Property Accountant
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Job Title Property Accountant
Responsible to Finance Manager (Fixed Assets, Leases & Property)
Location Parklands Court, Rubery
Sector/ Business area Financial Accounts team, Central Finance
Overall purpose of the role
Reporting to the Finance Manager (Fixed Assets, Leases & Property), the Property Accountant will look after all areas relating to Central property costs and rent/service charge/turnover rent for Compass One sites.
Financial Accounts team – Purpose and Context
The Financial Accounts team performs a pivotal role within Compass UK&I, overseeing fixed assets, leases/IFRS16 accounting, property related transactions, intercompany, balance sheet reconciliations, Group reporting, audit and financial statements, below the line transactions, accounting for M&A and providing advice and guidance on accounting matters as required. We also support the Tax team on sales and employment taxes as well as other Central Finance teams.
Key Accountabilities
PURPOSE
- Central property costs, including budgets and forecasts
- Receive and recharge costs for sub-let properties
- Rent/service charge/turnover
PEOPLE:
- Working effectively as part of a team
- Building relationships with key stakeholders
- Liaising with colleagues from other teams for resolution of queries
- Coaching and guiding other team members
PERFORMANCE
- Review all queries in the Medirest inbox relating to rent, service charge and turnover rent, ensuring timely and helpful communication
- Ensure all property and service charge invoices (quarterly) are checked, appropriate approvals gained, queries resolved and processed/paid on time
- Make appropriate accruals for rent/service charge and turnover rent at month end, review the control accounts and be able to present any risks and opportunities
- Ensure all charges relating to sub-let property are recharged as appropriate, review related customer and vendor accounts to ensure all invoices paid correctly and on time, review and unwinding of discount for onerous provisions
- Review CGUKI central property cost centres to ensure costs reflected correctly and investigate variances to budget/forecast with Facilities Manager
- Liaise with Facilities Manager to create budgets and forecasts for central property costs
- Take ownership of property and concession leases within the business – identify those which fall under IFRS16 and process them onto ALAE (lease accounting system)
- Identify rent increases to be entered into ALAE along with any lease modifications or disposals
- Ensure all rent/concession invoices for IFRS16 leases are in line with expected values
- Review property and concession leases with sectors
- Maintain property and concession control account
- Maintain process notes for all business-as-usual work to enable cross training, cover and support within the team
- Cross train other team members and support with training and development of more junior colleagues
Candidate Requirements: Key Skills, Knowledge & Experience
Essential:
- Part-qualified Accountant (CIMA/ACCA/ACA) [approx. 2 years completed] and minimum of two years in a finance role.
- Must be willing to commit to actively studying and qualifying in a reasonable time frame
- Intermediate Excel skills (common formulae, pivot tables etc)
- Good organisational and presentational skills
- Flexible and adaptable in this busy, evolving environment
- Experience of balance sheet reconciliations
- Experience of month end (accruals, prepayments, variance analysis etc)
- Experience of ERP software, SAP preferred
- Continuous improvement mindset to question current processes
Desirable:
- Experience with property costs
- Knowledge of IFRS16
- Advanced Excel skills (including complex formulae)
We ensure you're rewarded for all your hard work, which is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:
• Exclusive travel discounts with TUI, Expedia, Booking.com and many more
• Save money on your food shop with discounts on Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and more
• Up to 44% off cinema tickets to enjoy your favourite blockbuster
• Regular emails filled with the best discounts and savings available
• Receive Wow Points every time you spend and use them on a wide range of brands
• Un-wind with us with free wellness, mindfulness and exercise classes
• You can share all discounts and offers with your friends and families
• Contributory pension scheme
• Study support
• Grow your career with our Career Pathways and MyLearning programmes
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your IFRS 16 lease accounting experience prominently as this is central to the role's property lease management responsibilities
📊 Quantify your lease portfolio experience: "Managed 150+ property leases worth £2.4M annually using ALAE system"
🏢 Emphasise any experience with central property costs, rent reconciliations, or service charge management in large organisations
🤝 Showcase your stakeholder management skills, particularly with facilities teams and cross-functional collaboration
📋 Detail your month-end accruals and control account reconciliation experience, as these are key monthly deliverables
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Processed 180+ IFRS 16 property leases worth £3.2M annually using ALAE system, ensuring 100% compliance with quarterly reporting deadlines
- •Managed monthly rent reconciliations for 45 sub-let properties, recovering £240K in recharges and reducing outstanding queries by 65%
- •Led month-end accruals process for service charges across 12 cost centres, delivering variance analysis within 3 working days of month-end
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
Your cover letter is ready
We've drafted a cover letter for Compass Group UK & Ireland Ltd. Preview the opening, then unlock the full personalised version.
Letter preview — tailored to Compass Group UK & Ireland Ltd
Dear Hiring Manager,
Compass Group's central finance team presents exactly the property accounting challenge I'm seeking, particularly the IFRS 16 lease management and rent reconciliation responsibilities outlined for this Birmingham role. My background in property lease accounting and experience with service charge processing aligns perfectly with your requirements for managing central property costs and quarterly invoice cycles.
My background in lease accounting and property cost management has equipped me with the technical skills needed to excel in this position, from ALAE system proficiency to complex turnover rent calculations.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How would you identify which leases fall under IFRS 16 classification?
- ›Explain your approach to processing rent increases and lease modifications in ALAE
- ›How do you ensure accuracy when reconciling turnover rent calculations?
- ›Describe your process for reviewing and unwinding onerous provision discounts
- ›What controls would you implement for sub-let property recharge processes?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you had to resolve complex property accounting queries under tight deadlines
- ›Describe a situation where you coached a team member on lease accounting processes
- ›Give an example of how you built relationships with facilities management stakeholders
- ›Tell me about a time you identified significant variances in property cost budgets
- ›Describe how you prioritised competing demands during month-end closing
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you had to resolve complex property accounting queries under tight deadlines
Describe a situation where you coached a team member on lease accounting processes