What are the responsibilities and job description for the Specialist, Fixed Asset Accounting position at Trinity Careers?
The Specialist, Fixed Asset Accounting is responsible for overseeing the financial management and accounting activities related to Capital, Expense, and R&D projects across the enterprise. This role ensures timely project activation, accurate cost tracking and classification, and full compliance with GAAP, internal policies, and regulatory standards.
Serving as a critical partner to project teams, engineering, operations, and business unit leadership, this individual provides financial insights that support informed decision-making, maintains budget accuracy, and drives strategic objectives. The ideal candidate combines strong technical accounting skills with a continuous improvement mindset and the ability to communicate complex financial information to non-financial stakeholders.
What You’ll Do:
- Facilitate the setup and activation of new Capital, Expense, and R&D projects within the ERP system, ensuring all project costs are accurately categorized, properly aligned with budgets and funding sources, and compliant with capitalization policies
- Track and report project expenditures on an ongoing basis, including actual vs. budget variance analysis. Provide monthly updates and ad hoc reporting to project managers, stakeholders, and senior leadership to ensure full visibility into project financial health
- Reconcile project expenses with general ledger accounts on a monthly basis, ensuring compliance with GAAP, SOX requirements, and internal accounting policies. Investigate and resolve discrepancies promptly
- Collaborate with project managers, FP&A, and financial analysts to prepare, review, and update project budgets and forecasts. Provide analytical support during annual planning and quarterly reforecast cycles
- Prepare and post month-end and year-end close entries related to project accounting, including accruals, reclassifications, asset retirements, and adjustments. Ensure all close activities are completed within established timelines and with supporting documentation
- Maintain thorough documentation for all project transactions to support internal and external audits, SOX testing, and management review
- Ensure accurate audit trails for capital expenditures and resolve audit findings promptly and effectively
- Continuously assess and improve project accounting processes, identifying opportunities for automation, system enhancements, and implementation of best practices to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and scalability
- Work closely with Engineering, Operations, IT, Procurement, and Finance teams to align project accounting activities with organizational goals, strategic initiatives, and cross-functional priorities. Serve as a trusted advisor on capital project financial matters
- Enforce policies related to capital project accounting, ensuring consistency, compliance, and standardization across all projects and business units
- Monitor compliance with internal controls over applicable processes and respond to regulatory changes, including SOX requirements
- Approve or escalate project cost reclassifications and capitalization decisions in accordance with corporate policy
- Recommend process improvements and system enhancements to leadership for approval
What You’ll Need:
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field
- 5 years of progressive experience in project accounting, fixed asset accounting, or capital project financial management
- Strong working knowledge of GAAP, capitalization policies, and fixed asset lifecycle management
- Demonstrated experience with ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, or equivalent) and advanced Excel skills
- Proven ability to interpret financial data, identify trends and discrepancies, and deliver actionable insights
- Excellent communication and collaboration abilities, with a track record of working effectively across cross-functional teams and presenting complex information clearly to non-financial stakeholders
- CPA, CMA, or other relevant professional certification preferred
- Experience with SOX compliance and internal controls testing preferred
- Background in manufacturing, industrial, or capital-intensive industries preferred
- Experience with data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau) or process automation (RPA, Power Automate) preferred
- Familiarity with R&D tax credit documentation and cost segregation principles preferred