About Vasili Kulikov, CPA
Built in Construction. Trusted by Contractors.
My career in construction didn’t start in a boardroom or at a big 4 audit firm—it started in the field.
As a young teenager, I began my construction journey by helping my father with various construction projects, working as a laborer, carpenter, and landscaper. Later, I studied accounting at a Junior College and landed my first accounting role with a small painting contractor.
After this, I joined a small general contractor generating roughly $2 million in annual revenue. Over the years, I worked alongside ownership as the company scaled to over $50 million. I wasn’t a distant advisor—I was in the trenches, building systems, solving problems, and helping leadership navigate growth-related challenges in real time.
I later repeated this experience with another general contractor, helping guide the company from approximately $2 million to nearly $40 million in annual revenue. Across these organizations, I filled every critical back office operational and financial role, including:
- Payroll & Labor Compliance Clerk
- A/P, A/R, G/L accountant
- Bidding Coordinator
- Payroll & Compliance Manager
- Assistant Controller
- Controller performing full CFO-level responsibilities
This progression gave me something most advisors never develop: a complete, ground-up understanding of how construction companies actually operate—from job inception through closeout, from bid day to final retention, and from weekly payroll to year-end audits.
Today, I serve as a Controller for a large publicly traded general contractor, where I operate in a highly regulated, high-stakes environment with complex audits, strict compliance standards, and enterprise-level financial controls. This perspective allows me to bring institutional-level discipline and risk awareness to small and mid-sized contractors—without unnecessary complexity.
Credentials That Support Real-World Experience
My professional foundation includes:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
- California Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
But credentials alone don’t solve contractor problems. Experience does.
Why I Do This Work
After nearly 30 years working inside construction companies, I made a deliberate decision to leverage my experience through part-time consulting and advisory services—focused exclusively on contractors.
The construction community has given me decades of opportunity, challenge, and growth. My mission now is simple:
To give back by helping contractors avoid costly mistakes, navigate audits and compliance issues, protect cash flow, and build more resilient businesses.
Whether it’s payroll tax resolution, audit defense, prevailing wage compliance, or CFO-level guidance, my approach is always the same:
practical, experienced, and grounded in how construction really works.
I don’t offer theory.
I offer insight earned from the inside.
Most CPAs advise construction from the outside.
I’ve built, scaled, audited, and defended construction companies from the inside.
When the issue involves payroll taxes, audits, prevailing wage compliance, or cash flow risk, experience matters.
If you’re facing a payroll tax issue, audit, compliance concern, or cash flow pressure, a short conversation can provide clarity.