Any of you ever worked (as an accountant) for a construction firm?

I am working as the controller (read: whole accounting dept) for a construction company in Toronto, Canada.

For the most part, the workers don't come into the office, so dealing with them is a moot point. You DO have to deal with the project managers, and getting info from them IS like pulling teeth.

Payroll can be a joy because we allocate payroll costs to jobs and the workers put down different names for the same job on their time sheets. That can get confusing. The site supervisors (foremen) are not always any better, but eventually you can decipher anything.

Frankly it is not a matter of adhering to the accounting system as it is getting people to give you the right information.

As for having a male to deal with them, that seems a bit strange. For the most part you are not dealing with the "guys" other than the project managers, and maybe the foremen.

Feel free to email me offline with any other questions.

Stephanie stephanie serba rogers com

First, Stephanie, I agee with everything you have said. Given that, let's talk about how offices can be. I have supervisd women for 28 years. Today I supervise women in an accounting departmen (no men)t. ALL of them are single mothers. Do I have to make accomodations? Yes, I do; it is simply a fact of life. They also interact differently with each other and the public than men do; though there are exceptions to this. I have supervised men as well, but never had the kind of infighting and petty jealousie I see with women. Mostly, I ignore it and let them work it out themselves, which is usually better, since it does not garner them attention.

Does this sound sexist? No, it is just the nature of the beast. Now, this woman running a small accounting department, may also have something else going on. This is possible: I used to run a department, had twop women working for me. They would answer a customer question at the counter. I would be in my office and hear my worker give the person the party line answer. They would ask to see the supervidor. I would go out and tell them and they would believe ME, but not my female worker, who had been there a lot longer than I had!!

Maybe this is some of what she is experiencing. There could be a number of reasons, all of them legitimate, but really not a legally defensible, as far as I know.

Lance Mertz, CPA

On 17 Jun 2005 20:26:46 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote:

While you're looking for your entry-level job, keep these thoughts in mind...

First, don't discount the opportunities you might find through a staffing firm. You have an equal possibility of finding a great job through them as you would through any other avenue. There are lots of great jobs, but there are no dream jobs in accounting or any other profession. Every job has its pros and cons.

Second, it has been my experience that a lot of business people, men and women both, don't see the importance of the accounting function. In any industry you might work in, most people in operations have the idea that accounting is "just paperwork." Their priority is their job and they will catch up on the "paperwork" later. Since they drive the revenue in a company, to some degree they are right. If it wasn't for those guys, the accountants wouldn't have their jobs (and if the accountants don't do their job, no one will have a job!) The worst offenders are the sales reps. It may be because of their nature or personality makeup, but good sales reps tend to see only the big picture of their goal... make the sale. Accountants see the details. Thus, accountants will bump heads with the sales department because the sales reps won't follow the rules... like filling out the expense reports properly. It isn't just the rank-and-file either; sometimes middle management and (heaven forbid) upper management will not see the importance of the accounting function until a problem comes up. But that is part of being a good accountant, to have the foresight to identify potential problems before they happen, and set up systems to prevent them from happening. This is where your interpersonal and communication skills will need to be developed. You'll need to be able to talk with people at all levels in a company. Not just talk at them, but actually communicate with them so they understand your message. You'll talk with everyone from the guys on the shop floor to the president and VP's. If you can get your message across and get your audience to see how it will benefit them to follow your lead, then you've accomplished your purpose (and made your job easier.)

Just my humble opinion, but I hope this helps.

Good luck, Russell Tuncap, CMA, CPA

Personally, just watch what you say, AND how you say it. Unfortunately, anything you say these days could be considered harassment.... :(

Then again, I work for a great older (read: my mother's generation) Italian-Canadian, and I've always been a bit twisted so if it gets a bit raucous I can give as good as I get. I just don't let anything overtly or deliberately sexist to go unnoticed.

Sometimes it is simply a matter of getting the same answer, but from either a different person or someone with the perception of greater authority (even if it REALLY is company policy). Not sexist, but just people never taking anything at face value or trying to get something for nothing or at least very little.