A commercial general contractor CFO tracks cash and cost on each job, starting with the estimate and moving through monthly pay applications, retainage, change orders and final cost. They report profit job by job to leadership and keep the books ready for the surety, the lender and the outside CPA.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $124,070, middle half $168,640 to $347,300, 90th percentile $499,640. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Chief Executive Officer
Department
Finance
Schedule
Monday to Friday business hours · Longer days in peak project periods, on call for urgent money issues, and occasional trips to sites and client meetings
Also called
Vice president of finance · Director of finance · Construction finance director
Commercial general contractor CFO job description template
This is our Role Blueprint, word for word. Replace the highlighted fields and adjust the example targets and pay to fit your company.
General Contractor - Commercial - Chief Financial Officer
Company Name:
[INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE]
Department:
Finance
Reports to:
[Chief Executive Officer]
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
Lead the financial planning and management of commercial construction projects to ensure sustainable growth and fiscal health. Oversee budgeting, cost monitoring, and financial reporting for commercial builds, providing strategic insights to senior leadership. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to mitigate risks and enhance financial performance.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and manage detailed budgets for commercial build projects.
Monitor project costs to ensure adherence to budgetary constraints.
Prepare comprehensive financial reports and variance analyses for executive leadership.
Provide strategic financial guidance to support decision-making on project investments.
Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and industry best practices.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and update project budgets and financial forecasts on a daily basis.
Analyze cost data and update financial models to reflect current project statuses.
Engage in regular meetings with project managers and contractors for financial alignment.
Conduct routine financial inspections to identify risks and implement mitigation strategies.
Coordinate with external auditors to verify reports and ensure regulatory compliance.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Budget Variance: Maintain deviation under 5% of projected budgets.
Project Cost Overruns: Limit overruns to less than 3% of total project costs.
Financial Reporting Accuracy: Achieve 100% compliance with internal and external audits.
Net Profit Margin: Attain a minimum of 15% on all commercial build projects.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
Minimum of 7 years of progressive financial management experience.
Expertise in strategic planning, financial analysis, and budgeting.
Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Proficiency in financial software and ERP systems.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in the commercial general contracting or construction industry.
Demonstrated experience in managing large-scale construction budgets and financial risks.
Working knowledge of construction cost management practices.
Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams in project environments.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in a standard office environment, with extended periods using computer systems.
Occasional travel to project sites.
Capability to lift up to 10 pounds when necessary.
Adaptability to varied work environments including typical office settings and onsite locations.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard business hours from Monday to Friday.
Occasional extended or flexible hours during peak project periods.
On-call availability for urgent financial issues.
Occasional travel to sites and client meetings as required.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 per annum.
Performance-based bonus structure to reward financial achievements.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company match.
Additional benefits including paid time off and professional development programs.
10. Company Culture and Overview
A collaborative and innovative environment that empowers employees to excel.
A commitment to professional development and career advancement opportunities.
A culture founded on integrity, accountability, and excellence in service.
An inspirational workplace where every team member is encouraged to contribute to the company’s success.
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].
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What changes for a CFO at a commercial general contractor
Every CFO budgets, reports and keeps the books clean. At a commercial GC, cash arrives through monthly pay applications, part of it is held back until the end, and each state taxes contract work its own way.
Delaware taxes receipts and tracks out-of-state subs
Delaware charges contractors a license fee on gross receipts, and a company your size pays it monthly, by the 20th (30 Del. C. § 2502). A GC that hires a subcontractor based in another state must also send the Department of Finance the contract's value and both parties' names and addresses within 10 days. Each miss can bring a civil penalty of up to 10,000 dollars (§ 2503). Put both steps on your job setup checklist. Source: Delaware Code, Title 30, Chapter 25 (§§ 2502 and 2503).
Hawaii lets you deduct what your subs paid tax on
Hawaii's general excise tax falls on a contractor's gross income. A GC can deduct the part already taxed to a subcontractor who is also a contractor, but only if the return lists that sub's name and general excise number (HRS § 237-13(3)). Collect each sub's excise number when you sign the subcontract, not at year end, or the deduction is hard to prove. Source: Hawaii Revised Statutes § 237-13, tax upon contractors.
Billing follows the schedule of values
Each month the project manager bills the owner on a pay application, often the AIA G702 and G703 forms, against a schedule of values agreed at the start. The architect or owner's rep checks the work in place before approving it. Watch for a schedule of values loaded so heavily up front that cash looks fine early and the job runs dry near the end. Subcontractor bills roll into yours, so one late sub can delay the whole draw.
