POSITION: Portfolio Accountant
POSITION SUMMARY: The Portfolio Accountant reports to the Vice-President of Mid-Rise and High-Rise Management and collaborates with the Management team and other Peak Properties employees to audit, compile, analyze, and report data across the portfolio. S/he helps with the oversight of financial transactions and reporting within the Yardi system, assists with troubleshooting and works independently on special projects.
EXPECTATION FOR ALL EMPLOYEES: Supports the organization's mission and values by exhibiting the following behaviors: excellence and competence, collaboration, innovation, commitment, accountability, and ownership. To thrive in this role, you should have a passion to learn and grow and be able to work well and inspire other team members.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Leadership
- Ensure seamless interaction and outstanding communication with the firm’s management team.
- Serve as a leader in the management & development accounting sector of the company, providing support and process improvement, where applicable.
- Provide clear communication and reporting to ownership as needed/required on a timely basis.
Financial Reporting and Treasury Management
- Manage and oversee the timely delivery, completeness and quality assurance of the monthly financial statement closing and reporting process to ownership.
- Maintain, review, revise and file month-end workpapers.
- Maintain, review, analyze and reconciliation of balance sheet and income statement general ledger accounts.
- Prepare/Review end of month journal entries for all material financial statement line items.
- Oversee and manage the bank reconciliation(s) prepared by the virtual assistant.
- Prepare and maintain a fixed asset schedule accounting for additions and dispositions, calculate and record depreciation and prepare roll forward schedules. Ensure reconciliation to the general ledger.
- Prepare/Review accrual/re-class worksheet for inclusion in the general ledger.
- Prepare/Review capital expenditure report and roll forward schedule.
- Reconcile Mortgage and Escrow accounts to the monthly mortgage statement.
- Review Trial Balance to ensure that there is no unusual activity.
- Collaborate with various management team members to prepare monthly variance analysis on a timely basis (actual v. budget).
- Review all commercial and residential billing for accuracy.
- Prepare preview statements and distribute to the Virtual Accounting team to ensure the following month’s recurring charges and past due charges are accurate.
- Work and train the virtual accounting team on the processes and ensure closing expectations are met on a timely and accurate basis.
- Provide support for all accounting questions and reviews.
- Oversee daily accounting operations for their respective portfolio and communicate findings and results timely and succinctly with internal and external stakeholders.
- Prepare data to support the annual financial statements and collaborate with third party accounting firms to provide external audit and income tax support.
- Prepare journal entries related to significant transactions such as acquisitions, dispositions, and financings.
- Interface with building management and owner representatives on financial and operational issues.
- Verify account balances and funding needs, if any. Request funding from ownership as needed.
- Create and send communication/reports to Ownership, Property Managers, Banks and/or other third-party professionals as required and necessary.
- Oversee/Review cash management and treasury activities, including the initiation of all electronic transfers and AP batches prior to disbursement to vendors and ownership.
- Review check registers monthly and all bank accounts online daily to ensure there is no unusual activity.
- Reviews expense ledgers and assists the property management team in the billing of the recovery reconciliations.
- Coordinates with property management team members to ensure financial compliance with all procedures.
- Collaborate with Property Management team on new properties, accounts, tenant ledgers and move-out processes as needed.
- Researches and assists with technical accounting issues as necessary.
- Manage the Accounts Payable workflow for efficiency.
- Identify and resolve all AP approval issues.
- Secure signatures on checks, where and when needed, and distribute checks to the vendors for each check run.
- Oversight and management of all NSF payments.
- Assist Accounting Manager with new bank account set up.
Budgets
- Collaborate with the property management team and assist in the drafting of the property budgets, where needed.
- Provide the real estate taxes, business insurance, depreciation/amortization, mortgage, workers compensation insurance and audit fees in a support file for the drafting of the annual property budgets.
COMPLIANCE
- Monitor compliance of all ownership, debt and other agreements.
- Review agreements to determine appropriate compliance requirements.
- Prepare investor and/or lender reporting deliverables.
- Provide support with the interpretation of complex documents for loans and agreements.
Acquisitions/Dispositions
- Participate in various acquisitions and dispositions processes within the required timeframe.
- Perform special projects and/or Ad-Hoc tasks where necessary.
Communications
- Interfaces with building management and owner representatives on financial and operational issues.
General
- Monitor and collaborate with our leasing and marketing team on all strategies which affect performance and occupancy.
- Ensure compliance with Peak Properties company policy, as well as federal and local regulations.
- Attend Peak meetings and/or connect with other Peak employees to share best practices.
- Maintain scheduled office hours, condition of office, and that all responsibilities are handled professionally.
- Demonstrate leadership in attitude, communication skills, and appearance.
- Support the growth and development of team members.
- Utilize your entrepreneurial skills to network and build strong relationships.
- Ability to take on special projects while continuing to perform management responsibilities.
- Assist in ad-hoc projects and activities where necessary.
- Process and approve payroll timely.
- Additional duties as assigned by Management.
Physical Requirements
- Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery.
- Requires the ability to move within different areas of the property, stand, sit, walk up/downstairs for periods of time.
TRAINING REQUIREMENTS: Ongoing professional development.
QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENTS:
- 5+ years of general accounting experience.
- Real estate month end property accounting experience required.
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Business Management, and Administration preferred.
- CPA Preferred.
- Experience in Yardi preferred.
- Proficient with MS Office software.
- A sound knowledge about various aspects of financial and real estate assets.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Aptitude to be detail-oriented, yet flexible, in a dynamic environment.
- Strong work ethic with the highest degree of honesty, integrity, and discretion.
- Ability to multitask, prioritize and manage time effectively.
- Excellent problem solver; demonstrates ability to use creative alternatives.
- Protect the confidential nature of the work as appropriate.
- Ability to handle large volume of emails and phone calls.