An excavation chief financial officer keeps a heavy equipment business funded: machine loans and trade-ins, diesel, job costs, and cash owed by builders and developers. They guard lien rights on every lot, keep loan covenants met, and show the CEO which machines and jobs really pay.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, other specialty trade contractors · BLS, May 2025
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a strategic leader dedicated to driving the financial health and growth of our excavation and site work division. This role will oversee comprehensive financial planning, budgeting, job costing, and risk management to ensure the company’s continued success and operational excellence.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and execute the company’s financial strategy to support growth and long-term profitability.
Oversee budget preparation, job costing, forecasting, and financial reporting.
Monitor overall financial stability, ensuring adherence to regulatory and internal policies.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to evaluate project opportunities and financial risks.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily financial reports and project cost analyses to support operational decisions.
Conduct regular meetings with project managers to assess budget variances and financial performance.
Liaise with external auditors and financial institutions ensuring compliance and strong fiduciary practices.
Provide strategic financial insights and recommendations during executive leadership meetings.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Gross margin: >35%.
Net profit margin: >15%.
Budget variance: <5% deviation per project.
Return on Investment (ROI): >20% annually.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field; CPA or MBA preferred.
At least 10 years of progressive financial management experience.
Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and communication skills.
Proficient in financial software and advanced Excel.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience within the excavation, construction, or home services industry.
Demonstrated success in managing large-scale budgets and multi-million dollar projects.
Familiarity with job costing in operational and project-based environments.
Proven track record of implementing financial process improvements.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in an office setting for extended periods.
Occasional travel to project sites may require moderate physical activity.
Ability to lift and move financial documents or equipment up to 20 lbs.
Comfortable working in environments with varying temperatures during site visits.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Regular office hours with additional hours during monthly and quarterly financial close processes.
Occasional travel to project sites and industry events.
On-call availability during critical reporting periods to manage financial queries.
Collaborative work environment fostering open communication across departments.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $150,000 to $200,000 USD per year, commensurate with experience.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses and incentive programs.
Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a forward-thinking company committed to innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction. Our culture is built on transparency, collaboration, and a passion for continuous improvement. We empower our team members with opportunities for professional growth and are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment where every employee can thrive.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
A site contractor buys iron, burns diesel and gets paid by builders and developers who may be short on cash themselves. The CFO keeps all three in view.
Trading in a machine is a taxable sale
Since 2018, the tax break for like-kind trades covers only real estate, not machines or trucks. Trading an old excavator toward a new one now counts as selling it, and a machine already written down by depreciation can show a large taxable gain. The CFO plans trade-ins and sales with the CPA, so the tax bill doesn't land in the same year as a big down payment. Source: IRS: Instructions for Form 8824 (2025), exchanges limited to real property.
Grading earns lien rights
Lien rules differ by state. In Nebraska, for one, the lien law counts digging, fill and a new grade as improving land. So grading and trenching earn lien rights like any other trade. A lien attaches only if it's recorded within 120 days after your last work on the job. A contract mainly to remove soil, gravel or timber for their own value doesn't count. The CFO logs a last work date for every lot. Source: Nebraska Revised Statutes 52-130: Real estate improvement contract (example state).
Two kinds of diesel in one yard
Under IRS Publication 510, fuel for bulldozers and earthmovers is an off-highway business use. Dyed diesel for that use skips the federal diesel tax except a tenth of a cent a gallon. Put it in a road truck, knowing or having reason to know it's dyed, and the penalty is 1,000 dollars or 10 dollars a gallon, whichever is more. The 1,000 dollar part grows with repeat violations. The CFO decides whether the yard stocks dyed fuel, clear fuel or both, and who approves each fill. Source: IRS Publication 510 (12/2025): Excise taxes, dyed diesel and off-highway business use.
Developer cash runs through a land loan
A developer often pays for clearing, grading, streets and utilities with a land loan before a single lot sells. If the lender stops funding draws, the site contractor can be left with a large unpaid bill and its lien rights as the main protection. The CFO asks who funds each job and how draws are approved, checks the developer's payment record, and asks for joint checks on large jobs.
How much excavation chief financial officers make
The closest BLS group for excavation chief financial officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for other specialty trade contractors earned a median of $151,900 a year ($73.03 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 490 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for other specialty trade contractors.
A salary, with the bonus and incentive plans the template mentions. Base the bonus partly on cash actually collected and on margin after machine costs, so a year carried by idle, financed equipment doesn't look like a good one.
