Accounting Team Lead

About the role

The Accounting Team Lead – Multi-Family & Affordable Housing is a critical member of the Barkan Management Accounting Department. This is a player-coach role: the Team Lead carries a direct portfolio of multi-family and affordable housing properties while providing hands-on supervision, mentorship, and quality oversight to a team of 4–6 Property Accountants and Senior Accountants.

Responsibilities

• Directly supervise a team of 4–6 Property Accountants and Senior Accountants, ensuring day-to-day work products are completed accurately and on time.
• Train, mentor, coach, and develop team members; support ongoing workplace learning and professional growth.
• Lead by example during peak periods — audit season, budget season, and fiscal year-end — maintaining performance standards and team morale.
• Conduct regular portfolio and workload reviews with team members, providing constructive feedback and identifying development opportunities.
• Collaborate with the Controller to assess team capacity, flag concerns, and support onboarding of new accounting staff.
• Maintain a direct portfolio of multi-family and affordable housing properties, producing accurate monthly financial workbooks with full supporting schedules.
• Analyze and reconcile all balance sheet accounts monthly for assigned properties.
• Propose and review adjusting journal entries (AJEs) based on analysis of financial transactions and documentation.
• Communicate proactively with Property Managers, Account Executives, and client stakeholders on financial matters, variances, and reporting deliverables.
• Maintain client financial information on a strictly confidential basis.
• Serve as the department lead for year-end audit coordination across the multi-family and affordable housing portfolio — managing timelines, documentation requests, and auditor communications.
• Prepare and review audit-ready workpapers, reconciliations, and supporting schedules; ensure team portfolios meet the same standard.
• Act as the primary accounting liaison to external CPA firms, auditors, and tax preparers for all assigned engagements.
• Oversee preparation of annual tax filings and compliance documentation, including affordable housing regulatory requirements where applicable (HUD, LIHTC, Section 8).
• Build and enforce disciplined monthly closing procedures across the team to maintain audit readiness year-round.
• Maintain and recommend enhancements to internal control processes and financial safeguarding procedures.
• Support the Controller and CFO on special projects, including property transitions, client onboarding, and banking relationship coordination.
• Assist with accounting system optimization and workflow improvements in Yardi.

Requirements

• Minimum of 6+ years of accounting experience; meaningful exposure to multi-family and/or affordable housing accounting strongly preferred (HUD, Section 8, LIHTC).
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance (or other major with equivalent experience) is required; CPA or CPA candidacy a plus.
• Demonstrated experience supervising, leading, and mentoring an accounting team.
• Strong command of property accounting fundamentals: financial statement preparation, balance sheet reconciliation, AJE workflow, and variance analysis.
• Hands-on experience managing year-end audit processes and working directly with external auditors and CPA firms.
• Proficiency in Yardi required; strong working knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills; ability to engage effectively with accounting staff, property management teams, and board-level stakeholders.
• Demonstrated leadership and problem-solving skills; ability to bring about collaboration across all levels of staff and external partners.
• High standards of integrity and fiduciary responsibility for all client matters.
• Highly responsible, personable, detail-oriented, and self-motivated.

Qualifications

• Reading and writing work-related documents in English, reviewing financial reports and applying accounting principles.
• Speech recognition and clarity, including the ability to understand and communicate clearly with clients, co-workers, and external partners.
• Ability to work in a hybrid environment; periodic on-site presence at properties or client meetings may be required.

Skills

• Property Accounting Fundamentals
• Financial Statement Preparation
• Balance Sheet Reconciliation
• Adjusting Journal Entries (AJEs)
• Variance Analysis
• Year-End Audit Coordination
• Audit Readiness
• Internal Control Processes
• Special Projects
• Accounting System Optimization
• Microsoft Excel Proficiency

Benefits

• Competitive Compensation and Benefits Package
• Medical/Dental/Vision
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Life Insurance
• Short and Long-Term Disability
• Paid Time Off
• 401(k) Match
• Group Legal/Critical Illness/Hospitalization/Accident/Pet Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program

Pay

Competitive compensation and benefits package to full-time employees.

Schedule

Hybrid work environment; periodic on-site presence at properties or client meetings may be required.