Accountant

Our business is real estate, but our organization is so much more than bricks and mortar, beautiful buildings and well-managed properties. Our business is about people who need a place to call home and the people of Michaels who make it all happen.

The Project Accountant will be responsible for all the day-to-day management of multifamily and student housing development projects during pre-development and during construction. This person will be responsible for producing monthly budgeted-to-actual reports during pre-development and construction. Managing consultant(s) and vendor(s) invoicing to ensure amounts invoiced are in alignment with the contracted scope and deliverables/services produced for that specific billing period. This person will also assemble and audit all invoices for monthly construction draws.

• Maintain the accuracy and timeliness of financial / accounting processes and reporting in accordance with US GAAP and other generally accepted accounting principles.
• Perform full cycle accounting including G/L, review of accounts payable, journal entries proposals, monthly accruals, and reconciliations.
• Prepare monthly reporting packages and review and analyze variances.
• Hands on with monthly reporting package preparation. Analysis, G/L maintenance, journal entry and review, balance sheet reconciliations.
• Comfortable using other software and extracting data into excel and using that data to do various month end activities.
• Monitor and reconcile the development draw process including reconciling line-item totals to contracts

Financial Planning, Reporting, & Analysis:

• Assist Developer in documenting baseline Soft Cost Development Budget
• Identify all costs in consultant and vendor contracts & build out detailed subcategories for tracking project development costs
• Assist Developer in working with the Operations Team to establish and track project start-up & marketing budgets
• Cost-to-Close Tracking (Prior to Financial Closing): Assist Developer in preparing project cashflow forecasts, updating monthly any changes in cost estimates and cash flow timing based on information provided by Development Team.
• Change Management Log (Post Financial Closing): Assist Developer in documenting & tracking additional costs and savings that may hit line items within the Development Budget during Construction Phase; including potential overages/shortages for Allowance items, potential PCOs, FF&E items, A&E services, Municipal Fees, etc.
• Assist Developer and MSL Accounting team with Financial Closings, assemble the Closing Draw & Closing Out Completed Projects.
• Assist Accounting Manager and Developer with Monthly Draw process during Construction period.
• Provide monthly Budget-to-Actuals reports during Pre-Development and during Construction.

Invoicing:

• Manage relations with each project’s Consultant & Vendor Accounting Teams – ensure correct amounts are being paid in correct time period and coordinate consultant/vendor provided cost-to-date documentation that is cross checked with TMO data input/tracking.
• Log and track submitted invoices in each Development Budget subcategory. Run monthly General Ledger report and verify that all invoices sent to accounting are processed and applied properly to the budget. Work with Development Accountant on any corrections. Provide summary and detailed backup for Developer sign off.

General:

• Structure and maintain all project AP/AR files upon project set-up
• Proactive - make recommendations to improve tracking process, etc
• Collaborate with Real Estate Development team on project initiatives. Provide strategic input into forms and systems

Required Experience: 

• 3-5 year's experience in Accounting, bookkeeping and contract management experience, specifically in construction and/or real estate development.

Required Education/Training: 

• Completion of accounting classes or accounting certification. BA or BS in Accounting is not required, but preferred.

Required Skills and Abilities: 

• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Desire to dig into the weeds, problem solve and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Detail oriented, strong organizational skills, and ability to work independently.
• Ability to "roll your sleeves up" and assist with the day-to-day job duties of team.
• Ability to adapt and maintain a positive attitude in an ever changing and growing environment.
• Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, or related field required.
• Knowledge of AIA documents
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, especially with pivot tables, VLOOKUP, build dashboards among other excel skills preferred but not required
• Ability to analyze and interpret financial statements