In honor of National Apartment Careers Month, we shine a spotlight on professions within the multifamily housing industry. Accountants embrace a multifaceted career that stays relevant even when the winds of change blow their hardest. Their versatile skills sets prove useful in various arenas of the field, offering the professionals options for growth and new challenges. Across the board, accountants enjoy the dynamic atmosphere of the housing industry. It’s not a matter of sitting at a desk for hours, pushing paper and crunching numbers on the same tasks day after day. Tiffany Godley, Senior Accountant at Avison Young, values the flexibility offered by the field because it allows her to remain passionate about her job and interested in her continued growth. “It’s not monotonous by any means. There are new challenges every day; the market is changing every day. Real estate offers so many different avenues to take: apartments, retail, hotels, commercial properties, building–once you’re in, you’ve got so much flexibility. It’s actually hard to get bored.” That flexibility comes in the form of vertical and latitudinal job tracks. Real estate firms open a world of career options for accountants. Sandy Roberts, Controller at Thomson Companies, discovered that her degree and experience qualified her to wear many hats within the company. “[A controller’s] responsibilities can vary, from financials from the beginning to the end of projects, as well as human resources, payroll and beyond. Accountants are under a large umbrella with lots of potential.” Such endless possibilities make accountants an invaluable part of the housing industry. “Accountants become the go-to person that’s always in demand,” she says. Such demand has not seemed to dwindle in face of increasingly sophisticated software. Rather, advances in technology have enabled accountants to perform their jobs more efficiently without...

Functionality in Yardi Voyager Commercial property management and accounting platform complies with upcoming new accounting standards for commercial property management set by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Yardi Voyager supports FASB-required operating and finance leases and IASB-mandated finance leases. “Yardi fully understands the requirements set by FASB and IASB and is helping our clients adopt the mandatory new standards,” said Terri Dowen, senior vice president of sales for Yardi. The FASB/IASB standards are optional now, but starting in 2019, FASB and IASB will require recognition of all lease transactions on a lessee’s balance sheet. Previously only finance leases (purchase agreements) appeared as liabilities; property management companies were not required to disclose long-term liabilities associated with a lessee’s leasing activities. To account for these liabilities, lessees will need to determine the net present value (NPV) of all future leasing obligations as of a certain transition date and given a certain discount rate. The liability on the balance sheet will equal the NPV of the future lease payments.  The offsetting right-of-use asset will equal the NPV of future lease payments, adjusted for initial direct costs and carryforward. New features in Yardi Voyager help tenants meet the new standards by allowing calculation of the net present value of lease payments using a discount rate.  They also recognize a liability equal to the calculated present value and an asset equal to the present value plus adjustments. Other new features include amortization of the lease asset value and lease liability over the life of the lease, generation of all required general ledger accounting entries, and a full reporting suite including prior year comparisons and compliance reports. FASB is an independent, not-for-profit organization that establishes financial accounting and reporting standards for public,...

Imagine that it is the end of the month. It’s time to balance the books. Now, imagine that the entire process is gone from your schedule. Every transaction that your organization made that month was automatically balanced and recorded by an automated, accurate, secure and self-regulated system—completed within seconds. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of blockchain in real estate. Today, most organizations maintain double-entry bookkeeping, a written record of invoices and payables. Those records are easily lost, manipulated, or remain unfulfilled. Blockchain does not possess such flaws. The Economist excellently describes blockchain construction and how the transactions occur anonymously, securely, and accurately. In gist, blockchain is a database that securely tracks bitcoin transactions. It relies on cryptographic technology to store completely paperless ledgers of transactions. Once a transaction occurs, it cannot be easily manipulated. The ledgers are self-enforcing and practically impregnable. Workflow efficiency effortlessly improves. Blockchain replaces third-party financial systems, such as banks, which tend to slow down transaction processing. The automated system decreases human error. The technology could replace double-entry bookkeeping. But that barely depicts the sophistication of the database. It has even greater potential and companies are exploring its vast applications. A recent Deloitte survey reveals just how many companies are investing in blockchain. The survey reflects the responses of 522 senior executives at companies with annual revenues exceeding $500 million. Of respondents, 12 percent were knowledgeable of blockchain and have projects in the works to capitalize on the technology.  Of that group, 28 percent have invested more than $5 million into their projects. About 10 percent invested $10 million or more. An additional 25 percent of respondents reported project plans for 2017. Each company has earmarked approximately $5 million for those endeavors....

Thanks to detailed accounting options and superior customer support, Sentio Healthcare Properties continues to expand its use of Yardi Voyager across its property portfolio. As a REIT specializing in senior living, Sentio Healthcare Properties oversees a diverse portfolio ranging from medical office buildings to senior housing, including independent living, assisted living and memory care facilities. At the company’s Orlando headquarters, about 20 employees work with third party operators at 34 properties located in 16 states. “REITS are not the easiest structure to understand,” admits Julia Avallone, Manager of Property Level Accounting and Asset Management (CPA) at Sentio Healthcare Properties. “I’ve been at Sentio nearly three years, and I’m still wrapping my brain around all the accounting complexities. That being said, I think it’s rare to find an accounting role where you feel that you are making a positive contribution to somebody’s  life. I feel that my role at Sentio is mission driven and contributes, albeit in a small way, to the quality of life the residents in our facilities enjoy.” Making the Switch to Senior Living Avallone began her career in public accounting mainly for real estate clients. Eventually, Avallone decided to transition into another industry, and one of her managers recommended Sentio. “My husband was also in public accounting, and it was too much to both work in the (same) industry,” explains Avallone. “I was looking for a change, and one of my managers knew the controller at Sentio. It was a good fit.” Avallone used to handle accounting for approximately half of Sentio’s portfolio, but is in the process of transitioning to an asset management role. Because Sentio’s properties are located in a variety of different markets, each community comes with its own advantages and challenges. For example, Texas recently moved to...