Featured Department: Finance

As a trusted excavating contractor and site development partner serving clients across Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, our work in the field is highly visible and tangible. On any given day, Brubacher crews are moving earth, shaping sites, and preparing the ground for what comes next across a variety of project types spanning many industries.

Less visible, but just as foundational, is the work happening behind the scenes. At Brubacher, the Finance team is one of our core groups of professionals who play a critical role in supporting operational excellence, protecting long-term strength, and ensuring every project has the resources it needs to move forward with clarity and confidence.

As Brubacher CFO Kris H. explained, the role of Finance can be summed up efficiently:

“Our responsibility is to provide the right resources at the right time for the right people.”

That responsibility ranges from ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time to managing vendor relationships, overseeing complex construction accounting processes, and helping leadership make informed, forward-looking decisions. In a full-service excavation and sitework company where timing, precision, and coordination matter daily, that steady support is essential.

Supporting Operations in Real Time

The Finance team is deeply embedded in Brubacher’s day-to-day operations. They set up phase codes so field teams can accurately record time, prepare billing, adjust budgets for scope changes, and respond to project managers’ questions for clarity before leadership meetings. They also continually monitor how costs and revenue interact across the life cycle of a project.

Controller Max L., who recently joined Brubacher with a focus on partnership and clarity in financial leadership, describes the department’s role this way: “We’re really a support function. We interact with operations every day. The goal is to make sure they have the information they need to keep projects moving.”

That mindset continues to shape the team’s culture. Even small improvements—clearer meeting structure, intentional cross-training, and better communication frameworks—help the department function cohesively rather than in isolated “islands” of payroll, accounts payable, or job costing.

A Key Detail: The Dynamic Nature of Construction Accounting

That daily support requires more than routine bookkeeping. In construction, financial reporting is directly connected to project performance, making construction accounting uniquely dynamic compared to other accounting practices. For example, unlike finance functions within businesses that recognize revenue at the point of sale, construction finance relies on earned revenue and cost-to-complete calculations. Reporting must reflect not just what has been billed, but what has truly been earned at a given stage of a project.

For Assistant Controller Chelsea S., who works closely with job cost accounting and Work in Progress (WIP) reporting, that means ongoing collaboration with project managers. She shared, “We’re reviewing job costs with project managers and helping them understand how those costs impact the WIP each month. Sometimes it’s answering the question, ‘Why does this look like this?’ and helping translate the accounting side so they can make informed decisions.”

In a fast-paced excavation and site development environment, that clarity matters. Accurate construction accounting doesn’t just close the books at year-end; it supports better decision-making in real time every single day. As Kris noted: “In construction finance, there is no ‘close enough.’ It needs to be done right.” That mindset shapes how the Finance team approaches its work at all times.

Creating an Uncommonly Refreshing Experience

Because construction accounting is closely tied to project performance, clarity and responsiveness extend beyond internal teams. While Finance may not always be front-facing, the department’s impact on the client and trade partner experience is very real. When questions arise, whether related to billing, reporting, or payment timing, the focus is on calm communication, transparency, and solution-oriented follow-through.

The team shared a recent situation in which a trade partner reached out with concerns about an invoice. To address what appeared to be a miscommunication, the team focused on understanding the concern, identifying a clear path forward, and reviewing internal processes to prevent similar issues in the future.

“We’re not going to get everything perfect,” Max noted. “But we’re going to respond, find a solution, and ask how we can do better next time.”

That same mindset shows up in the billing process. Although Brubacher’s ERP system generates standardized invoices, many clients request reporting formats that better align with their internal systems. The Finance team often reorganizes or supplements that information to make it clearer and easier to use. “If presenting it differently helps their accounting team, we’re willing to take that extra step. Collaboration with our clients’ teams is something we value.” Chelsea shared.

Living the Core Values

When asked which of Brubacher’s Core Values are most evident in Finance, the team pointed to Integrity and Teamwork first. “You can’t work in construction accounting without integrity. It’s foundational,” Kris said.

At the same time, the principle of stewardship guides high-level decision-making. Strong financial leadership means thinking long-term and carefully managing resources so the company remains positioned to serve employees, clients, and trade partners well into the future.

For Chelsea, that stewardship principle and the value of integrity go hand in hand. “We’re always going to operate by the rules and by the books,” she explained. “We’re not going to do something that goes against what this company stands for.”

Teamwork has also taken on new depth in recent years. The department supported integration efforts following a company acquisition, implemented a new payroll platform, and expanded cross-training to avoid single points of failure. Rather than simply asking how to help, team members have worked to be specific and proactive. “It’s not just saying, ‘Let me know how I can help,’” Max said. “It’s being willing to step in and take something off someone’s plate.”

That proactive approach strengthens not only the Finance department, but the entire organization.

A Quiet Strength Built Over Time

Perhaps the most telling measure of the Finance team’s stability is one that rarely gets mentioned: longevity. Across 11 team members, the department represents an extraordinary 154 combined years of service at Brubacher.

That kind of institutional knowledge matters. Construction finance demands precision, consistency, and the ability to meet hard deadlines month after month. Payroll must run. Vendors must be paid. Reports must be accurate. Those deadlines are non-negotiable—and the team meets them reliably and with a commitment to a steady pursuit of excellence.

As a long-standing excavating contractor based in Southeast Pennsylvania, Brubacher’s reputation depends not only on what happens in the field, but on the integrity and discipline behind the scenes.

Finance may not move earth or operate equipment. Still, it ensures that every project has the clarity, structure, and resources it needs to succeed, meaningfully helping build the foundation for our dedication to Shaping The World We Live In.