Property Accounting Manager

Property Accounting Manager

at SJA Property Management

Company Overview

We represent a fast-growing property management company that values client experience, operational efficiency, and team collaboration. Their culture is professional yet approachable, with a strong focus on providing high-quality service to clients and residents.

Position Overview

The Accounting Manager is responsible for the day-to-day accuracy, compliance, and reliability of SJA Property Management’s trust and corporate accounting functions.

Initially, the Accounting Manager will work closely with and through SJA’s third-party accounting providers that currently perform key trust and corporate accounting responsibilities. The Accounting Manager will provide internal ownership and oversight by understanding existing workflows, reviewing service quality and accuracy, clarifying responsibilities, strengthening controls, and ensuring issues are resolved promptly.

A primary objective of the role is to develop and execute a strategic roadmap for bringing appropriate trust and corporate accounting functions in-house. This transition should be deliberate and supported by documented processes, appropriate staffing, cross-training, technology, internal controls, and continuity planning.

The goal is not simply to replace outside providers. The goal is to build the most accurate, efficient, scalable, and cost-effective accounting team for SJA Property Management. The Accounting Manager will assess which responsibilities should be internalized, in what order, and what resources are required to complete the transition without compromising service, compliance, or financial controls.

The role will initially report to the Director of Operations. Once the Director of Accounting position is established, the Accounting Manager will report to that position and continue leading SJA Property Management’s core trust and corporate accounting operations.

Key Responsibilities

Serve as SJA’s primary internal owner for trust accounting functions currently performed by third-party providers.

• Develop a complete understanding of how funds, transactions, documentation, approvals, and accounting information move through the current process.

• Establish clear responsibilities, SLAs, deadlines, escalation procedures, and quality standards for third-party providers.

• Review provider work for accuracy, timeliness, compliance, and adherence to established procedures.

• Monitor provider costs, service levels, recurring errors, unresolved items, and operational dependencies.

• Ensure SJA maintains appropriate access to its accounting records, systems, documentation, and institutional knowledge.

• Identify control gaps, process risks, duplicated work, and unclear ownership between SJA and its providers.

• Create a phased roadmap for internalizing trust and corporate accounting responsibilities.

• Determine the staffing, training, systems, procedures, controls, and cross-functional support required for each phase

• Prioritize functions for internalization based on risk, cost, complexity, operational impact, and SJA’s readiness.

• Develop transition plans that protect business continuity and avoid disruption to owners, residents, vendors, and operational teams.

• Measure whether internalization improves accuracy, accountability, turnaround time, financial visibility, and overall cost-effectiveness.

• Recommend which specialized functions, if any, should remain outsourced based on expertise, risk, capacity, or financial value.

• Partner with the Director of Operations and future Director of Accounting on staffing and implementation decisions.

Trust Accounting

• Manage SJA Property Management’s trust accounting operations in compliance with Washington requirements.

• Oversee trust accounting responsibilities performed by third-party providers during the transition period.

• Ensure accurate accounting of tenant payments, owner funds, security deposits, reserve balances, and property-level transactions.

• Complete or review monthly trust account reconciliations

• Investigate, document, and resolve reconciliation differences and trust accounting exceptions.

• Review owner statements and distributions for accuracy and timely processing.

• Oversee security deposit accounting and move-out settlement activity.

• Maintain complete and accurate property and trust accounting records in AppFolio and related systems.

• Coordinate with Property Management, Leasing, Maintenance, and Operations to resolve accounting issues

• Maintain clear controls and documentation protecting client and company funds.

• Support trust accounting audits and regulatory reviews.

• Gradually assume direct internal ownership of trust accounting functions according to the approved transition roadmap.

Corporate Accounting

• Manage SJA Property Management’s general ledger and corporate accounting activity.

• Complete or review monthly bank and balance sheet reconciliations.

• Manage month-end and year-end close processes.

• Prepare monthly financial statements and supporting schedules.

• Monitor cash balances, cash flow, and unresolved accounting items.

• Ensure revenue, expenses, liabilities, and intercompany transactions are recorded accurately.

• Support budgeting, forecasting, and budget-to-actual reporting.

• Coordinate with external accountants and tax professionals.

• Maintain accurate supporting documentation for financial transactions

• Evaluate opportunities to internalize corporate accounting functions currently supported by outside providers

Internal Controls and Process Improvement

• Document current accounting workflows before transitioning responsibilities internally.

• Maintain written procedures for all major trust and corporate accounting functions.

• Establish clear close, reconciliation, approval, documentation, access, and escalation standards

• Review accounting workflows for accuracy, efficiency, cost, and risk.

• Strengthen controls protecting client and company funds.

• Identify appropriate automation and system improvements.

• Reduce unnecessary process duplication between SJA and its third-party providers.

• Ensure accounting responsibilities are clearly assigned during each stage of the transition

• Maintain cross-training and backup coverage for critical accounting functions.

• Establish measurable benchmarks to determine whether internalization is producing the intended operational and financial benefits.

Team and Vendor Oversight

• Provide daily direction and technical support to assigned accounting team members.

• Review work for accuracy, completeness, and timeliness.

• Coordinate responsibilities among internal accounting resources, operational teams, and third-party providers.

• Set clear expectations and follow up on missed deadlines or unresolved items.

• Train team members as accounting functions are transitioned in-house.

• Build sufficient documentation and cross-training so critical functions do not depend on one person or provider.

• Assist with identifying future accounting staffing needs based on workload, risk, service expectations, and financial return.

• Promote accountability, accuracy, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Definition of Success

Success in this role means:

• Trust and corporate accounting responsibilities have clear internal ownership, even when work is performed by a third party.

• Third-party providers operate under defined expectations, deadlines, controls, and accountability standards.

• Current workflows, responsibilities, risks, costs, and dependencies are fully documented

• SJA has a practical, phased roadmap for internalizing appropriate accounting functions.

• Accounting responsibilities are transitioned without disrupting owner distributions, resident accounting, vendor payments, financial reporting, or compliance.

• Internal accounting capacity is developed through appropriate staffing, training, systems, procedures, and cross-training.

• Trust and corporate accounts are reconciled accurately and on schedule.

• Accounting discrepancies are identified early, documented, and resolved.

• Leadership can rely on the accuracy of SJA Property Management’s financial information.

• The resulting accounting structure is more efficient, scalable, accountable, and cost-effective.

• Decisions to internalize or retain outside support are based on measurable business value rather than a predetermined outcome.

Provider Management and Transition

• Third-party provider responsibilities, deadlines, controls, and escalation procedures are documented.

• Provider accuracy, timeliness, service performance, and costs are reviewed regularly

• A phased internalization roadmap is developed, maintained, and communicated to leadership.

• Transition milestones are completed without material disruption to trust accounting operations.

• Accounting procedures and training materials are completed before functions are transferred internally.

• Internalized functions demonstrate measurable improvement in cost, accuracy, timeliness, accountability, or visibility.

• Critical accounting responsibilities maintain documented backup coverage throughout the transition.

Why This Role Matters

SJA Property Management currently relies on third-party providers for important trust accounting responsibilities. While these providers perform critical work, SJA needs strong internal ownership, visibility, controls, and institutional knowledge over its accounting operations.

The Accounting Manager will stabilize and oversee the current outsourced model while creating a thoughtful path toward greater internal accounting capacity. The objective is to build an accounting function that protects client and company funds, supports reliable decision-making, scales with SJA’s growth, and delivers the right balance of internal expertise and outside support.