Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Lease Accountant

🎯 Role Definition

We are actively seeking a motivated and meticulous Lease Accountant to join our dynamic corporate accounting team. In this critical role, you will be the cornerstone of our lease accounting and administration function, ensuring accuracy and compliance across our extensive real estate and equipment lease portfolio. The ideal candidate will be a subject matter expert in ASC 842 and/or IFRS 16, capable of interpreting complex lease agreements and translating them into precise accounting entries. You will collaborate cross-functionally with our Real Estate, Legal, and FP&A teams, providing essential financial insights that drive strategic decisions. If you are a proactive problem-solver with a passion for technical accounting and process improvement, this is an excellent opportunity to make a significant impact on our financial operations.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Staff Accountant
Property Accountant
Accounts Payable/Receivable Specialist with a focus on real estate

Advancement To:

Senior Lease Accountant
Accounting Manager
Assistant Controller

Lateral Moves:

Financial Analyst (FP&A)
Senior Property Accountant
Internal Auditor

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Manage the complete end-to-end lifecycle of lease accounting, from abstraction of new lease agreements to end-of-term activities, ensuring full compliance with ASC 842 and IFRS 16 standards.
Perform detailed review and abstraction of complex real estate and equipment lease contracts to identify and document critical data points, including lease terms, payment schedules, renewal options, and termination clauses.
Calculate, prepare, and record all monthly lease-related journal entries, including straight-line rent expense, amortization of right-of-use (ROU) assets, and accretion of lease liabilities.
Prepare and maintain accurate and timely account reconciliations for all lease-related balance sheet accounts, such as ROU assets, lease liabilities (short-term and long-term), security deposits, and prepaid rent.
Serve as the primary subject matter expert on lease accounting guidance (ASC 842), providing technical accounting support and interpretation to business partners and executive management.
Administer and maintain the data integrity of our dedicated lease accounting software (e.g., CoStar, LeaseQuery, Visual Lease), ensuring all lease information is accurately entered and updated.
Collaborate closely with Real Estate, Legal, and Procurement teams to review new leases, amendments, and terminations, assessing their financial and accounting implications prior to execution.
Generate and analyze monthly and quarterly lease accounting reports, including roll-forwards of ROU assets and lease liabilities, and provide insightful variance analysis for management review.
Prepare detailed footnote disclosures related to leases for our quarterly (10-Q) and annual (10-K) SEC filings, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and adherence to reporting requirements.
Act as a key point of contact for internal and external audit requests by providing supporting schedules, documentation, and clear explanations for lease balances and transactions.
Monitor and process lease payments to ensure accuracy and timeliness, working closely with the Accounts Payable team to resolve any payment discrepancies with landlords or lessors.
Perform periodic impairment testing on Right-of-Use assets as required by GAAP, meticulously documenting the analysis and recording any necessary adjustments.
Conduct regular portfolio-wide reviews to identify and properly account for lease modifications, reassessments, and remeasurements triggered by changes in lease terms, indices, or business events.
Develop, implement, and maintain robust internal controls over the lease accounting process to ensure Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance and mitigate financial risk.
Calculate, track, and account for tenant improvement allowances (TIAs), ensuring proper accounting treatment from collection through amortization over the lease term.
Partner effectively with the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) team to provide accurate lease expense forecasts and support the annual budgeting process with detailed analysis.
Proactively identify and drive process improvements and automation initiatives within the lease accounting function to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and scalability.
Reconcile and audit landlord billings for common area maintenance (CAM), property tax, and insurance charges against lease terms to identify potential overcharges and secure cost recoveries.
Stay current with new and evolving accounting pronouncements from the FASB and SEC related to lease accounting and assess their potential impact on the company's financial statements.
Prepare complex calculations for lease versus buy analyses to support strategic business decisions regarding asset acquisition and real estate strategy.
Manage the accounting for sublease agreements, including the calculation and recording of sublease income and analyzing the impact on the head lease's ROU asset and liability.

Secondary Functions

Support the month-end and quarter-end close process for areas beyond lease accounting as needed.
Assist with special projects, system implementations, and ad-hoc financial analysis as requested by management.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to provide financial data and support for business initiatives.
Contribute to the development and delivery of training materials on lease accounting policies and procedures for non-accounting personnel.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep technical knowledge of US GAAP, specifically ASC 842; familiarity with IFRS 16 is a plus.
Hands-on experience with dedicated lease accounting software (e.g., CoStar, LeaseQuery, Visual Lease, Lucernex).
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/HLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH, and complex formula creation.
Experience working with large-scale ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, or Microsoft Dynamics.
Proven ability to prepare and review complex account reconciliations and journal entries.
Strong understanding of internal controls (SOX) and their application in the lease accounting cycle.
Experience preparing financial statement disclosures and supporting schedules for external audits.
Ability to read, interpret, and abstract key financial terms from complex legal documents and commercial lease agreements.
Strong quantitative and analytical skills for financial modeling and variance analysis.
Experience with data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) is preferred.

Soft Skills

Exceptional attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy and data integrity.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex accounting concepts to non-financial stakeholders.
Strong organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet tight deadlines.
Proactive problem-solving abilities and an analytical mindset.
High degree of personal accountability and a collaborative, team-oriented attitude.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
Strong interpersonal skills for effective collaboration with internal departments and external partners (landlords, auditors).

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Accounting or Finance.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or active CPA candidate.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Accounting
Finance

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3-7 years of progressive accounting experience, with at least 2 years of direct, hands-on experience in lease accounting under ASC 842.

Preferred:

Experience in a publicly-traded company or "Big 4" / national public accounting firm.
Background in the real estate, retail, or another industry with a significant lease portfolio.
Experience with implementing lease accounting software or transitioning to ASC 842.