Overview
Manager, Operational Accounting Jobs in Greater Edmonton Metropolitan Area at Forbes Bros. Group of Companies
Title: Manager, Operational Accounting
Company: Forbes Bros. Group of Companies
Location: Greater Edmonton Metropolitan Area
Manager, Operational Accounting
Forbes Bros. Group of Companies is seeking an experienced Manager, Operational Accounting to join our Finance team at our Edmonton Head Office and support operational financial performance across our North American utility construction business.
This role is suited to an accounting and finance professional who wants to work close to operations, project execution, and business performance. We are looking for someone who can partner directly with project teams, regional leadership, senior operations leaders, estimating, and corporate accounting to provide financial clarity, strengthen forecasting discipline, and support better business decisions in a fast-paced construction environment.
About the Role
Reporting to the Senior Director, Operational Accounting, the Manager, Operational Accounting is responsible for accurate and timely financial reporting, forecasting, budgeting, project analysis, and operational accounting support for an assigned operating division.
The successful candidate will be a key financial partner to operations and will help interpret project performance, validate forecast assumptions, analyze job profitability, support month-end close, and identify financial risks and opportunities across active work.
This role may support a range of project environments, from large, complex, multi-year infrastructure projects to high-volume recurring work delivered across multiple regions. The ideal candidate will be comfortable working with both major project execution and repeatable field-based construction operations.
Key Responsibilities
- Partner with operational leaders to support project profitability, cost control, forecasting, and financial performance.
- Lead financial analysis for construction projects and programs ranging from recurring regional work to large, complex, multi-million-dollar contracts.
- Support monthly forecasting processes and produce accurate financial outlooks for assigned regions, projects, or business units.
- Analyze job cost, work-in-progress, revenue, cost-to-complete, margin movement, and project financial performance.
- Prepare and interpret variance analysis against budget and forecast, including clear explanations of operational drivers.
- Act as a liaison between operations, estimating, project management, and accounting to validate assumptions and ensure accurate financial reporting.
- Support month-end close activities, including journal entries, account reconciliations, revenue recognition, and operational accounting review.
- Review open jobs, purchase orders, billing requirements, accounts receivable, and project close-out items with operations.
- Identify contract, billing, change order, claim, and cost risks that may impact financial results.
- Contribute to annual budgeting, planning, financial statement audits, regulatory audits, and other finance initiatives.
- Maintain financial processes, reporting discipline, and accounting practices in alignment with company standards.
What We’re Looking For
- Post-secondary degree or diploma in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
- CPA designation preferred; strong equivalent construction or project accounting experience may be considered.
- 8–10 years of related accounting, project accounting, operational finance, or financial analysis experience.
- Minimum 5 years of accounting experience related to job costing, project accounting, operational accounting, or financial analysis.
- Strong understanding of work-in-progress reporting, percent-of-completion accounting, revenue recognition, job profit analysis, cost-to-complete forecasting, and variance analysis.
- Experience supporting construction, infrastructure, utilities, energy, EPC, heavy civil, industrial services, or another project-based business is strongly preferred.
- Experience with large, complex, multi-year contracts, recurring revenue programs, regional operations, or high-volume project environments is an asset.
- Leadership or team supervision experience is an asset.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, formulas, and analysis of large financial data sets.
The Ideal Candidate
The strongest candidate will be commercially aware, operationally curious, and comfortable working close to field execution. They will not simply compile financial results; they will help explain what is driving performance, identify risk early, and support operational leaders in making better decisions.
They will be analytical, organized, detail-oriented, and confident working in a contractor environment where priorities shift, deadlines are tight, and financial accuracy matters.
Relevant backgrounds may include:
- Manager, Project Accounting
- Manager, Operational Accounting
- Finance Manager
- Senior Project Accountant
- Senior Financial Analyst
- Manager, Construction Accounting
- Divisional Accounting Manager
- Assistant Controller or Controller in a project-based business
- Finance Business Partner supporting field operations
Why Join Forbes Bros.
Forbes Bros. is a North American utility construction company with a strong history in powerline construction, including transmission, distribution, substation, and related infrastructure work. This role offers the opportunity to work directly with operational leaders and contribute to the financial discipline required to support complex, field-based construction execution.
This is a strong opportunity for someone who wants to play a direct role in operational decision-making, project performance, and business unit financial leadership.
Employment Type: Full-time
Department: Finance
Reports To: Senior Director, Operational Accounting
Location: Edmonton Head Office