Other specialty trade contractors
$151,900$151,900 median Middle half $113,900–$319,020 10th–90th $83,500–$392,040
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Other specialty trade contractors
$83,500
$113,900
$151,900
$319,020
$392,040
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for excavation contractors on their own. These figures cover other specialty trade contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has closed the books for a contractor whose biggest assets are machines and trucks
Has negotiated equipment loans and leases and kept their covenants
Keeps lien deadlines and waivers straight across many builder lots
Knows fuel tax, depreciation and trade-in rules well enough to brief the CPA
Has managed cash through a slow housing year, when builders and developers paid late
Teach these on the job
Your equipment lenders, dealers and auction houses
Your fuel tank logs, fuel cards and machine hour reports
Each developer's draw process and lender contacts
Your job cost codes for grading, pipe and clearing
Your CPA's year-end checklist
Construction accounting with job and equipment costing, a fixed asset register showing each machine's loan, hours and book value, and the yard tank and fuel card logs. Ask finalists how they would check, from those records, that a machine's hours, fuel and job charges agree.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Cash flow and lien rights
A general contractor is far behind on payment, retainage on three jobs is tied up, and payroll is next week. What do you do?
A strong answer: Updates the cash forecast, calls the contractor's decision-maker, tracks lien notice deadlines, lines up credit if needed, and protects payroll and tax deposits first.
Behavioral · Finding losing jobs early
Tell me about a time you spotted a job losing money before the project team did.
A strong answer: Describes the signal they saw, such as cost to date outrunning progress, how they raised it, and what the team changed to limit the loss.
The template's margin and return targets assume a fleet that stays busy most of the season. Test each one against a slow year from your own books before you hold the CFO to it.
Gross margin
Monthly revenue minus crew labor, fuel, trucking, materials and an hourly charge for each owned machine, read job by job and for grading, pipe and clearing work.
Net profit margin
Net profit after depreciation and interest on machine loans. Read it beside the debt limits in your loan covenants, since a thin year can trip one.
Budget variance
For each closed job, cost against the bid, with any overrun traced to a cause: rock, wet soil, extra trucking or crew hours. Report which cause cost the most this year.
Return on Investment (ROI)
Each machine's yearly job charges set against what it cost to own and run: interest, depreciation, repairs and fuel. Buy the next one like the machines that paid back best.
Career path
BookkeeperPosts fuel, parts, payables and job costs.
ControllerOwns the month-end close and the fixed asset register.
Chief financial officerFunds the fleet, guards lien deadlines and owns the lender relationship.
Chief executive officerTakes the top job, with the lender and fleet history already in hand.
It can cut fuel costs and keep machines running, but it brings rules. EPA's spill rule covers a site that stores more than 1,320 gallons above ground and sits where a spill could reasonably reach a stream, river or lake. Only containers of 55 gallons or more count, and the machines' own fuel tanks don't. Those sites need a spill prevention plan. Price that plan, containment, state tank rules and theft controls before you decide.
How much does an excavation chief financial officer make?
Chief executives who work for other specialty trade contractors earned a median of $151,900 a year ($73.03 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $113,900 and $319,020 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What does an equipment lender want to see each year?
Expect to send year-end statements a CPA has reviewed or audited, plus a list of financed machines with hours and condition. Add the backlog and proof you met covenants such as debt limits. Used machine values rise and fall with the market, so lenders may order appraisals. Call the lender before a covenant slips, not after the statements show it.
What insurance gaps should an excavation CFO look for?
Ask the broker whether your liability coverage leaves out explosion, collapse or underground damage. That's often called an XCU exclusion, and digging is the work you do every day. Check how each policy treats a fuel or hydraulic oil spill, and whether rented machines are covered by the equipment floater. Then compare your limits with what builders and developers require in their contracts.
Can a CFO from outside construction do this job?
Yes, if they learn quickly where site work is different. The balance sheet is heavy with machines, fuel tax rules apply, lien deadlines run, and cash depends on builders' closings and developers' loans. Give them a developer's draw schedule and ask when the company would really see its money. For the first season, have them sit in on weekly job reviews with the project managers.
How should a CFO ad handle the template's site visit lines?
The template mentions moderate activity on site visits, lifting up to 20 pounds and varying temperatures. For this CFO, that means walking a muddy job with a project manager to see what a change order covers, checking machines and the fuel tank at the yard against the asset list, and carrying a box of records. Those are the tasks to name in the posting. If a candidate needs a reasonable accommodation for any of them, work it out together.
