Senior Staff Accountant

Our client is a utility company.

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.

The position partners closely with capital planning, finance, operations, and regulatory teams to ensure that all capitalizable costs are properly identified, documented, and supported for inclusion in rate base and regulatory filings.

Key Responsibilities

Core Accounting Responsibilities

• Managing the fixed assets across multiple utilities including the recording of monthly depreciation
• Maintain the oversight and reporting of the Capex budget on a timely basis comparing actuals to budget and proactively communicating any variances.
• Act as the single dedicated resource on Accounts Payable and the accrual process OR equally share the responsibility of managing AP with one other senior staff accountant.
• Capable, accurate high quality data entry into the Sage system ensuring no duplication

Capitalization Governance \& Policy

• Develop, maintain, and enforce

capitalization policies and procedures

in 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:

• Hybrid – 3 days in office with one common day

Compensation \& Benefits

Our client offers a competitive compensation and benefits package, including:

• Base salary range of $80,000 up to $120,000 with utility experience
• Target bonus opportunity

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer and make employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law.