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Construction Accounting Assistant (Nigeria & Global)

Job costing, work in progress, progress billing and retention — the accounting that decides whether a profitable builder survives, taught for Nigeria and for the international standards.

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About this course

A construction company can win every job, build every job well, report a profit on every job, and still go bust — because in this industry you spend the money long before you are paid for it, and the accounts only tell the truth if somebody keeps them contract by contract. This course teaches that discipline for someone who already knows basic bookkeeping. You will learn job costing and cost codes, revenue recognised over time under IFRS 15 and its US equivalent ASC 606, the work-in-progress schedule that every contractor lives or dies by, progress valuations and payment applications under FIDIC, JCT and AIA forms, variations and claims, onerous contract provisions, retention and bonds, subcontractor payments including UK CIS deductions and US mechanics liens, and the cash-flow forecast that keeps the company alive. The Nigerian layer is specific and current: 2% withholding tax on construction payments to residents and 5% to non-residents, the PENCOM, ITF, NSITF and BPP certificates you cannot tender without, site controls for materials and casual labour, and material prices that moved by a third in nine months. Every lesson gives the universal mechanism first, then what changes in Nigeria and what changes abroad, so the skill travels.

A contractor in Abuja finishes the year with three completed jobs, a signed profit of ₦180 million, and a bank account that cannot meet Friday's wages. Nobody stole anything. The arithmetic is honest. What happened is the ordinary shape of construction: you buy the cement, hire the crane and pay the bricklayers this month, you apply for payment next month, somebody certifies it the month after, and the client pays sixty days after that — while 10% of everything you have earned is being held back until a year after the job ends. Profit and cash are different animals in every business, but in construction they can live on different continents. This lesson explains the industry you are accounting for, who hires you, and the seven things that make these books their own discipline.

What you'll learn

Course syllabus — 12 lessons

  1. Why a profitable builder can still go bust13 min
  2. The contract is the rulebook14 min
  3. Job costing: every naira belongs to a job14 min
  4. Revenue over time: IFRS 15 and ASC 60615 min
  5. The work-in-progress schedule16 min
  6. Progress valuations and getting certified15 min
  7. Variations, claims and the loss-making contract15 min
  8. Retention, bonds and guarantees14 min
  9. Subcontractors and the people on site15 min
  10. Cash flow: the thing that actually kills contractors15 min
  11. Nigeria: tax, tender compliance and site controls15 min
  12. The close, the audit and getting hired15 min

Your project

Your Construction Month-End Pack

One spreadsheet (Google Sheets shared with view access, or an uploaded Excel file) with a clearly labelled tab for each of the six parts, formulas visible, and the Part 6 memo on its own tab or in a linked document.

Certificates on Skillnaija are earned, not issued for attendance: you submit this project, it is graded against a rubric, and passing issues a certificate anyone can verify. See the full project brief, rubric and free workbook →

Frequently asked questions

Is Construction Accounting Assistant (Nigeria & Global) free?

Yes. Construction Accounting Assistant (Nigeria & Global) is completely free on Skillnaija. You need a free account to open the lessons, and there is no charge for the course, the project, or the certificate.

How long does Construction Accounting Assistant (Nigeria & Global) take to complete?

7 weeks · ~4 hrs/week. There are 12 lessons, about 3 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.

Do I need any experience to start Construction Accounting Assistant (Nigeria & Global)?

Intermediate. Some prior grounding in the subject will help you move faster.

What will I learn in Construction Accounting Assistant (Nigeria & Global)?

You will build practical skills in Job costing, cost codes and committed costs, Revenue over time under IFRS 15 and ASC 606, Work-in-progress schedules and cost-value reconciliation, Contract assets and liabilities (over- and under-billings), Progress valuations and payment applications (FIDIC, JCT, AIA), Variations, claims and variable consideration, Onerous contract provisions under IAS 37, Retention, bonds and guarantees, Subcontractor payments, UK CIS and US mechanics liens, Nigerian construction tax and tender compliance, Contract cash-flow forecasting and material escalation, Site cost controls and audit support. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.

Do I get a certificate for Construction Accounting Assistant (Nigeria & Global)?

Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Your Construction Month-End Pack and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.

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