Development Accountant

Development Accountant

Joint Venture: GAIA Real Estate & Moderno Development Group

Reports to: CFO, GAIA Real Estate / MILAS COO

Works with: Construction Manager, AR/AP, Asset Management and Property Management, external auditor and tax preparer

Location: Miami, FL (in-office full time)

MILAS is a joint venture between GAIA Real Estate and Moderno Development Group in Miami building luxury neighborhoods . This role will be responsible for MILAS accounting end to end from Miami: acquisition setup through monthly close, lender and JV reporting, audit and tax support, and full project accounting through construction closeout. It is the single accounting owner for the MILAS entities, reporting directly to the CFO, working alongside COO and Head of Construction

Acquisitions & System Setup

1. Create Yardi property codes for new acquisitions and configure GL codes and approval workflows
2. Book new acquisitions in Yardi, confirming costs are accurately coded to the correct houses and expense categories
3. Set up new projects and jobs in Ingenious Build with the corresponding Yardi structure
4. Maintain coding integrity and the Ingenious Build to Yardi workflow as volume scales

Close, Consolidation & Reporting

1. Own the monthly close and consolidated financial reporting for all MILAS entities
2. Prepare lender, joint venture partner and investor reporting within applicable contractual deadlines, including monthly and annual reporting required under the partnership agreement.
3. Apply U.S. GAAP consistently across MILAS entities under policies established by the CFO; support IFRS reporting and reconciliations where required.
4. Prepare project-level P&Ls, balance sheet schedules and monthly construction cost reports
5. Record journal entries for deposit refunds and reimbursement checks payable to MILAS LP
6. Maintain the real estate tax amortization schedule and record monthly expense through journal entries

Project & Construction Accounting

1. Track costs by property, project and cost category, and code invoices to the correct general ledger account and budget line
2. Maintain construction budgets and track change orders, committed costs and remaining budget.
3. Monitor hard costs, soft costs and contingency; prepare cost-to-complete reports and flag overruns or unusual costs.
4. Prepare monthly lender draw packages, including invoices, lien waivers, contracts and other required support, and reconcile each draw to the project ledger.
5. Track lender funding and confirm its allocation to the correct project and cost category.
6. Track retainage from accrual through release and account for payment applications and draw requests.
7. At project closeout, reconcile final costs, confirm that invoices and change orders are recorded, close purchase orders, verify retainage releases and retain documentation for audit.
8. Determine the appropriate treatment of completed project costs, including inventory or fixed assets, based on the property’s intended use and applicable accounting guidance.

Accounts Payable & Treasury

1. Review and post MILAS accounts payable; review contractor and vendor invoices against POs, contracts and approved work
2. Verify lien waivers and required releases before payment
3. Review and approve e-treasury wires and ACH; verify wiring instructions through a documented vendor callback before release
4. Independently review weekly American Express transactions and supporting documentation; reconcile monthly statements
5. Onboard vendors and enforce compliance: W-9s, certificates of insurance, banking verification and new-vendor validation
6. Supervise and review the work of the AR/AP support function, including PayScan entry, property and GL coding, and operating vs. capital classification

Audit, Tax & Fixed Assets

1. Prepare audit schedules and coordinate directly with the external auditor throughout fieldwork
2. Maintain cost basis and depreciation schedules, coordinate placed-in-service dates and support K-1 preparation and cost-segregation studies

Qualifications

1. Real estate accounting experience, including both entity-level close and construction or development accounting
2. Demonstrated ownership of monthly close, consolidation and lender or JV partner reporting packages
3. Demonstrated ownership of lender draw packages, retainage, change orders and cost-to-complete reporting
4. Yardi required; PayScan strongly preferred; Ingenious Build, Procore or a comparable construction platform a plus
5. Working knowledge of capitalization rules and the line between operating and capital costs
6. Experience supporting external audits, depreciation schedules and K-1 preparation
7. Ground-up development experience preferred
8. Comfortable as the sole accounting owner in a remote office