Finding the right controller for a construction company is one of the most consequential hiring decisions an owner or CEO can make. The controller sits at the intersection of financial management, operational insight, and strategic decision-making—and in an industry as complex as construction, getting this hire wrong can have lasting consequences.
After fifteen years working in construction finance, including CFO roles and countless conversations with contractors across the country, I've developed a clear picture of what separates an adequate controller from an exceptional one. It comes down to four core qualities that, when combined, create someone capable of truly driving value for a construction business.
A Robust Technical Accounting Background
This might seem obvious, but it's worth stating clearly: a construction controller needs genuine depth in technical accounting. I'm not talking about familiarity with QuickBooks or the ability to reconcile a bank statement. I'm talking about formal training and legitimate experience that has built a foundation in accounting principles, financial reporting, and the discipline required to manage complex financial operations.
The candidates who tend to succeed in this role have typically spent time as an accounting manager or assistant controller on the industry side, or they've worked as a financial statement auditor. These experiences build the kind of technical rigor that allows someone to navigate the complexities of construction accounting with confidence.
One common misconception I encounter is the assumption that tax experience adequately prepares someone for a controller role. While tax work requires intelligence and attention to detail, it develops a fundamentally different skill set. Tax professionals are trained to look backward, to ensure compliance, and to minimize liability. Controllers need to look forward, to produce timely and accurate financial information that drives real-time decision-making. These are different disciplines, and conflating them often leads to disappointing outcomes.
Construction Industry Experience
Here's where many hiring decisions go sideways. Construction accounting is not general accounting applied to a different industry. It is its own discipline, with nuances that can take years to fully understand.
Job costing, revenue recognition under percentage-of-completion methods, work-in-progress schedules, retainage management, AIA billing, bonding requirements—these aren't peripheral concerns in construction finance. They are the core of the work. A controller who doesn't understand how to properly cost a job, or who struggles with the concept of earned revenue versus billings, will produce financial statements that mislead rather than inform.
I've seen talented accountants from other industries struggle mightily when they transition to construction. The problem isn't intelligence or work ethic. The problem is that they underestimate how different this industry really is. They assume that strong general accounting skills will transfer directly, and they don't recognize the complexity until they're already in over their heads.
Can construction knowledge be learned? Absolutely. But there has to be a mechanism for learning it, and more importantly, there has to be aptitude, willingness, and humility on the part of the controller. The best candidates without construction experience are those who recognize what they don't know and approach the industry with genuine curiosity rather than the assumption that they'll figure it out as they go.
In my experience, the accountants who struggle most are those who don't think they need to do a deep dive on the industry. They treat construction like any other business and miss the operational and financial intricacies that make this industry unique.
Technology Proficiency
The role of a construction controller has evolved dramatically over the past decade. Being a construction financial manager today is increasingly a function of being able to take data from a variety of different sources, integrate it, and package it in a way that serves as a reservoir for management insights.
Think about what a modern construction company's technology stack looks like: an ERP or accounting system, project management software, estimating tools, time tracking platforms, and potentially dozens of other applications generating financial and operational data. The controller who can pull all of this together and create meaningful visibility for the management team is infinitely more valuable than one who simply processes transactions and produces monthly financials.
The stereotypical image of an accountant as a bean counter—someone who records what happened and moves on—is simply not the profile that will succeed in this role. Today's construction controller needs to be technology conversant, comfortable learning new systems, and genuinely engaged with the question of how technology can improve financial operations.
This doesn't mean controllers need to be software developers or IT professionals. But they do need to be curious and capable enough to understand how systems work, how data flows between platforms, and how to leverage technology to create better financial insight.
Intellectual Curiosity
This final quality might seem soft or intangible, but I'd argue it's becoming the most important differentiator in construction finance leadership.
The construction industry, for all its strengths, has historically lagged behind other sectors in technology adoption. This reality creates both a challenge and an opportunity. Construction financial managers need to help their businesses make up lost ground on the technology front, and this work naturally falls on the controller or CFO because it simply isn't going to happen on the operational side of the business.
In my experience, any software implementation of significance in a construction company is going to weigh heavily on the financial management team. Operations teams are focused on building projects and managing crews. They don't have the bandwidth or, frankly, the inclination to lead a technology transformation. That responsibility lands squarely on the controller's desk.
What this means practically is that today's construction controller needs to be someone with genuine intellectual curiosity—someone who actively wants to learn, who stays current on what's happening in construction technology, and who sees continuous improvement as part of the job rather than an unwelcome distraction.
The pace of change in construction technology is accelerating. Controllers who approach their role with a fixed mindset, who believe their job is simply to do what they've always done, will quickly become liabilities rather than assets.
The Bottom Line
Hiring a construction controller isn't about finding someone who can do the basics competently. It's about finding someone who can become a true strategic partner to the leadership team—someone with technical depth, industry knowledge, technology proficiency, and the intellectual curiosity to keep growing.
These candidates exist, but they're not common. When you find one, recognize what you have and invest in keeping them. The right controller doesn't just manage your finances. They help you build a stronger, more profitable business.