Senior Accounting Manager

Zero Impact Energy•Santa Ana, CA

5d•$100,000 - $120,000•Onsite

About The Position

Zero Impact Energy is seeking a Senior Accounting Manager to lead and strengthen its accounting function across a growing group of renewable-energy operating companies. The company’s accounting includes multiple entities, construction and job-cost accounting, manufacturing, incentive-program compliance, and owned operating assets. The role will assess and stabilize existing processes, address backlogs, improve reconciliations and controls, document procedures, establish clear team expectations, and build an efficient, audit-ready operation. The manager will lead three accounting staff and own the monthly, quarterly, and year-end close; consolidated financial reporting; internal controls; accounting systems and automation; project and job-cost accounting; multi-entity accounting; cash forecasting; audit and tax coordination; and incentive-program compliance. The role works closely with construction, sales, procurement, operations, company leadership, auditors, lenders, and outside tax advisors. It is a hands-on player-coach position with responsibility for developing the team and implementing lasting process improvements. This is a full-time, salaried, exempt, in-person role at the company’s Costa Mesa, California office. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with additional hours as needed around month-end close, audit, and year-end. The stated salary range is $100,000–$120,000 per year. The position offers an opportunity to grow toward a Controller or Director-level role as the company scales.

Requirements

At least 8 years of progressive accounting experience, including at least 3 years managing an accounting team, including hiring, developing, and evaluating staff.
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance.
Deep knowledge of US GAAP, including ASC 606 over-time revenue recognition, ASC 842 leases, fixed assets and capitalization, accruals, intercompany accounting, and consolidation.
Hands-on experience with intercompany transactions, cost allocations, and consolidated reporting across related companies.
Demonstrated experience building or rebuilding processes, controls, and close procedures in a disorganized, under-built, or fast-growing environment.
Expert Excel skills, including pivots, lookups, modeling, and data cleanup.
Hands-on experience with a mid-market ERP or construction accounting system and AP-automation tools.
Working knowledge of California contractor sales and use tax, payroll tax, 1099 reporting, lien-law basics, and documentation standards for public incentive programs.
Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain financial information to project managers, bankers, and leadership and present to leadership.
Organized, deadline-driven, and discreet with confidential information; able to thrive in a fast-paced, in-office, small-company environment.
Able to work Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with additional hours as needed around month-end close, audit, and year-end.
Able to reliably commute to the Costa Mesa, California office or plan to relocate before starting; remote and hybrid work are not offered.
Able to perform the stated physical functions, with reasonable accommodations available as described in the posting.

Nice To Haves

Active CPA strongly preferred; CMA considered.
Public-accounting foundation.
Construction or contractor accounting experience, including job costing, WIP, over-time revenue recognition, progress billing, retainage, and certified payroll.
Manufacturing, renewable energy, or other project- and incentive-driven industry experience.
Experience with CALeVIP, utility make-ready programs, LCFS credit accounting, federal energy tax credits, or grant accounting.
Experience with owned-and-operated asset portfolios, including site-level P&L, revenue share, depreciation, and tax-credit basis tracking.
Experience selecting or implementing accounting systems, leading an ERP implementation, or rolling out AP automation.
Experience using AI tools such as Excel Copilot, ChatGPT, or Claude to accelerate reconciliations, analysis, and documentation.
Familiarity with Salesforce, QuickBooks, Smartsheet, or Procore and how their data should flow into accounting.

Responsibilities

Lead, develop, and hold accountable a team of three accounting staff; define roles, responsibilities, and performance standards; coach, train, provide feedback, and hire or restructure as needed.
Assess the accounting function’s books, team, systems, and controls; develop and execute a prioritized stabilization and improvement plan.
Document accounting procedures, establish close checklists, cross-train the team, and run a weekly operating cadence covering priorities, aging items, open issues, and close status.
Communicate status, risks, and issues promptly to the Director of Finance and company leadership, and build effective working relationships across departments.
Own accurate and timely monthly, quarterly, and year-end close across all entities; establish a close calendar and clear historical reconciling items.
Ensure monthly reconciliation and documented support for balance-sheet accounts, including cash, AR, retainage, WIP, inventory, fixed assets, accruals, intercompany accounts, and debt.
Prepare monthly entity and consolidated financial reporting, including P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, project margins, KPIs, and actionable variance commentary.
Design and implement internal controls, including approval authority, segregation of duties, vendor onboarding, credit-card and expense policies, and journal-entry review.
Improve the chart of accounts, dimensions, and general-ledger structure to support reporting by entity, project, program, and site.
Lead selection or optimization of accounting systems and automation, including ERP, AP automation, expense management, and integrations; reduce manual workarounds and measure time saved.
Advise staff on technical and non-routine accounting matters; research and document accounting positions.
Manage construction job-cost accounting, including budgets, committed costs, change orders, progress billing, retainage, and monthly WIP schedules under ASC 606 over-time revenue recognition.
Conduct monthly project-margin reviews with construction project managers and flag margin fade, unbilled work, and cost overruns.
Manage preliminary notices, lien releases, subcontractor and vendor compliance documentation, and certified-payroll and prevailing-wage records for publicly funded projects.
Account for owned charging assets, including capitalization, depreciation, site-level P&L, revenue-share calculations and payments, and utility cost pass-through.
Manage manufacturing accounting for ChargeTronix, including inventory, cost of goods sold, standard costs, and warranty reserves.
Manage intercompany transactions, shared-cost allocations, eliminations, and consolidated reporting across affiliated entities.
Own the 13-week cash forecast and manage AP prioritization, AR collections, retainage receivable, and customer deposits.
Track incentive-program receivables and compliance by program and site, maintaining documentation suitable for agency audits.
Support bank, lender, investor, and partner reporting, including covenants, borrowing base, and equipment financing.
Lead the annual audit or review, including PBC lists, schedules, auditor communications, and resolution of findings.
Oversee sales and use tax, 1099s, business licenses, and property-tax filings; coordinate income-tax matters with the outside CPA.
Support budgeting and forecasting and perform other duties as assigned.
Meet first-year outcomes, including a stabilization plan, reconciliations, a new close calendar and reporting package, project WIP and margin reviews, audit-ready documentation, and documented recurring procedures.