Real Estate Controller

Nichols Contracting Inc.; Columbia (MD); On-site; USD 145,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k

Health Insurance (Medical, Dental and

PTO

Employer Paid Life Insurance

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid Holidays and much more

Job summary

Nichols Companies in Columbia, MD seeks a Real Estate Controller to lead accounting, financial reporting, and controllership for its real estate portfolio and holding company. This hands-on role collaborates with ownership and a third-party property manager to ensure audit-ready books, standardized reporting, and strong internal controls.

Reporting to the Founder and President, it offers growth as the business expands and requires building a high-trust finance function.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance; CPA or MBA is a plus.
• 7+ years of progressive accounting experience, including in real estate and multi-entity environments.
• Experience with real estate (directly or overseeing a third-party property manager's accounting function) is required.
• Strong command of consolidations, intercompany accounting, and entity-level reporting.
• Comfortable operating with significant autonomy and very close collaboration / access to ownership.
• Excellent communicator who can translate financial detail into clear, actionable insight for non-finance stakeholders.
• Ability to build and mentor a team as the business grows.

Responsibilities

• Direct Controllership for a defined set of real estate entities; standardize COA and reporting cadence.
• Oversee third-party property manager's controller and accounting team; review financials and lender reporting.
• Lead recurring close processes and holding company reporting; manage cash and distributions.
• Manage liquidity; banking relationships and short-term cash forecasting.
• Prepare consolidated and entity-level financial packages with commentary on trends.
• Design internal controls; manage tax advisors and multi-state compliance timelines.
• Oversee personal property tax filings across jurisdictions; track deadlines.
• Coordinate cost segregation studies with outside specialists.
• Maintain corporate records, resolutions, and annual filings; track renewals.
• Deliver lender and investor financials, rent rolls, and covenants on time.

Skills

Accounting

Finance

Real estate accounting

Consolidations

Intercompany accounting

Entity-level reporting

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's in Accounting or Finance

CPA or MBA (bonus)

Job description

Nichols Companies is a family-owned and operated enterprise built around Nichols Contracting, a full-service general contractor headquartered in Columbia, MD, with offices in Richmond, VA, Royal Palm Beach, FL, and Orlando, FL, and a team of 250+ employees delivering commercial construction projects from concept to completion. Alongside Nichols Contracting, Nichols Companies has built a diversified real estate portfolio, including our own property and asset management business. We take a long-term, hands-on approach to ownership, and we're building out the financial infrastructure to match the way we've grown.

The Real Estate Controller will lead accounting, financial reporting, and controllership across our real estate business as well as provide support at the holding company level. A select set of real estate entities and the real estate asset management business are managed in-house, but the majority are managed day-to-day by a third-party property management firm. A meaningful part of this role is collaborating with and overseeing that firm's controller and accounting team to a consistent, high standard, rather than performing every entry directly.

This is a hands-on, high-trust role for someone who wants to own the numbers across a diversified private structure, work directly with ownership, and drive process improvement without waiting to be asked.

This role reports directly to the Founder and President and works closely with the Director of Real Estate and the COO. It is an individual contributor role today, with room to grow as the business continues to grow and mature.

Essential Functions:

• Direct Business Controllership — own controllership for a defined set of real estate businesses; ensure each entity's books are accurate, timely, and audit-ready, and standardize chart of accounts and reporting cadence across them.


• Property Management Oversight — serve as the primary point of accountability for the third-party property manager's controller and accounting team; review and approve property-level financials, CAM reconciliations, debt schedules, and lender reporting; resolve discrepancies directly.


• Holding Company Financial Oversight — establish and lead recurring close processes; oversee combining financial reporting, cash management, and contribution / distribution tracking.


• Cash & Treasury Management — manage liquidity across all entities, initiate transfers as needed, and own banking relationships and short-term cash forecasting.


• Financial Reporting & Analysis — prepare consolidated and entity-level financial packages for ownership on a monthly and quarterly basis, with commentary on trends; build and maintain cash flow forecasts, budget-to-actual analysis, and KPI dashboards.


• Internal Controls & Tax Coordination — design and enforce internal controls across all entities; manage relationships with outside tax advisors and drive K-1 filing, entity-level filing, and multi-state compliance timelines.


• Personal Property Tax Compliance — own annual personal property tax filings across the real estate portfolio's jurisdictions; track deadlines and asset schedules by entity, and file proactively each year.


• Cost Segregation Coordination — manage and coordinate cost segregation studies for newly acquired properties, working with outside specialists to maximize depreciation benefits.


• Corporate Records & Compliance — maintain organizational documents, resolutions, entity registrations, and annual filings; flag renewal deadlines before they become urgent.


• Lender and Investor Relations — own timely delivery of lender-required financials, rent rolls, and covenant packages; partner on investor reporting for the limited number of properties with outside capital, including distribution notices and forecasts.

Desired Skills and Competencies:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance; CPA or MBA is a plus.


• 7+ years of progressive accounting experience, including in real estate and multi-entity environments.


• Experience with real estate (whether directly or overseeing a third-party property manager's accounting function) is required.


• Strong command of consolidations, intercompany accounting, and entity-level reporting.


• Comfortable operating with significant autonomy and very close collaboration / access to ownership.


• Excellent communicator who can translate financial detail into clear, actionable insight for non-finance stakeholders.


• Ability to build and mentor a team as the business grows

Benefits:

401k, Health Insurance (Medical, Dental and Vision) PTO, Employer Paid Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Paid Holidays and much more

Salary:

$145,000 – $165,000 plus performance-based bonus incentives

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Ability to independently ascend and descend stairs.


• Ability to independently reach, twist, and bend.


• Ability to independently remain stationary for extended periods of time; and


• Ability to independently lift up to 30 pounds when required by work assignment.

Employee Acknowledgement:

I have read the above position description, and I understand and agree with the terms and requirements for this position. I also understand and agree that such requirements may be amended and/or adjusted at any time.

Persons with mental and physical disabilities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act are eligible for this position as long as they can perform the essential functions of the job after reasonable accommodations are made to their known limitations. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such people may not be eligible for this position.