Chief Financial Officer

Responsibilities

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a key member of the executive leadership team responsible for the financial management, strategy, and long-term stewardship of the organization. This role oversees financial planning and reporting, accounting, tax strategy, ESOP administration, enterprise risk management, financial systems governance, due diligence, and performance optimization across a complex, multi-entity engineering enterprise.

The CFO partners closely with the CEO, Board of Directors, ESOP trustees, and senior leadership, and works in direct alignment with the EVP of Corporate Development & Operations to drive sustainable growth, operational excellence, and employee-owner value across the enterprise. This role is designed as a key enterprise leadership position with increasing scope and responsibility over time, reflecting the organizations long-term succession planning and commitment to leadership continuity.

The CFO is responsible for ensuring that all financial and operating practices preserve the organizations S-Corporation status and support the long-term sustainability of its ESOP structure.

Strategic Leadership and Responsibilities

• Develop and execute long-term financial strategy aligned with corporate objectives and ESOP goals.
• Drive profitability initiatives including margin expansion, overhead optimization, pricing discipline, and project-level improvements.
• Lead ROI modeling for capital investments, service-line development, and geographic expansion.
• Champion enterprise-wide cost-saving, automation, and operational efficiency initiatives.
• Provide long-term financial leadership focused on sustainable, profitable growth and enhanced employee-owner value.
• Lead, mentor, and develop high-performing teams across Finance, Accounting, Tax, ESOP, Risk, and Audit functions and work in close partnership with Treasury leadership to ensure alignment across capital, liquidity, and enterprise risk initiatives.
• Promote a culture of transparency, accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
• Build organizational capability through professional development, succession planning, and leadership pipeline development.
• Responsible for government contracting oversight, including compliance with accounting and reporting requirements.
• Partner with operations to improve project profitability, billing accuracy, cash cycle performance, and resource utilization.
• Enhance cost management, pricing strategies, overhead allocation methodologies, and margin optimization across all geographies and business lines.

Financial Management, Corporate Governance, Reporting, Policies & Internal Controls

• Direct all financial reporting functions, ensuring accuracy, integrity, and GAAP compliance.
• Oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual close cycles across all subsidiaries and business units.
• Present financial results, forecasts, KPIs, and strategic analyses to the CEO, Board, ESOP trustees, and executive leadership.
• Ensure corporate practices-including distributions, ownership structure, and M&A activity comply with requirements necessary to maintain S-Corporation status.
• Maintain a strong internal control environment, ensuring robust policies, procedures, and segregation of duties to mitigate financial, operational, and compliance risks.
• Ensure cross-company consistency and audit readiness across all financial operations.
• Improve processes and systems to streamline workflows, reduce manual effort, and enhance financial visibility.
• Champion enterprise-wide cost-saving, automation, and operational efficiency initiatives.
• Review contracts as required and provide financial input on significant commercial terms.
• Oversee company-owned real estate assets and participate in lease versus buy decisions for capital equipment.

Policies

• Establish and enforce corporate financial policies such as delegations of authority, capitalization, procurement, intercompany transactions, expense management, and transfer pricing.
• Ensure that accounting policies related to claims management - including claims loss tracking methodologies, reserve-setting processes, set-aside calculations, and rules governing the use or release of claims accruals - are consistently defined, tracked, and accounted for across the enterprise in coordination with Risk Management, HR, Operations, and subsidiary leadership.
• Own all accounting policies across the enterprise, including documentation, communication, enforcement, and training.
• Oversee the review, modernization, and simplification of accounting policies.
• Lead an immediate, comprehensive update of all accounting and financial policies to align with the new ERP system (D365 F&O), including financial dimensions, workflows, approval hierarchies, and internal controls.
• Ensure policies are consistently applied across all subsidiaries and offices, support audit readiness, and meet regulatory requirements.

Audit, Regulatory Compliance & Governance

• Lead planning, coordination, and completion of external financial audits.
• Serve as primary liaison with external auditors, ESOP trustees, valuation consultants, and regulatory agencies.
• Oversee ESOP audits and ensure compliance with ERISA, Department of Labor, and IRS requirements.
• Direct internal audit activities including controls testing, risk assessments, compliance reviews, and remediation efforts.
• Ensure compliance with federal and state audits, maintaining proper documentation and timely responses.