Retainage is cash you've earned but can't spend
Owners usually keep a slice of every payment until the job is done, and GCs keep a slice of each sub's payment the same way. How much depends on the contract and state law. On Hawaii public contracts, for example, the law caps what the agency can hold back, and it stops holding more once the job is half done with good progress (HRS § 103-32.1). Track what owners owe you and what you owe subs on every job, and push closeout paperwork so the money comes in. Source: Hawaii Revised Statutes § 103-32.1, retainage on public contracts.
Underbillings are an early warning
With percentage-of-completion accounting, a job billed for less than the work done shows an underbilling on the work-in-progress schedule. Underbillings that grow month after month often mean a cost overrun nobody has admitted or a change order stuck with the owner. Go through the WIP schedule with each project manager every month, and chase the cause behind each underbilling before the year-end statements do it for you.
How much commercial general contractor CFOs make
The closest BLS group for commercial general contractor CFOs is chief executives. Chief executives who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $225,550 a year ($108.44 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 840 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
Most CFOs here earn a base salary, plus a yearly bonus based on financial results, as the template describes. Some firms tie part of the bonus to clean audits or to how closely job forecasts match final cost.
Commercial building contractors
$225,550$225,550 median Middle half $168,640–$347,300 10th–90th $124,070–$499,640
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
Commercial building contractors
$124,070
$168,640
$225,550
$347,300
$499,640
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for commercial general contractors on their own. These figures cover nonresidential building construction, 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 built and defended a work-in-progress schedule
Knows percentage-of-completion revenue for long contracts
Explains job fade to project managers without blame
Keeps sureties and lenders informed between year-end reports
Sets up job cost codes that match how jobs are estimated
Teach these on the job
Your construction accounting system and its reports
Each owner's pay application format and deadlines
The tax filings each of your states requires
Your approval limits for change orders and subcontracts
Expect the books to sit in a ledger built for job cost, retainage and progress billing, such as Foundation, Acumatica Construction Edition, Sage 300 CRE or Vista. Name yours in the ad, because a CFO who already knows it can close the first month without a learning curve.
Commercial general contractor CFO interview questions
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 · Surety relationships
Your surety asks why working capital dropped and two jobs show profit fade. How do you prepare for that meeting?
A strong answer: Brings the work-in-progress schedule, explains causes job by job, shows recovery plans and claim status, discusses capital plans, and stays fully open with the underwriter.
Behavioral · Challenging budgets
Tell me about a time you pushed back on a project budget you thought was too optimistic.
A strong answer: Used historical cost data, showed the gap, proposed a realistic budget or contingency, and can say what happened.
Think of the template's targets as samples. Recent closed jobs and your surety's expectations should set the real ones, and they should change when the project mix does.
Budget Variance
Each month, compare every job's forecast cost with the original budget plus approved change orders, and have the project manager explain any cost code that moved.
Project Cost Overruns
At closeout, compare final job cost with the revised budget, and tag each overrun by cause, such as an estimating miss, an unpaid change or field productivity, so each cause reaches the team that can fix it.
Financial Reporting Accuracy
Count audit adjustments and management letter comments each year, plus monthly closes that needed entries reversed after reports went out.
Net Profit Margin
Take net profit after overhead from the year-end statements and compare it with revenue, company-wide and by project type, such as fit-outs against ground-up buildings.
Career path
Project accountantSets up jobs, processes subcontractor pay applications and tracks retainage.
ControllerRuns the monthly close and builds the work-in-progress schedule.
Chief financial officerOwns cash, reporting and the numbers the surety and lender see.
Expect a yearly request for year-end statements prepared by a CPA, usually reviewed or audited, plus the WIP schedule, backlog and a list of completed jobs. Some sureties also want WIP updates during the year. The CFO should know the underwriter by name, send bad news early, and explain any job with a shrinking margin before the surety spots it.
How much does a commercial general contractor CFO make?
Chief executives who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $225,550 a year ($108.44 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $168,640 and $347,300 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
When does a commercial GC need an audit instead of a review?
Usually when a surety, lender or large owner asks for one. A review gives limited assurance, while an audit tests transactions and costs more. As bonding needs grow, sureties often move from reviewed to audited statements. Ask your surety what it will require at your next bond-line increase before you engage a CPA for the year.
Should the CFO run job costing or leave it to project managers?
Both have a part. Project managers code invoices, approve sub pay applications and forecast the cost to finish. The CFO owns the cost code structure, the monthly cutoff and the review that catches costs charged to the wrong job. If project managers forecast and accounting only records, nobody owns the gap between the two, and that is where losses hide.
Why would a CFO need to visit a job site?
The template mentions site trips, mixed office and site settings, and lifting up to 10 pounds. Those lines cover touring a job with the project manager to compare the work in place with what the pay application bills, carrying a laptop or a box of closeout files, and meeting owners at their buildings. Most days are still at a desk.
