Lease Auditor

Citizens Bank; Johnston (RI); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Citizens Bank is seeking a Lease Auditor to perform lease abstraction and audits across the bank's real estate portfolio. This role ensures lease data accuracy, tracks critical dates, and guarantees timely payments while collaborating with legal, strategy and finance partners.

You will manage lease administration with a focus on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and internal policies, coordinating with vendors and property managers to optimize real estate expenses and controls.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required
• Experience in Lease Administration and Vendor Management
• Knowledge of GAAP & FASB
• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written
• Detail oriented and team oriented

Responsibilities

• Support strategic real estate and finance initiatives across the Bank, including acquisitions, mergers, lease accounting changes, and other enterprise projects.
• Manage the administration of leased properties, ensuring compliance with lease agreements, internal policies, Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
• Partner with Finance and business stakeholders to develop annual budgets and forecasts for lease-related expenses, including additional rent and real estate taxes.
• Oversee lease-related financial obligations, ensuring accurate and timely payment of rent, real estate taxes, and other occupancy costs.
• Partner with third-party vendors and municipalities to manage real estate tax payments, audits, reconciliations, and tax appeal activities.
• Maintain and administer lease management systems, ensuring the accuracy of lease data, financial transactions, critical dates, and contractual obligations.
• Coordinate the execution, abstraction, and ongoing management of lease documentation, while monitoring key dates and lease obligations.
• Analyze and reconcile landlord billings, operating expense reconciliations, and desktop audits to ensure charges align with lease terms and contractual obligations.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and primary point of contact for lease administration matters, providing guidance to internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Conduct research, resolve lease-related issues, and respond to inquiries from landlords, property managers, and business partners.

Skills

Lease Administration

Property Management

Vendor Management

GAAP & FASB knowledge

Excel skills

Communication skills

Detail oriented

Teamwork

Organizational skills

Time management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Description

The role of the Lease Auditor is to perform lease abstraction and audits on all Common Area Maintenance/Operating Expenses related to the bank’s real estate portfolio. In this role at Citizens, you'll experience new things, create new opportunities, think beyond your role, and make an impact! This role requires that the candidate be able to work both independently and as part of a team. The primary function is to ensure that lease data is abstracted in accordance with our requirements, critical dates are tracked, and the payments dictated by the lease are made in a timely and accurate manner.The role will interact heavily with our legal, strategy and finance partners as well as our brokerage team. Most importantly, you'll feel valued for who you are and supported to achieve what's important to you, personally and professionally!

• Support strategic real estate and finance initiatives across the Bank, including acquisitions, mergers, lease accounting changes, and other enterprise projects.


• Manage the administration of leased properties, ensuring compliance with lease agreements, internal policies, Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.


• Partner with Finance and business stakeholders to develop annual budgets and forecasts for lease-related expenses, including additional rent and real estate taxes.


• Oversee lease-related financial obligations, ensuring accurate and timely payment of rent, real estate taxes, and other occupancy costs.


• Partner with third-party vendors and municipalities to manage real estate tax payments, audits, reconciliations, and tax appeal activities.


• Maintain and administer lease management systems, ensuring the accuracy of lease data, financial transactions, critical dates, and contractual obligations.


• Coordinate the execution, abstraction, and ongoing management of lease documentation, while monitoring key dates and lease obligations.


• Analyze and reconcile landlord billings, operating expense reconciliations, and desktop audits to ensure charges align with lease terms and contractual obligations.


• Serve as a subject matter expert and primary point of contact for lease administration matters, providing guidance to internal stakeholders and external partners.


• Conduct research, resolve lease-related issues, and respond to inquiries from landlords, property managers, and business partners.

Experience and Skills:

• Current Lease Administration, Property and Vendor Management experience highly desired


• Knowledge of accounting including the treatment of real estate expenses under GAAP & FASB


• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written


• Detail oriented and results – oriented with a desire to learn and support new technologies and processes.


• Positive attitude and proven experience working as part of a greater team


• Intermediate Excel skills


• Experience changing the status quo and creating new, improved ways to get the job done


• Ability to work under pressure and maintain attention to detail with efficiency and accuracy


• Strong organizational and planning skills

Education

Bachelor's degree required

Work Authorization:

This role is not eligible for new employer‑sponsored or current H-1 B visa holders. Applicants, including current OPT, L and other visa holders, must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for new employer sponsorship for themselves or their spouses now and in the future.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Citizens, its parent, subsidiaries, and related companies (Citizens) provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, citizenship, physical or mental disability, perceived disability or history or record of a disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, genetic characteristic, marital or domestic partner status, victim of domestic violence, family status/parenthood, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, pregnancy/childbirth/lactation, colleague’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal, state and/or local laws. At Citizens, we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that enables all colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day and everyone is expected to be treated with respect and professionalism. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, performance and capability.