Insurance, Risk Financing & Enterprise Risk Management

• Evaluate risk financing options, including captives, self-insurance layers, and deductible programs.
• Partner with Legal, Risk, Safety, and Operations to reduce claim frequency and ensure alignment between contract requirements, risk exposures, and insurance coverage.
• Collaborate with the Legal team to manage significant claims, ensure appropriate financial reserves, and align settlement decisions with both legal risk and fiduciary responsibilities.

Tax Strategy, Compliance & S-Corp Stewardship

• Develop and implement tax strategies that optimize the companys tax position while ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local tax regulations.
• Oversee preparation and review of all corporate tax filings, disclosures, and supporting documentation.
• Advise leadership on tax implications of business initiatives, acquisitions, ESOP transactions, and capital structures.
• Maintain practices required to preserve S-Corporation election, including shareholder requirements, reasonable compensation, distribution policies, and ownership structure.
• Manage relationships with external tax advisors and stay current on tax issues affecting engineering firms, ESOPs, and S-Corps.

ESOP Governance & Employee-Owner Engagement

• Ensure compliance with ESOP regulations and fiduciary requirements.
• Oversee annual ESOP valuations
• Evaluate long-term ESOP sustainability-including repurchase obligations, liquidity planning, demographic impacts, and capital requirements.
• Partner with trustees, plan administrator, valuation firms, and ESOP legal counsel to advise the Board on ESOP strategy and plan evolution.
• Support employee-owner engagement and financial literacy programs that reinforce the value of ownership and long-term value creation.

ERP, Data, & Financial Systems Governance

• Serve as executive sponsor for all financial and operational systems including D365 F&O, Solver, ExFlow, treasury tools, and integrated receivables platforms.
• Ensure system architecture supports GAAP, financial reporting, internal controls, financial dimensions, and efficient workflows.
• Oversee master data governance, chart of accounts structure, financial dimensions, and integration architecture across subsidiaries.
• Lead automation and digital transformation across Finance to reduce manual work and improve data quality and reporting capabilities.
• Work collaboratively with IT, Treasury, and Operations leadership to ensure systems support accurate financial reporting, cash visibility, internal controls, and enterprise decision making.
• Evaluate emerging financial technologies that enhance automation, visibility, and executive decision-making.

Mergers & Acquisitions / Corporate Development

• Lead all financial due diligence of acquisitions and partnerships.
• Work collaboratively with the EVP of Corporate Development on valuation modeling, deal structuring, purchase accounting, and transaction execution.
• Ensure M&A activity aligns with S-Corp rules, ESOP requirements, tax strategy, and long-term capital planning.
• Partner with M&A team to promote synergy realization, post-acquisition integration, and financial reporting of acquired entities.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications & Skills

• 15+ years of related experience
• Bachelors degree in Accounting (Masters preferred), Business Administration or Finance
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license is preferred
• If driving for, or on behalf of, any ECS subsidiary, a valid drivers license is required
• Demonstrated mastery of S-Corporations, GAAP accounting, multi-entity consolidations, and financial reporting, with experience managing audits, tax, and regulatory compliance across complex organizations.
• Advanced financial modeling and analytical skills with high proficiency in Excel and Microsoft Dynamics; skilled in designing and implementing systems that improve accuracy and efficiency in financial operations.
• Proven ability to translate detailed financial data into insights for executive decision-making, including building and maintaining budgets, forecasts, cash flow models, and scenario analysis.
• A record of bringing structure, discipline, and accountability to finance operations; comfortable working at both strategic and detailed levels to ensure timely, high-quality outcomes while empowering the team to perform at high levels.
• Demonstrated success in mentoring and developing high-performing teams through consistent communication of goals, feedback, and strategic direction.
• Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to present complex financial concepts clearly to senior leadership and boards.
• Experience supporting or leading M&A transactions, including financial due diligence and integration.
• Background in civil engineering, professional services, or project-based firms.
• Experience with FAR audits.
• Strong understanding of ESOP compliance, valuations, and employee communication strategies.

About Us

ECS Group of Companies (ECS) was founded in 1988 with the goal to raise the standards of professional engineering consulting. Today, we are a leader in geotechnical, construction materials, environmental and facilities consulting services. We are employee-owned with more than 3,000 employees in 100+ offices and testing facilities coast to coast. ECS is currently ranked #66 in Engineering News-Record's Top 500 Design Firms (April 2025), #148 in Engineering News-Record's Top 200 Environmental Firms (October 2025) and #50 in Zweig Group's Hot Firm List (May 2025). For additional information about ECS, visit: www.ecslimited.com. ECS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To learn more, click here.