Senior Accountant

About the role

Waggoner Engineering, Inc. is seeking a Senior Accountant to join our team in either Baton Rouge, LA or Jackson, MS. This role supports our continued growth and offers the opportunity to work on (or support) meaningful projects alongside a collaborative, experienced team.

Responsibilities

• Owns the day-to-day maintenance of the general ledger, ensuring all transactions are accurately recorded, properly coded, and reconciled in a timely manner.
• Prepares and posts journal entries for accruals, prepaid expenses, deferrals, intercompany transactions, and corrections.
• Performs monthly reconciliation of all balance sheet accounts and resolves discrepancies promptly.
• Maintains chart of accounts integrity and enforces consistent coding practices across departments and project cost centers.
• Ledges assigned close activities on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, ensuring deadlines are met and financial statements are produced accurately.
• Prepares close checklists, coordinates with project managers and department heads to capture outstanding costs, and reviews trial balances for completeness and accuracy prior to reporting.
• Prepares detailed budget-to-actual variance analyses at both the firm and project level, identifying trends, anomalies, and drivers of over- or under-performance.
• Investigates and clearly explains variances in revenue, labor costs, overhead, and indirect expenses, and presents findings in a format suitable for principals and non-financial stakeholders.
• Supports development of rolling forecasts by providing historical variance context and trend data.
• Tracks indirect costs and overhead pools on an ongoing basis, comparing actual spending against budgeted rates.
• Aids in the preparation and annual reconciliation of the firm's overhead rate, particularly in support of FAR compliance for government contracts if applicable.
• Develops and maintains recurring internal reports, including profit and loss statements by department or studio, utilization and multiplier reports, and labor cost analyses.
• Identifies opportunities to improve reporting clarity and efficiency, including automation of routine reconciliations or reports.
• Prepares supporting schedules, reconciliations, and documentation for external audits and tax preparation.
• Maintains organized workpaper files and responds to auditor inquiries in a timely manner.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance
• Two to four years of progressive accounting experience with a strong emphasis on general ledger and financial analysis
• Prior experience in an A&E, architecture, engineering, or professional services firm is a significant plus
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and financial modeling
• Experience with Deltek Vantagepoint or similar project accounting software is highly desirable

Qualifications

• Analytical mind
• Communicates financial concepts clearly
• Thrives in a deadline-driven environment

Skills

• Microsoft Excel
• Deltek Vantagepoint or similar project accounting software

Benefits

We offer a variety of benefits including:

• WEI Incentive Program
• Healthy Workplace Program
• Employee Referral Bonus
• Competitive Health Benefits
• Career Development and Training
• Flexible/Hybrid Schedule
• Community Service Opportunities

Pay

The base salary range for this role is indicated in the posting. This range reflects the company’s good faith estimate of the compensation for this position at the time of posting. Final compensation will be determined based on factors such as experience, skills, qualifications, internal equity, and geographic location.