Lead Accountant - Projects

POSITION PURPOSE

The Lead Accountant – Projects plays a critical role in supporting the financial integrity of large, long‑duration customer contracts within a fast-paced global manufacturing environment as well as supporting the accounting activities for large projects internal to BAC.  This position is responsible for project‑level accounting across the full contract lifecycle—from contract acceptance through commissioning—including revenue recognition under ASC 606, contract liability management, cash tracking, and coordination with project management and operations.  Some examples of the additional large projects supported by this position include capacity expansion (such as new manufacturing locations), manufacturing capacity repositioning, new system implementations, and acting as a functional lead on SAP system enhancements.

This position is ideal for a detail‑oriented, analytical accounting professional who thrives in a project‑driven environment and enjoys partnering closely with cross‑functional teams to ensure accurate financial outcomes for complex manufacturing projects.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

Project Accounting – Large Contracts

• Own project‑level accounting for large customer contracts, ensuring compliance with ASC 606 across performance obligations, revenue recognition, contract assets, and contract liabilities.
• Review customer contracts to identify key terms impacting revenue timing, variable consideration, milestones, and billing structures.
• Prepare and maintain project accounting schedules, including revenue recognition models, cost‑to‑complete analyses, and margin tracking.
• Monitor and reconcile contract assets and liabilities, including deferred revenue, down payments, and unbilled receivables.
• Track project billing activities, including milestone billing, progress billings, down payments, and retention.
• Track cash movements related to project activity, ensuring proper application of payments and alignment with contract terms.
• Partner with Accounts Receivable to resolve billing discrepancies and support cash collection efforts.
• Ensure accurate and timely month‑end close activities for project‑related accounts.
• Serve as the primary accounting partner to the Project Management team, supporting all phases of the project lifecycle from contract acceptance to commissioning of the products sold.
• Prepare audit support for project‑related balances and documentation for internal and external auditors.
• Identify opportunities to streamline project accounting processes and improve data integrity across systems.

Internal Large Projects

• Support accounting for capital projects related to production capacity expansion, including new manufacturing plant start up and physical asset transfers between plants. This includes tracking of spend, capitalization of costs and documentation and tagging of physical assets.
• Partner with Engineering and Operations to validate project progress, commissioning readiness, and proper classification of capital vs. non‑capital costs as well as ownership, monitoring, and reporting of associated SG&A costs.
• Establish project codes and reporting structures for projects to track the expense according to the project plan and/or project manager.
• Support and lead the implementation of new systems or modules in systems, specifically as it relates to SAP functionality.
• Engage with the entire Finance organization to help identify and drive projects, process improvements and methodology changes in processes.
• Larger scale, non-recurring accounting projects requiring a significant time commitment from a dedicated member of the Finance team working as the project manager/coordinator for the accounting function in addition to performing the majority of tasks associated with the project.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The Lead Accountant – Projects reports directly to the Americas Controller and will interact with all members of the Finance team including BAC Plant Controllers, BAC project management, engineering and operations, and critical external partners. This position is ideal for a detail-oriented, analytical professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment and enjoys collaborating across business functions to support financial integrity and business decision-making.

The assigned location for this position is the Jessup HQ Office.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field required.
• A minimum of 5 years of progressive accounting experience.
• Project-based accounting experience preferred.
• Strong systems and ERP knowledge. SAP ERP (S/4 HANA) knowledge preferred.
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Excel with the ability to perform a wide range of formulas, keyboard shortcuts and macros in a variety of different scenarios.
• Experience leveraging AI within accounting processes and responsibilities.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication abilities.
• Working knowledge of general finance, banking, terms and conditions, and legal terminology.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and projects to meet specific deadlines.

BAC Hiring Compensation Range $75,300 - $129,100.

BAC offers a comprehensive benefits package to include medical, dental, vision, paid time off, 401k, employee stock ownership plan, and more. Please see additional details on the BAC website at www.Baltimoreaircoil.com.  

BAC Employees are eligible to participate in an annual bonus incentive program.