Corporate Controller

Department: Finance and Accounting

Reports To: Chief Financial Officer

Classification: Exempt, Full-Time

Location: Chamblee, Georgia

Role Overview

Day-to-day responsibilities include cash management across the portfolio of companies, working closely with the CFO and COO on cash reporting, management, and transactional processing. The Corporate Controller will be responsible for the full-cycle accounting of the corporate (non-property) entities, including our development companies. Initially, this role will be heavily involved in integrating payroll processes back into the accounting department. As familiarity with Audubon grows, the Corporate Controller will assume additional responsibilities of investor reporting.

This is an operating leadership role, not a steward role. The Controller is accountable for closing the books on time, hitting reporting deadline,, and driving the kind of operational rigor that institutional investors, lenders, and operating partners expect from a best-in-class sponsor.

The Person We Are Looking For

The Corporate Controller partners closely with the CFO and COO. The CFO sets financial strategy, shapes the company's financial infrastructure, and manages capital partner relationships. The COO currently relies on input from the VP of Accounting to make cash-allocation decisions; the Corporate Controller will assume that responsibility. This role requires daily, in-person communication, active leadership, and a hands-on approach. It is not a behind-the-desk position. The right candidate is comfortable taking on undefined responsibilities, bringing discipline and structure to daily processes, and personally performing those processes when needed. This person must be a self-starter who finishes what they begin, aligns the team around clear priorities, builds repeatable processes, and brings urgency, accountability, and strong attention to detail to a function that affects every part of the business.

We need a leader who can drive results and be flexible initially as we reestablish the Corporate Controller role. The Corporate Controller will become an operational engine of the accounting function. They will own the cash position of all entities across the organization, drive reporting efficiencies, push goals across the finish line, and help the CFO and VP of Accounting improve the accounting function.

The right person leads from the front. They set a clear standard, communicate it directly, and hold themselves and their team accountable to it. They do not wait to be told what needs to happen, and they do not let things drift. When deadlines are tight or the work is hard this person shows up.

What Success Looks Like in the First 12 Months

• Establish a working relationship and trust with both the CFO and COO. The controller will know the daily cash position of all entities. The controller should be able to report positions across the organization and be given the responsibility of making certain cash decisions independently of senior leadership.
• Accomplish the integration of payroll reporting, automation, and reconciliation into the reporting system.
• Payroll processing has been reduced to ½ a day of accounting time.
• Monthly close completed within ten business days for the corporate entities and within fifteen business days for property-level reporting, with no recurring restatements.
• The annual audit and tax return cycle runs cleanly, with PBC lists delivered on time and minimal auditor adjustments.
• Meaningful process improvements will be made to integrate investor reporting, lender reporting, and K-1 delivery into the accounting department.
• Be the resident expert in Juniper Square from the accounting department's perspective.
• CFO is freed from operational firefighting and can focus on capital partnerships, strategic transactions, and portfolio strategy.

Essential Responsibilities

Team Leadership and Accountability

• Serve as both a team player and team leader, taking on evolving responsibilities from the CFO and COO. Delegate work effectively to assigned accounting team members and develop staff as needed.
• Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular one-on-ones, and participate in an effective team meeting cadence. Communicate daily with all Stakeholders.
• Identify gaps in skill, performance, or attitude, and address them directly. Coach where there is potential; replace where there is not.
• Recruit and onboard new accounting talent as the portfolio grows and the team scales.
• Build a culture of ownership where every team member knows what they are responsible for and what good looks like.

Financial Close, Reporting, and Controls

• Lead the monthly, quarterly, and annual close process for corporate entities.
• Prepare and review consolidated financial statements, supporting schedules, and management reports.
• Develop and maintain internal controls that safeguard company assets and support accurate financial reporting.
• Maintain compliance with GAAP, real estate accounting standards, and company policies.
• Coordinate annual audits and tax return preparation, serving as the primary contact for external auditors and tax preparers on corporate accounts.

Investor, Lender, and Partner Reporting

• Initially assist in the integration of capital reporting into the property-level financials. Eventually, the role will encompass control of the accounting for all investor capital and distributions, provide the necessary accounting reports to the investor relationship role, and control and check the delivery of k1 statements
• Support due diligence on acquisitions, dispositions, refinancings, and joint venture transactions.
• Ensure JV partner reporting and waterfall calculations are accurate and delivered on schedule.

Cash, Treasury, and Operations Support

• Monitor organizational cash flow, operating accounts, reserve balances, and treasury activity.
• Supervise AP, AR, payroll coordination, bank reconciliations, and general ledger activity for all the corporate accounts.
• Maintain fixed asset records and depreciation schedules across the portfolio.
• Partner with asset and property management to provide financial analysis that improves property performance.
• Control the payroll process and reporting.

Budgeting, Forecasting, and Systems

• Lead the preparation and coordination of annual operating budgets and periodic reforecasts.
• Analyze financial trends and operating results to surface risks and opportunities for the CFO and operating team.
• Drive accounting system optimization, automation, and process improvement initiatives.

Required Experience

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field.
• Minimum ten years of progressive accounting experience. Experience in multifamily real estate, build-to-rent, or commercial real estate is beneficial but not critical.
• Minimum five years directly managing an accounting team, with demonstrated examples of team performance improvement, hiring decisions, and accountability conversations.
• Demonstrated track record of driving measurable results, such as reducing close timelines, implementing systems, eliminating recurring errors, or delivering on time through periods of growth or stress.
• Working knowledge of Entrata, RealPage, Yardi or comparable property management and accounting platforms.
• The ability to become the resident expert on the capabilities and reporting of Investor Reporting software is essential to the role.
• Strong knowledge of GAAP, partnership accounting, and real estate accounting principles.
• Experience supporting external audits, tax preparation, and lender and investor reporting.

Preferred Experience

• CPA designation.
• Experience with build-to-rent, single-family rental, or development accounting.
• Experience leading a financial system implementation or major automation initiative.
• Working knowledge of Juniper Square
• Treasury and cash management experience

Traits That Will Make You Successful Here

Candidates should read this section carefully before applying. We will screen for these traits in interviews and reference checks.

• A driver. You finish what you start. When a deadline is on the line, you take ownership and push the work across, even when the data is messy or the team needs help. You do not leave loose ends.
• A motivator. People work harder for you because you set a clear direction, communicate the why, and hold the line on standards. You can name people you have developed and results you have driven through them.
• A track record of results. You can point to specific outcomes you delivered, faster closes, cleaner audits, better reporting, stronger teams, and explain how you drove them.
• Operational rigor. You build process, you document, and you measure. You do not rely on heroics or institutional memory.
• Direct communication. You raise issues early, you give honest feedback, and you do not avoid hard conversations.
• Self-direction. You own the operating layer of the accounting function without needing to be told how to execute.

Values We Expect Every Day

All Audubon team members bring our values to life by being driven, enthusiastic, a team player, and humbly confident.

Travel and Work Environment

This role is based at our Chamblee, Georgia office. Initially, the plan is to be in the office every workday. Occasional travel to properties and operating partner offices in the Southeast and Texas may be required. The role operates in a professional office environment using standard office equipment.