Controller

Full-Time | Hybrid | Coconut Grove, Miami, FL | $95,000 – $115,000 base, commensurate with experience Controller Multifamily Real Estate Carbon Real Estate Investments is a vertically integrated multifamily private equity firm with approximately $200M in assets under management. We own and operate Class B workforce housing across Florida, Georgia, and Alabama — and unlike most sponsors at our scale, we run our own property management. The Opportunity We're building our accounting function from the ground up and need a Controller to own it — leading the transition off our outsourced firm, designing systems and SOPs that scale, and building a small team that executes consistently across every property and entity. We care more about the right person than the right résumé. You might already be a Controller, or a Senior Accountant ready for the seat. Fit, hunger, and follow-through decide the hire. Today, property-level staff handle transactions in Yardi Voyager, an internal staff accountant manages AP and bill-backs, and an outsourced firm runs the rest. You replace that firm and build what comes next. In year one: audit the chart of accounts, tighten month-end close, build variance review, stand up controls that scale. You'll own additional tool evaluations as we grow — but cleaner process inside what we already have is often the better answer. Primary Relationships Reports to the Integrator (COO equivalent under EOS), with a dotted line to the CEO and CIO/Capital Markets on financial reporting Partners closely with our staff accountant (AP & bill-backs) on intercompany reconciliations, AP oversight, and shared corporate cost allocations Works with Asset Management on budget vs. actual analysis, capex tracking, and loan compliance Manages the working relationship with our outsourced accounting firm during the in-house transition Builds and leads a small accounting team underneath you (1–3 people within 12–18 months) and supports property managers with coding questions and clean reporting The Role You’ll own the accounting function across the portfolio. That breaks down into several key areas: Financial Integrity & Review Review monthly property financial statements, balance sheets, and trial balances for accuracy, consistency, and anomalies. Catch issues before they leave the door (High Integrity) Own intercompany reconciliations across our entity structure — including bill-backs, payroll allocations, and shared corporate costs Lead month-end close coordination across Carbon, the staff accountant, and on-site property teams. Hit the same close day every month — no drift Maintain GAAP-compliant accounting practices across all entities and prepare schedules supporting external audits, lender reviews, and tax returns Manage the transition from our current outsourced accounting firm to the in-house function Process Design, SOPs & Controls Build, document, and enforce accounting SOPs — month-end close (with a written close calendar), AP coding, journal entry approval, account reconciliations, capital event accounting (Discipline) Build a standardized variance review template that catches material P&L and balance sheet anomalies before financials are released Team Leadership & Development Hire, manage, and develop a small accounting team (1–3 people within 12–18 months) with clear roles, weekly cadence, and quarterly performance scorecards Hold the team accountable to deadlines, accuracy, and process compliance — not us Train your team on SOPs and conduct ongoing performance evaluations. Address underperformance directly and promptly (High Integrity) Build a culture of ownership underneath you — your team should feel empowered to catch and resolve issues, not wait for them to be flagged Systems, Technology & AI Master our property accounting platform (Yardi Voyager today) — chart of accounts, sub-accounts, recurring entries, banking modules, financial report customization, integrations. You don’t need to walk in knowing Yardi specifically, but you do need to know how to administer a system like it Identify and implement automation opportunities that reduce manual work and improve accuracy — bank feeds, allocations, AP coding, recurring entries Evaluate additional tools (QuickBooks Online, fund accounting platforms, AP automation upgrades) on merit. Recommend changes only when the case is real Champion AI-driven workflows where they serve accuracy and speed — not for novelty. We use Claude for central operations and Gemini for property staff. Curiosity about new tools is non-negotiable Cross‑Functional Translation Translate financial data into plain language for the Integrator, CEO, asset managers, and other non‑accounting leaders. Translate operational reality back into the right accounting treatment Partner with asset management on budget vs. actual analysis, capex tracking, and loan compliance reporting Support property teams. They are not accountants. They need clear answers, clean reports, and someone responsive when they have a question (Connection) What Success Looks Like First 90 Days Full audit of the chart of accounts across all property entities, with cleanup items identified and prioritized Month‑end close mapped end‑to‑end with a written close calendar; first three SOPs (close, journal entry approval, intercompany / bill‑back reconciliation) written and rolled out Standardized variance review template built and in use — anomalies flagged with context before financials are released Year One Month‑end close lands on the same day every month, every property — no drift Reporting is tighter, faster, more useful. The CEO never has to think about whether the financials are right; they read them and trust them Automation has replaced manual work wherever it was eating time — bank feeds, recurring entries, intercompany allocations, AP coding New acquisitions are stood up on our property management platform cleanly from day one — no one‑off cleanup projects A small accounting team (1–3 people) is in place with clear roles, weekly cadence, and quarterly scorecards. You hold them accountable. Who You Are You catch problems before they're flagged — and you show up with the solution, not the question. Proactive, not reactive. When something's off, you address it today. You own the outcome. Not just your work, but your team's and every deliverable the org is counting on. You measure yourself by what got finished. When something escalates, you bring options and a recommendation — not a help ticket. You hold the line on cadence, accuracy, and process discipline. You'll confront — directly and professionally — when the standard isn't being met. You build systems that work without you, and verify they're followed when you're there. What You Bring Required Active CPA license (or actively sitting for the exam with completion expected within 12 months) and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field 3+ years of progressive accounting experience, with meaningful time spent in real estate accounting (multifamily, commercial, or fund-level) Hands‑on experience administering an accounting or ERP platform — chart of accounts setup, recurring entries, financial report customization, and the accounting modules. The platform doesn’t matter as long as you understand the functions cold Strong working knowledge of US GAAP as it applies to real estate ownership, partnerships, and entity structures Track record of designing or improving accounting processes in a previous role — you’ve built something, not just executed someone else’s checklist Advanced Excel (pivots, INDEX/MATCH, XLOOKUP, basic modeling) Willingness to work in our Coconut Grove (Miami) office a minimum of 3 days per week Preferred Experience on a property management or real estate accounting platform (Yardi, MRI, RealPage, AppFolio, or similar) — Yardi specifically is a bonus since we run on Yardi today Experience reviewing the work of more junior staff and holding them accountable to standards and deadlines Public accounting background (Big 4 or strong regional firm) earlier in career, especially with real estate audit clients Direct experience bringing an outsourced accounting function in-house, or building an in‑house accounting team from scratch QuickBooks Online experience for non‑property entities, and exposure to AP automation tools (AvidXchange or similar) Experience accounting for capital events — acquisitions, refinances, dispositions, preferred equity, promote structures Vertically integrated owner‑operator experience (versus pure third‑party fee management) How We Work This is the most important section. Read it twice. We are results and execution focused. We optimize for outcomes, not activity — what got finished, not what got discussed. Bring problems with options pre‑vetted and a recommendation. Bringing a problem with no analysis attached means a lot of questions back at you. Trust starts at 50/50 and is earned by finishing things. Missed deadlines, dropped follow‑ups, and surprises kill it fast. Once trust is low, we have to get involved — which is not where either of us wants to be. “It can’t be done” is not in our vocabulary. Almost anything can be done. The honest version is: “the time to do it isn’t worth the payoff,” or “here are the trade‑offs.” That framing we welcome. Speed matters. We are a small team running a $200M portfolio. We do not have the luxury of slow decision‑making, and our standards do not bend because something is hard. Process discipline is the differentiator. We run on EOS (tracked in Strety). Our accounting platform is the source of truth. We measure things. If you cannot operate inside structure, this is not the right seat. #J-18808-Ljbffr