Real Estate Accountant

Job Description

Job Description

Position Summary

The Real Estate Accountant is responsible for accurate property and entity-level accounting across a portfolio of commercial and/or residential real estate assets. This role owns the monthly close, bank reconciliations, accruals, lease accounting support, CAM/recoveries, lender reporting support, and production of GAAP-based financial statements with strong internal controls and documentation.

Core Responsibilities

1) Property & General Ledger Accounting

• Maintain accurate GLs for properties and related entities (LLCs/SPVs/holding companies).
• Post and review recurring and non-recurring journal entries (accruals, reclasses, allocations).
• Ensure proper coding of income/expense to property and department/cost center.
• Manage intercompany allocations (shared services, payroll allocations, management fees, expense reimbursements) with support schedules.

2) Monthly Close & Financial Reporting (GAAP Basis)

• Execute full month-end close process: cutoffs, accruals, prepaids, amortization, depreciation, and variance review.
• Produce property and entity-level financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow) and supporting schedules.
• Prepare and maintain close checklists, workpapers, and audit-ready documentation.
• Perform flux/variance analysis vs. prior period and budget; summarize drivers.

3) Cash Management & Reconciliations

• Perform timely bank reconciliations for operating, security deposit, reserve, and loan accounts.
• Reconcile subledgers to the GL (AP, AR, security deposits, tenant ledgers).
• Track and reconcile cash receipts and apply to tenant ledgers, including unapplied cash resolution.
• Support cash forecasting inputs: upcoming payables, debt service, capex, and recurring obligations.

4) Accounts Payable (AP) & Vendor Controls

• Oversee AP workflow: invoice intake, 3-way matching where applicable, coding, approvals, and payment runs.
• Maintain vendor records (W-9s, COIs where relevant), track 1099 reportable vendors.
• Ensure proper cutoff of expenses and prevent duplicates; enforce approval controls.

5) Accounts Receivable (AR), Tenant Billing & Rent Roll Tie-Outs

• Post and validate tenant billings: base rent, CAM, insurance, taxes, percentage rent, utilities, other reimbursements.
• Tie out rent roll / tenant ledgers to GL revenue accounts and AR aging.
• Coordinate delinquency accounting support: late fees, payment plans, write-offs (per policy/approval).
• Maintain security deposit accounting and reconciliations.

6) CAM / Operating Expense Recoveries & Reconciliations

• Track and support CAM, tax, and insurance billing setups (estimates, true-ups, caps, gross-ups as applicable).
• Prepare or support annual CAM reconciliations with detailed backup and tenant-ready schedules.
• Partner with property management/leasing to ensure lease terms are reflected accurately in billings.

7) Fixed Assets, CapEx & Construction Accounting

• Record and reconcile capital expenditures, including capitalization policy compliance.
• Maintain fixed asset schedules: additions, disposals, depreciation, and CIP (Construction in Progress) roll-forward.
• Support project cost tracking, vendor draws, and documentation for lender/owner reporting.
• Ensure correct classification between repairs & maintenance vs. capital improvements.

8) Debt, Reserves & Lender Reporting Support

• Record debt activity: principal/interest payments, loan fees amortization, escrow/reserve accounts.
• Maintain support for covenant calculations and lender reporting packages (as required).
• Track reserve-funded expenditures and ensure proper documentation.

9) Year-End, Audit & Tax Package Support

• Prepare year-end workpapers and schedules for CPA/audit/tax teams (trial balance, detail GL, AP/AR, fixed assets, debt).
• Support 1099 preparation and vendor reporting.
• Assist with entity-level deliverables needed for partnership/tax reporting (without providing tax advice).

10) Controls, Process Improvement & Systems

• Enforce internal controls, segregation of duties, and approval matrices.
• Improve close timelines, automate recurring entries, standardize reconciliations and schedules.
• Maintain accounting SOPs and ensure consistent documentation across the portfolio.

Required Technical Skills & Knowledge

• Strong understanding of accrual accounting and GAAP-based financials.
• Real estate accounting concepts: tenant ledgers, rent roll tie-outs, CAM/recoveries, security deposits, reserves, capex vs. opex.
• Advanced reconciliations: bank recs, subledger-to-GL, intercompany.
• Proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, SUMIFS, PowerQuery a plus).
• Comfort working with property management/accounting systems (examples): Yardi, MRI, AppFolio, RealPage, plus ERPs like Sage/Intacct, NetSuite, QuickBooks.

Nice-to-have (depending on portfolio): familiarity with lease accounting concepts (e.g., ASC 842 support), percentage rent, multi-entity consolidations, or investor reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting/Finance (CPA a plus, not required unless you want it).
• 3+ years in real estate, property, fund, or multi-entity accounting (commercial preferred if applicable).
• Demonstrated ownership of month-end close and reconciliations.
• High attention to detail; ability to meet deadlines with clean workpapers.

Key Deliverables / Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Month-end close completed by 7 business days with minimal post-close adjustments.
• Reconciliations completed and reviewed monthly (0 stale recon items > 30–60 days).
• Rent roll/tenant ledger tie-outs accurate and timely.
• CAM/recovery schedules delivered on-time with audit-ready backup.
• Clean audit/tax package support with minimal back-and-forth.

Company DescriptionVertically integrated real estate owner-operator focused on disciplined accounting, asset performance, and long-term value creation.

Company Description

Vertically integrated real estate owner-operator focused on disciplined accounting, asset performance, and long-term value creation.