Accountant, Financial Reporting

Title:                                Accountant, Financial Reporting 

Reports to:                     Accounting Manager, Financial Reporting

Primary Function:         General Accounting/Monthly Financial Reporting

Status:                            Full-time, Exempt

Location:                        Remote

Summary

Ballast Investments (“Ballast” or “The Company”) is seeking an Accountant, Financial Reporting to support the Financial Reporting Accounting vertical. Under the general supervision of the Accounting Manager, Financial Reporting, the Accountant is responsible for the financial oversight of the general ledger activity related to the real estate assets under management.

The Company is a vertically-integrated owner-operator of multifamily, student housing, and single family rental assets in the greater Western United States. The Company has several strategic partnerships with global institutional capital providers and has experienced strong growth since its founding in 2014.

Ballast employs over 250 real estate professionals whose mission is to create value by acquiring, developing, and managing our dwellings with exceptional care through an integrated approach. Our culture is founded on teamwork, authenticity, integrity and excellence. Through a shared purpose and common goal, the organization is built to serve its partners and communities within which it invests.

Primary Responsibilities

• Own the full-cycle accounting and month-end close process for an assigned fund, including related property and legal entities 
• Prepare and post monthly journal entries, including accruals, allocations, intercompany activity, debt activity, amortization, and other GAAP adjustments 
• Prepare and complete monthly bank reconciliations, balance sheet reconciliations, and other supporting schedules timely and accurately 
• Review property-level financial activity and analyze general ledger detail to ensure accuracy, completeness, and proper classification 
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements and reporting packages on a GAAP basis for internal, lender, investor, and other external reporting needs 
• Perform detailed variance analysis and investigate unusual fluctuations, reconciling items, and reporting exceptions 
• Maintain ownership of the general ledger for the assigned fund and develop a strong understanding of the fund structure, underlying entities, and property operations 
• Coordinate with Accounts Payable, Treasury, Revenue, Asset Management, and Property Management teams to ensure transactions are properly recorded and reporting deadlines are met 
• Partner with the AP team on coding, cutoff, and accrual-related matters, while AP processing and payment execution remain outside this role 
• Read and understand legal agreements, including operating agreements, management agreements, loan documents, leases, and other governing documents, and apply that knowledge to accounting and reporting 
• Support acquisitions, dispositions, refinancing activity, entity setups, and other significant transactions for assigned funds and properties 
• Assist with audit and tax preparation, including preparing workpapers, support schedules, and responding to auditor and tax preparer requests 
• Maintain organized and audit-ready accounting support and documentation for assigned funds and entities 
• Perform other duties as assigned by management 

Minimum Requirements and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting required 
• 2 years of accounting experience required 
• Real estate, multifamily, or property accounting experience strongly preferred 
• Experience owning month-end close and financial reporting for a portfolio, fund, or assigned set of entities preferred 
• Strong Excel skills required, including filters, sorting, pivot tables, lookup functions, and reconciliations 
• Experience with Yardi strongly preferred 
• Strong knowledge of GAAP required 
• Experience with lender reporting, investor reporting, audits, and legal entity accounting preferred 
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment and manage competing deadlines across a high-volume portfolio 

Key Skills and Competencies

• Strong sense of ownership and accountability over assigned funds and reporting deadlines 
• Ability to manage full-cycle accounting responsibilities independently with limited oversight 
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to investigate issues, resolve discrepancies, and explain financial results clearly 
• Detail-oriented with the ability to work accurately in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment 
• Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize multiple deliverables across month-end, quarter-end, and year-end cycles 
• Working knowledge of fund structures, intercompany relationships, and property-level accounting transactions 
• Effective verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to coordinate across accounting, operations, and leadership teams 
• Proactive mindset with the ability to identify issues early and drive them to resolution 
• Ability to interpret agreements and apply them to accounting conclusions and reporting requirements 

Ballast is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment, and we prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Ballast Investments is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.