Controller

Location

Head Office

Overview

Reporting to the Director of Finance, the Controller will be directly responsible for managing the overall financial operations of various entities and responsible to provide accurate information, including analysis, budgeting, forecasting and preparation of financial reports.

They will also be responsible for leading the team on the assigned entities and providing direction to the property managers, as required.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Manage the accounting operations including the detailed review of journal entries, balance sheet account reconciliations and financial statements.
• Detailed review of the monthly, quarterly and annual operating results for each property. This includes reviewing the work of the property managers, and ensuring they are reporting on time and accurately.
• Work with external auditors, including the preparation of audit working papers and financial statements.
• Overseeing the preparation of tax returns (Canadian) completed by tax COE and tax advisors to ensure critical deadlines are met.
• Generate financial information for quarterly and annual reports and responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of financial information.
• Detailed review of monthly cash calls from the property managers to ensure accuracy and that the requests are within company guidelines.
• Review of the weekly cash flow analysis performed by senior accountants.
• Assist the Director, Finance in managing various treasury functions.
• Detailed review of account reconciliations completed by the accounting manager, junior and senior accountants.
• Responsible for the preparation of monthly financial statements and external reporting to financial institutions, ensuring that all reporting requirements are met.
• Responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and all corresponding notes to the financial statements.
• Generation of reports of performance against budgets, and review and analysis of the variances from budget.
• Lead, guide, and coach a team of professional Accountants, as required. Ensure the team meets the assigned deadlines and that entities are reported on time.
• Review the recording of the trust ledgers and work with the legal team to ensure complete and timely information.
• Responsible for gathering accurate information to assist in the statement of adjustments for property dispositions.
• Detailed review of acquisition, disposal and refinancing journal entries. If the transaction is complex, assume responsibility for preparing these journal entries.
• Special projects as required, including acquisitions, disposals and financing transactions.

Requirements

• University degree in Business / Accounting
• Professional accounting designation (CPA, CMA or CGA) is strongly preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years progressive real estate experience, including at least 1 2 years in a leadership role
• Proficient communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Experience overseeing audits performed by external audit firms.
• Knowledge of accounting principles, practices and applications.
• Advanced knowledge of MS Office and Excel.
• Management and / or supervisory experience. Starlight is an approved CPA training office, so need to be willing to work closely with staff to teach and train them, as they work toward obtaining the CPA designation.
• A strong leader who can guide the team to the end goal and help them solve problems along the way while also ensuring the team meets reporting deadlines.
• Professional written and verbal communications skills.
• Good problem-solving skills and the ability to make the necessary decisions to move forward the work at hand.
• Ability to adapt to and learn new software.
• Able to work efficiently as a part of a team as well as independently.
• Able to work well under pressure.
• Good organizational, time management and prioritizing skills.
• Ability to interpret and implement company policies and procedures.
• Strong sense of responsibility and ownership of the role
• While the role has a significant element of review and oversight, the environment is dynamic, and the Controller may need to get into the detail themselves.
• Experience with Yardi is an asset
30+ days ago