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Position Overview
A Century City–based real estate investment firm is seeking an experienced Fractional Controller to serve as the firm’s senior accounting and operational anchor. This is not a conventional part-time role. The firm is a complex, fast-moving, family-run operation with two distinct businesses — a multi-entity real estate investment portfolio and a North Orange County retail operations.
Ownership is highly engaged and carries significant responsibilities across both operations, which means the Senior Accountant must be equally self-directed and capable of moving things forward without waiting to be told what needs attention.
The right candidate brings deep accounting expertise and a rare second skill: the ability to walk into a complex, evolving environment, make sense of it, impose structure on it, and build systems that outlast their own presence. They take initiative, document what they find, and create processes that make the entire organization more resilient.
While the core of this role is strategic and advisory, this person must be able to roll up their sleeves when the situation calls for it – especially when developing and documenting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). In a lean, owner-operated organization, the candidate who insists on staying purely at the strategic level will not thrive here.
Work Location & Schedule
This is a flexible, hybrid role requiring genuine and consistent engagement. The estimated commitment is approximately 20 hours per week, with some variability based on the firm’s needs and the volume of work at any given time.
- Primary location: Century City office — regular presence expected to build working relationships with ownership, administrative staff and the bookkeeper
- North Orange County: visits required to develop firsthand understanding of the operation; frequency based on need
- Remote work is appropriate for analysis, SOP development, and financial review
- Must be accessible and responsive during business hours — ownership and the bookkeeper need a resource they can reach, not a scheduled appointment
Key Responsibilities
Process Documentation & Systems Building
This is among the most critical deliverables of this role. The firm currently operates largely on institutional knowledge and individual memory. Building durable, documented systems is a priority from day one.
- Conduct a comprehensive assessment of current accounting workflows, bookkeeping processes, and financial controls across both operations
- Develop clear, practical SOPs for all key accounting and financial processes — written for the people who will execute them, not as a compliance exercise
- Document each entity’s structure, relationships, cash flow patterns, and accounting nuances so the firm is not dependent on any single person’s knowledge
- Build systems that allow the bookkeeper to work consistently and efficiently, and that allow ownership to understand the firm’s financial position without requiring translation every time
- Treat documentation as an ongoing, living function — revisit and update SOPs as the business evolves
Financial Oversight & Review
- Review monthly financial statements produced by the Senior Full Charge Bookkeeper — balance sheets, P&Ls, and trial balances across 20+ interrelated entities
- Identify errors, inconsistencies, misclassifications, and irregularities; ensure they are corrected promptly and that root causes are addressed, not just symptoms
- Verify accuracy of inter-entity transactions, draws, cash flows, and scheduled payments
- Ensure accounting practices across all entities are consistent, compliant, and aligned with best accounting practices
- Step into transaction-level review or hands-on work when the situation warrants — this role is not above the work
Ownership Advisory & Stakeholder Engagement
- Working effectively with busy, highly engaged ownership is a core competency for this role. Both principals carry significant responsibilities across multiple operations. Getting decisions made, approvals obtained, and direction established requires the ability to communicate clearly and concisely, anticipate what ownership needs to know, and follow through without requiring repeated prompts.
- Serve as the firm’s senior financial advisor to ownership and management — translating complex financial information into clear, actionable insights
- Proactively surface financial issues, risks, and opportunities — do not wait to be asked
- Communicate in a way that respects ownership’s time: concise, well-organized, and decision-ready
- Advise on cash management, inter-entity strategy, and financial planning as needed
- Support ownership with special projects and ad hoc financial analysis
Tax & Compliance Oversight
- Review tax packages prepared by the bookkeeper for the outside CPA firm handling income tax compliance
- Serve as the primary liaison between the firm and the outside accounting firm on complex or sensitive matters
- Ensure all entities remain current on 1099s, sales tax, personal property tax, and other compliance obligations
Bookkeeper Oversight & Support
- Serve as the senior resource for the Full Charge Bookkeeper — providing technical guidance, answering complex accounting questions, and reviewing their work with a critical and constructive eye
- Identify gaps or errors in the bookkeeper’s work proactively; address them directly rather than waiting for ownership to notice
- Set clear expectations for the bookkeeper’s output, consistency, and documentation standards — and hold them accountable
- Coach rather than simply take over — the goal is a stronger bookkeeper, not a dependency
Continuity & Succession Planning
- Build a thorough understanding of both the Century City real estate portfolio and the North Orange County operation — its cash flows, vendor relationships, operational rhythms, and financial exposures
- Ensure documented processes and institutional knowledge are sufficient for the firm to continue operating without disruption if key personnel change
- Serve as part of the firm’s answer to a critical question: what happens if ownership is not available?
Requirements
Accounting & Technical
- CPA license strongly preferred; minimum Bachelor’s degree in Accounting required
- 15+ years of progressive accounting experience, including significant exposure to multi-entity, complex ownership, or family office structures
- Real estate accounting experience highly preferred — comfort with rental entities, draws, inter-entity transactions, and related structures
- Strong command of financial reporting, and tax compliance coordination
- Ability to review and interpret QuickBooks Desktop output fluently
Operational & Process Skills
- Demonstrated experience creating Standard Operating Procedures and process documentation — practical tools that real people actually use, not theoretical frameworks
- Proven ability to assess a complex or underdocumented operation and build structure without being handed a blueprint
- Operationally minded: understands that good accounting has to work within the realities of how a business actually runs
- Comfortable moving between strategic thinking and hands-on execution as the situation demands
- Experience in family-run, owner-operated, or entrepreneurial environments strongly preferred
Interpersonal & Leadership
- Exceptional communication skills — able to present financial matters clearly, concisely, and persuasively to busy principals with competing priorities
- Skilled at working with highly engaged ownership to obtain clarity, decisions, and follow-through — persistent without being disruptive
- Thrives without close guidance — does not need to be told what to do, what to look for, or how to prioritize
- High emotional intelligence; able to navigate strong personalities, family business dynamics, and organizational complexity with professionalism
- Collaborative with the bookkeeper — builds a trust-based working relationship rather than a purely hierarchical dynamic
- Steady and even-keeled under pressure; does not require a friction-free environment to do excellent work
- Highest standards of professionalism and discretion in all interactions with ownership, staff, and outside parties
What Makes This Role Distinctive
This role will appeal to a very specific kind of professional: someone with deep accounting credentials who also gets energized by bringing order to complex, evolving systems. Someone who has worked in demanding, high-stakes environments before and earned the trust of ownership by delivering results and anticipating needs — not by waiting for direction.
The firm’s two operations — a multi-entity real estate portfolio and North Orange County, a substantial cash-generating commercial property — create a genuinely varied and intellectually engaging financial landscape. There is no shortage of problems to solve, systems to build, or value to add. For the right person, this is a high-impact engagement with real stakes and principals who will notice and appreciate what a true professional brings.
Compensation
Compensation is commensurate with experience and will be structured on an hourly or retainer basis depending on the candidate’s preference and the firm’s needs. Given the scope, complexity, and operational depth required, the rate reflects a fractional senior specialist engagement — not a standard part-time accounting rate.
Estimated range: $100–$125 per hour or equivalent retainer arrangement. At approximately 20 hours per week, this represents a meaningful commitment on both sides — and the firm intends to compensate accordingly. Part-time benefits negotiable.
Work Hours
20 hours per week
