Director, Accounting - Private Real Estate

Job Title:  Director, Accounting - Private Real Estate 

Department:  Investment Administration

Reports To:  Senior Vice President, CFO - Private Real Estate

FLSA Code:  Exempt

Estimated Salary:  $145,000 - $165,000

 

Job Summary:

Cohen & Steers is a global real asset investment manager with strategies in listed real estate, listed infrastructure, preferred securities, and as of three years ago, direct real estate. The firm’s 37 years of category dominance in the REITs business led to a highly strategic decision to expand into investing directly in real estate. 

The Director-Accounting will be an integral part of the team that provides oversight for accounting, financial reporting, valuation, treasury, administration, and third-party service providers for our 1934 Act SEC-registered Non-Traded REIT and certain private equity funds, which employ private real estate investment strategies. The role provides significant exposure to SEC filings similar to publicly-traded REITs (for the non-traded REIT), technical accounting for complex transactions, operations for a real estate private equity fund, working directly with joint venture partners, real estate valuations, treasury and other operational aspects of a business.

Cohen & Steers is committed to an inclusive culture, valuing diversity in support of our people and clients. 

Major Responsibilities/Activities:

• Ensure that all investments are accounted for in accordance with US GAAP. Conduct technical accounting research and ensure appropriate application to investments. Complex accounting areas can include purchase price accounting, impairments, consolidation accounting, lease accounting, derivatives, valuation, NAV reporting, and implementation of new accounting standards.
• Prepare monthly and quarterly SEC filings, such as 8-Ks, 10-Qs, and 10-Ks, and gain significant financial reporting experience
• Heavy oversight of third-party administrators and joint venture partners who generally prepare monthly and quarterly financial statement packages
• Assist deal team with due diligence on joint venture partners. Develop and maintain relationships with joint venture partners and property managers to ensure accurate financial statement packages
• Prepare/review month-end & quarter-end accounting, valuation, AUM and financial reporting for the NTR and a private equity fund.
• Analyze and prepare monthly and quarterly financial statement variances for the Non-Traded REIT and a private equity fund
• Ability to review and gain experience on both historical accounting and fair value books and records
• Develop and maintain efficient SOX-compliant internal controls and business processes
• Assist with treasury functions, including reviewing bank reconciliations, projecting cash balances, and inputting and processing vendor payments and wire transfers into banking system. Gain experience by analyzing cash positions and ensuring that cash movements for acquisitions, capital calls, and distributions are made in a timely manner.
• Prepare/review all analysis and documentation of monthly and quarterly journal entries in accordance with GAAP
• Prepare and/or review management fee, incentive calculations Waterfall and claw back calculations in accordance with agreements
• Prepare/review expense budget and reporting
• Assist in the monthly, quarterly, and annual valuation process by coordinating with the investment team and an independent valuation advisor. Ability to gain exposure to property valuations.
• Assist in the review and preparation of quarterly and annual financial statements, footnotes and partner capital packages including all supporting work papers and disclosure documents with the assistance of third-party administrator
• Manage and review investor reporting and requests including capital calls, distributions, and reporting
• Assist with the fund audit process, and provide answers to various audit requests
• Assist with various compliance reports (e.g., credit facility, covenants, etc.)
• Assist in writing standard operating procedures, recommend and implement operational enhancements, and maintain compliance with operational policies and procedures
• Identify and help solve for critical accounting and reporting issues

Minimum Requirements: 

• Minimum of 4 years of financial planning and analysis working in the real estate industry or real estate modelling experience at Big 4 accounting firms.
• Expertise in financial modeling and Microsoft excel.
• BA/BS in Accounting/Finance.

The ideal candidate would have the following skills:    

• Minimum of 5 years of related experience auditing or working at REITs or other historical cost real estate funds (historical cost accounting experience is required)
• Strong attention to detail, follows tasks through to completion and has a high sense of urgency
• Outstanding communication skills, excellent interpersonal skills, both oral and written, and ability to build as well as deliver effective presentations
• Must be highly process oriented and have experience with organizational control environments
• Comfortable working in a changing and dynamic environment
• Self-starter, someone who can operate in a fast-passed environment and can work independently and responsibly with limited supervision
• Experience with real estate accounting systems such as Yardi, a plus
• Demonstrates inclusive behaviors in support of a culture that values diverse perspectives
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel
• Familiarity with financial reporting software like Workiva, a plus

Note:  This job description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned. The job title or duties and responsibilities may be changed by the Company at any time.

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