Accountant | New Zealand Portfolio | Real Estate Investment

Overview

Salary: $100,000 + super + bonus
Location: Sydney CBD (in the office five days a week)
Industry: Real estate investment (privately owned, international group)
Focus: End to end financial accounting, consolidation and tax for a New Zealand portfolio
Timing: Ready to rock and roll right now
 

The Opportunity

Plenty of accountant roles promise end to end ownership. This is one of the few where it genuinely means end to end.

Our client is a privately owned, international real estate investment group with a lean Sydney head office managing a highly profitable ANZ portfolio. They own the assets rather than operate them, so the head office focuses on what owners do: investment, asset management, capital works, financing, and the financial, tax and statutory reporting that sits behind every asset.

You'll be the accountant for the New Zealand portfolio: operating assets held through separate property and operating companies. That's six sets of books, New Zealand income tax, bank covenants and owner funded capital works. You'll do the AP/AR processing as well, but it's low volume (a handful a month), and it's the reason you'll understand every number you report rather than inheriting someone else's ledger and hoping for the best.

The team is tenured, knowledgeable and flat. Several have been there five to ten years or more, there's no micromanagement, and people are genuinely happy to share what they know. You own your patch, and you're expected to put your hand up early when something doesn't look right.

Two realities worth knowing up front. It's a small office and the role is on site five days a week, so you'll need to be comfortable being part of the conversation rather than a name on a Teams call.
 

Role Profile

• Run month end close across all six entities: accruals, prepayments and reconciliations, making sure all revenue is billed and all costs are captured.
• Prepare monthly management accounts and the supporting analysis, so the finance leadership team has a reliable read on each asset.
• Manage inter-entity rental billing, recharges and collections between the property and operating companies, which is where most of the structural complexity lives.
• Look after accounts payable with a careful eye: valid tax invoices, GST, the right entity and the right coding. Low volume, but it has to be right.
• Maintain fixed asset registers for accounting and tax, and work out the treatment of owner funded refurbishments and capital works.
• Prepare the consolidation for the entity that requires it.
• Own income tax provisioning and year end tax entries, prepare the source workbooks for the external tax advisers in New Zealand, then review the returns before sign off.
• Prepare GST returns and other compliance, plus quarterly bank reporting and loan reporting.
• Deliver the year end statutory financial statements and manage the audit process.
• Support budgeting and forecasting for the New Zealand assets.
• Systems are Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and TM1 for reporting.

Successful Candidate Profile

This needs a technically sound, hands on financial accountant who takes ownership and sweats the detail. The ideal background will include:

• CA or CPA qualified, or well into the final stages.
• At least three years in a hands on financial accounting role covering month end close, balance sheet and statutory reporting.
• Real estate, hospitality, funds or asset management experience is a strong advantage. A solid commercial financial accounting background is equally welcome.
• Exposure to multi entity accounts, consolidation or income tax will be highly regarded. Overseas experience, including IFRS, is welcome.
• Attention to detail above everything else. This is the number one attribute for the role.
• A self sufficient, proactive style. You manage your own workload, ask questions early and escalate before small issues become big ones.
• Comfort in a small, close knit office, five days a week, and availability through the year end cycle.

This could suit a Financial Accountant or Senior Accountant from a property, funds or hospitality ownership group, or a chartered accountant a few years out of practice who wants broad, technical ownership of a defined portfolio rather than one narrow slice of a large reporting machine.

Apply Now

If you meet the key criteria and believe you're a strong fit for the role, please apply now or contact Liam Hassell at Recruitment Labs on +61 *********** for a confidential discussion.

We will be accepting applications and conducting a proactive executive search through to Friday, 13 November 2026. Applications will be reviewed progressively throughout this period, with shortlisted candidates contacted directly as the process advances.

This role is based in the Sydney CBD office five days a week, with interviews held face to face in Sydney.

Candidates must be currently based in Sydney with full Australian working rights to be considered.

About Recruitment Labs

Recruitment Labs is a specialist accounting & finance search firm built on a simple belief: the right hire can change everything. We partner with businesses across Australia and New Zealand to build teams that are aligned to your strategy, culture and commercial goals. We understand how the best finance functions fit together, where the real difference-makers are, and how to build high-performing teams. Visit us: **************************

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