Controller - Luxury Residential & Hospitality Construction, Long Island City, NY

Our client is an established Long Island City general contractor serving luxury residential and hospitality clients across New York City. The firm is seeking a Controller to serve as the company's senior-most financial leader, owning the accounting and financial reporting function and bringing discipline to job costing, billing, and cash management. This is a hands-on leadership role for a construction finance professional who can build best practices, lead the accounting team, and partner closely with ownership.

Key Responsibilities

- Own day-to-day accounting operations, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and general ledger.
- Maintain job cost accounting to ensure accurate tracking of project budgets, variances, and profitability.
- Prepare timely and accurate monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements, including WIP and balance sheet review.
- Manage client AIA and T&M billing, coordinating review and approval with owners, architects, and project teams.
- Oversee subcontractor compliance, lien waivers, and vendor payments.
- Manage cash flow, bank reconciliations, and banking relationships.
- Establish and maintain internal controls, policies, and procedures to safeguard company assets.
- Lead budgeting and forecasting in partnership with ownership, estimating, and project management.
- Coordinate tax reporting, insurance renewals, and external audits with outside accountants and advisors.
- Manage, mentor, and develop the accounting and administrative staff.
- Provide financial analysis and reporting to support ownership's strategic decisions.

Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field; CPA, CMA, or CFMA preferred.
- Minimum of 7 years of progressive accounting and finance experience, including at least 3 years in construction, preferably with a general contractor.
- Strong command of construction accounting, including job costing, WIP schedules, AIA billing, and percentage-of-completion reporting.
- Working knowledge of GAAP and construction-specific tax, insurance, and compliance requirements.
- Experience with construction accounting ERP and reporting systems, and strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
- Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop an accounting team.
- Proven ability to build internal controls and scalable accounting processes.
- Hands-on, detail-oriented approach with the willingness to own both high-level reporting and daily execution.
- Strong analytical, communication, and organizational skills.

This is a high-impact opportunity for a construction finance leader ready to own the financial backbone of a premier New York general contractor.