Accounts Manager - Property Development

ABOUT US

Spectre Property is a commercial and industrial property development group with offices in Melbourne and Brisbane.

We industrial and commercial projects across Victoria and Queensland.

Our accounts function sits at the centre of the business. It spans multiple project entities, joint venture partners, financiers and purchasers, and it touches every stage of a development from the first invoice through to settlement.

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING

Accounts payable

• Processing supplier invoices into Xero, identifying the correct entity and project each cost belongs to and applying the correct GL code
• Bank reconciliations across multiple entity files
• Preparing ad hoc payments including brought forward supplier payments and rental guarantee payments
• Loading payments into the bank for release by the Managing Director

Accounts Receivable and Inter Company Billing

• Raising invoices from Spectre Property to the project entities for services provided, and ensuring both sides of the transaction are recorded correctly
• Raising purchaser and other project invoices, applying receipts, and following up outstanding amounts
• Maintaining intercompany positions so balances agree across entities

Settlements and Projects

• Preparing for and reconciling settlements, often thirty to fifty lots at a time. Reviewing settlement statements, raising the associated invoices and bills, applying clearing account treatment, and reconciling amounts remitted to the financier against GST received
• Calculating rental guarantee obligations, including the difference between rent received and the guaranteed amount
• Processing builder progress claims paid directly by the financier
• Reading and reconciling lender and financier loan statements, and posting drawdowns, capitalised interest, line fees and establishment fees correctly against each facility
• Maintaining director and intercompany loan accounts, including calculating and applying interest
• Migrating pre Xero entities from Excel based bill registers into Xero, including correct allocation to loan accounts

Reporting, Payroll and Compliance

• Monthly profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow reporting to directors
• Journal entries and general ledger reconciliations as part of month end
• Mid month payables reporting, confirming bills due at month end have the required internal and external approvals
• Exporting bills from Xero for import into our development feasibility tool
• Providing Development Managers with project cost data. Coding accuracy matters here, as this information feeds project decisions downstream
• Supporting the development team with project and group cashflow reporting and forecasting
• Fortnightly payroll and superannuation for a team of five to ten, including related reporting
• Preparing and lodging BAS for each entity through the ATO portals
• Company administration across the group, including record keeping for trusts, corporate trustees and partnerships, and annual reporting obligations
• Liaising with internal and external stakeholders including financiers, joint venture partners, conveyancers and suppliers

Working with Accountants

• Preparing each entity for year end and responding to queries from our external accountant
• Understanding and posting the journals they provide, and being able to follow the reasoning behind them rather than simply entering them

Building the function

Documenting the processes you learn and building out a written playbook for the accounts function. Very little of this is currently on paper, so you will be creating it, with the Directors’ input, as you work through each task for the first time.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Essential

• Three or more years in a broad accounts role with genuine ownership of the ledger
• Experience in property development, construction, or an accounting or conveyancing practice with strong property settlement exposure
• Xero across multiple entities, including trusts, corporate trustees, and intercompany and loan account treatment
• Comfort with debt facilities. You can work through a lender statement, identify drawdowns, interest and fees, and account for them correctly
• Hands on experience preparing and lodging BAS
• Confidence with journal entries and general ledger reconciliations, and experience working alongside an external accountant at year end
• Sound Excel skills. Some of our earlier entities are still run on Excel bill registers before migration
• Payroll and superannuation processing experience
• Strong written and spoken English. Instructions here often carry context and exceptions, so clear comprehension matters
• Good commercial judgement. You can read a settlement statement or an invoice, work out what it relates to and how it should be treated, and run with it once you have been shown the approach
• The confidence to raise something when a transaction does not fit the usual pattern

Well regarded

• Degree or diploma qualified in accounting
• Exposure to development feasibility tools
• Experience with joint venture partner reporting
• Experience setting up new entities in Xero from scratch

A FEW THINGS WORTH KNOWING

This is a hands on transactional and project accounting role rather than a financial controller position. The person who enjoys it will be someone who likes owning the detail.

The work is recurring and the rhythm is predictable, but our processes are not yet written down. Much of what you need to know sits with the Directors and gets passed on as you go, so you will be learning our structures and our approach in the early months and documenting them as you do. If you like bringing order to something, there is plenty of scope here.

You will load payments and the Managing Director releases them, so there is no payment authority attached to the role.

This is a standalone role. You will be the accounts function, working directly with the Directors and the Development Managers rather than within a finance team. If you enjoy owning a function end to end and seeing your work matter, it suits well.

WHAT WE OFFER

• $100,000 to $125,000 plus superannuation depending on experience
• A direct reporting line to the Managing Director, full ownership of the accounts function, and real influence over how it is run
• Genuine variety across a portfolio of active development projects
• Flexible working arrangements, based in Huntingdale
• Onsite parking and an easy commute against the traffic

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit your resume and a short cover letter.

In your letter, tell us about a settlement, project reconciliation, or multi entity issue you have personally handled and what made it interesting.

We read these properly, and it is the main thing we shortlist on.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to complete a paid two hour practical exercise using a real, anonymised settlement pack.

We find it is a fairer test than an interview alone, and it gives you a clear picture of the work.