requirements to project managers and field technicians in terms that make sense to them.
• Systems and technology aptitude: Learns the ERP and reporting tools well enough to improve how they are used, not simply to operate them.
• Process discipline: Documents work clearly enough that another person could pick it up without explanation.
• Adaptability: Works effectively in a growing, multi-state company where processes are still being built and refined.

CULTURAL FIT – COMPANY’S CORE VALUES

Fuel moves everything – and the people at Acterra Group are what move fuel. Our reputation is built on five core values that show up in every role, on every job, and at every level of the company: Safety, Quality, Reliability, Curiosity, One Team, always with Unyielding Integrity. Safety comes first always – we look out for ourselves, for each other, and for the customers who depend on us. Quality means we take pride in work done right, and we stand behind it. Reliability means our word holds; when we commit it gets done. Curiosity keeps us asking better questions and finding better ways, because the industry doesn’t stand still and neither do we. And One Team means no one here works along – field, ship, and office win together.

These values aren’t wall art. They’re how we define success in every position, alongside the responsibilities outlined in this job description, and they’re part of the conversations we have about performance, development, and where your career can go from here.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Work is performed primarily in a climate-controlled office environment. Standard business hours with occasional extended hours during peak periods. Occasional travel may be required for meetings, training, or site visits. Noise levels are typically low to moderate.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Must be able to remain in a stationary position for extended periods and operate a computer and other standard office equipment. Frequent communication with employees, customers, and vendors requires the ability to exchange accurate information in person, by phone, and in writing. Occasionally required to move about the office and to list and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance, or an associate’s degree with equivalent progressive accounting experience.
• Two or more years of general accounting experience, including journal entries, account reconciliations, month-end and year-end close support.
• Working knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles and accrual-basis accounting.
• Experience maintaining supporting schedules such as fixed assets, depreciation, prepaids, and accruals.
• Experience working within established internal controls, approval routing, and documentation requirements.

Tech Skills:

• Experience using an ERP or accounting system for general ledger, accounts payable, and accounts receivable transactions. Dynamics GP and NetSuite a plus.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including formulas, sorting and filtering, lookups, and pivot tables.
• Proficiency with Outlook and the broader Microsoft Office suite.
• Ability to pull, format, and review system reports, and to reconcile data between reports and the general ledger.
• Comfort learning new systems and workflows, including document management, approval, and expense tools.
• Ability to read and interpret basic business documents such as vendor invoices, purchase orders, packing slips, contracts and customer billing requirements.

Other Skills:

• Strong attention to detail and accuracy, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines during close without losing track of open items.
• Clear, professional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain accounting requirements to non-accounting colleagues.
• Sound judgement and demonstrated discretion in handling confidential financial and business information.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize independently in a fast-paced, multi-site environment.
• Problem-solving ability, including the initiative to research a discrepancy to its root cause and carry it through to resolution.
• Dependable attendance and follow-through, particularly during close and reporting deadlines.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in construction, industrial services, field services, or manufacturing.
• Familiarity with job cost accounting, work-in-process reporting, or percentage-of-completion revenue recognition.
• Experience with multi-state sales and use tax, registrations, or property tax filings.
• Experience supporting external audits or reviews.
• Experience with NetSuite or a comparable mid-market ERP.
• Exposure to accounting for government or federally funded projects, including contract flow-down and cost documentation requirements.