Can a Controller Do WIP Reporting?

By Martin · Updated 2026-02-02

Yes, a controller can produce a WIP report — gathering costs, calculating percent complete, and formatting the schedule. But producing the report and interpreting it strategically are different skills. A controller tells you what the numbers are. A CFO tells you what they mean, what's about to go wrong, and what to do about it. Most contractors need both capabilities.

This is one of the most common questions I get from contractors, and the answer matters more than most people think. It's not about whether your controller can produce a WIP schedule — of course they can. The question is whether producing the report is enough.

What a Controller Does with WIP

A competent construction controller handles the mechanics of WIP reporting:

Gathers job cost data from your accounting system
Calculates percent complete using cost-to-cost or other methods
Computes over/under billing for each active project
Produces the WIP schedule in a format your CPA, banker, and surety can use
Reconciles WIP to the general ledger
Ensures accuracy of cost coding and billing records

This is valuable, essential work. If your WIP report has bad data, nothing else matters. The controller is the quality gatekeeper.

Where Controllers Typically Stop

Here's the problem: most controllers produce the WIP report and hand it to the owner or the CPA. The numbers are accurate. The schedule balances. Job done.

But accuracy isn't insight. I've reviewed hundreds of WIP schedules that were perfectly accurate and completely useless for decision-making. The numbers were right, but nobody was asking the right questions about them.

What controllers typically don't do:

Trend analysis — Is this job's margin improving or deteriorating? The current snapshot doesn't tell you that. You need to compare this month's WIP to last month's, and the month before that. Most controllers don't track WIP trends over time.
Forecast implications — If three jobs are underbilled and two are trending toward cost overruns, what does that mean for cash flow in 60 days? That's not a controller question — it's a CFO question.
Strategic billing decisions — Should you accelerate billing on Project A to cover the cash gap from Project B's slow-paying owner? Controllers report billing status. CFOs manage billing strategy.
Portfolio-level risk assessment — Looking across all active jobs, where is the real risk concentrated? One job at -5% margin is a problem. Three jobs all trending negative in the same quarter is a crisis. Controllers report job-by-job. CFOs see the portfolio.
Bonding and banking impact — How does your current WIP position affect your bonding capacity? What story does this tell your surety? Controllers don't typically manage those relationships.

The Real-World Gap

Here's what this looks like in practice:

Your controller produces a WIP schedule showing 12 active jobs. Nine are performing at or above estimated margin. Three are showing small cost overruns — 2-3% each. The controller reports these numbers accurately.

What doesn't happen: Nobody flags that all three underperforming jobs share the same project manager. Nobody notices that the cost-to-complete estimates on those jobs haven't been updated in two months. Nobody calculates that if those three jobs each deteriorate another 5 points — which the trend suggests — your company-wide gross margin drops below your loan covenant threshold.

That analysis requires someone thinking strategically about the numbers, not just reporting them.

When Your Controller Can Handle It

Some controllers absolutely can provide strategic WIP analysis. They're the exception, but they exist. Your controller might be enough if:

They have construction-specific experience — Not just accounting experience, but years working in construction finance where they've seen margin fade, overbilling risks, and cash crunches firsthand.
They proactively flag concerns — They don't just hand you the report. They call you and say "we need to talk about the Municipal Center job."
They track trends over time — They maintain historical WIP data and can show you how each job has trended since inception.
They understand bonding and banking — They know how your WIP position affects your surety relationship and can prepare materials for bonding meetings.

If your controller does all of that, you have a controller who thinks like a CFO. Invest in them — they're rare and valuable.

When You Need More

You need CFO-level WIP analysis (whether from a fractional CFO or better tools) when:

You have 10+ active jobs — The complexity of portfolio-level analysis increases exponentially with job count.
Your margins are tight — When you're bidding at 12-15% gross margin, a 3-point fade on two or three jobs can wipe out your profit for the quarter. You need someone watching this weekly.
Cash flow is unpredictable — If you're surprised by cash crunches despite being profitable, nobody is connecting your WIP position to your cash forecast.
Your surety or banker is asking harder questions — They want to see trend analysis, forecasts, and strategic explanations, not just a WIP schedule.
The owner is doing the interpretation — If you're the one staring at the WIP schedule every month trying to figure out what it means, that's a sign you need help.

The Bottom Line

Your controller can absolutely produce WIP reports. The question is whether anyone is reading them strategically. Production is a controller function. Interpretation is a CFO function. You need both.

If your controller is only producing the report, you're leaving the most valuable part of WIP analysis on the table. The numbers themselves aren't the insight — it's what you do with them that prevents margin fade, cash surprises, and missed bonding opportunities.