Controller – Service & Construction Environment (Hands-On Role)

About Us
Warfield & Sanford, Inc. is an established elevator service, repair, and modernization contractor founded in 1915. We are a multi-generational family-owned business operating across DC, Maryland, and Virginia, with approximately 70 employees supporting union field operations and a centralized administrative team.

We maintain and repair hundreds of elevators and perform ongoing modernization work in an operationally complex, fast-moving environment. Our business depends on accurate job costing, strong execution, and responsiveness to customers.

The Role
We are hiring a Controller to take full ownership of accounting operations and financial reporting.

This is a hands-on role. You will be directly responsible for ensuring our financials are accurate, our processes are controlled, and issues are identified, investigated, and resolved--not just reported. You will also provide accurate financial reporting and analysis to support leadership in making informed business decisions.

This is not a “maintain the status quo” position. The role requires identifying inconsistencies in financial and operational data and working across departments to resolve them. We are looking for someone who can step into a real-world environment, identify problems, and improve systems over time.

What You Will Own

Financial Reporting & Close

• Own the monthly close process
• Produce accurate P&L and Balance Sheet
• Ensure all financials are fully supported and explainable
• Identify and explain variances and inconsistencies

Job Costing & Operational Finance

• Maintain accurate job costing across service and construction work
• Ensure alignment between labor, materials, and billing
• Identify margin issues and work with operations to resolve them
• Own and maintain Work-in-Progress (WIP) reporting for the modernization department, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and alignment with financial reporting

Experience in job costing environments is strongly preferred and critical for success in this role

Accounts Receivable & Collections

• Monitor AR aging and enforce collection processes
• Identify high-risk accounts early
• Support enforcement of service holds and escalation procedures

Accounts Payable & Cash Controls

• Oversee vendor bill entry and payment process
• Ensure proper coding and documentation
• Maintain strong cash controls
• Step into AP when needed to ensure continuity

Payroll & Compliance

• Oversee payroll accuracy and labor coding
• Support CBA compliance requirements

Benefits Administration

• Oversee benefits administration, including enrollments, payroll deductions, and invoice reconciliation
• Coordinate with providers to ensure accuracy

Process Improvement & Controls

• Identify discrepancies and resolve issues
• Improve accounting workflows and processes
• Ensure procedures are followed and documented

Team Oversight

• Oversee accounting/admin staff (billing, AR, AP)
• Ensure work is accurate, timely, and consistent

What This Role Requires

Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field required
• 5+ years in accounting/finance roles
• Experience as Controller, Assistant Controller, or Senior Accountant
• Strong experience with monthly close and financial reporting
• Strong proficiency in Excel required
• Experience working with accounting or ERP systems in a job costing environment

Highly Preferred

• Experience in field service, construction, or trade-based environments is highly preferred (HVAC, elevator, construction, field service, etc.)
• Comfort using technology and improving processes is important; experience with automation tools is a plus.

You Will Be a Good Fit If You

• Are hands-on and detail-oriented
• Take ownership of your numbers
• Can identify issues without being told
• Are comfortable working in an environment where systems are improving and not everything is perfectly structured
• Are willing to work across departments to fix problems

What This Role Is NOT

• Not a bookkeeping-only position
• Not a passive reporting role
• Not a fully built-out corporate environment
• Not a position where everything is already clean and structured

Compensation

• Salary: $100,000 – $140,000 (based on experience and capability)
• Bonus potential based on performance
• Health, dental, and vision benefits
• 401(k) with employer matching and contribution
• Paid time off and holidays

Why This Role

• High visibility with ownership and leadership
• Opportunity to own and improve the accounting function
• Ability to make a real impact on how the business operates
• Not just maintaining reports—building a stronger system

Application Questions (Please Include in Your Application)

• Describe your monthly close process step-by-step
• What experience do you have with job costing in a service or construction environment?
• Describe a time you identified an issue in financials and how you resolved it

Pay: $48.08 - $67.31 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person