Senior Accounting Manager

Who is Make Space? Make Space is a proudly Canadian‑owned and operated company with a fast‑growing footprint across more than 55 storage locations from British Columbia to Quebec. We’re a dynamic team of real estate and storage professionals, expanding our network by acquiring, enhancing, and developing self‑storage facilities across Canada. Our finance and accounting team plays a critical role in supporting this growth by ensuring accurate financial reporting, operational insights, and sound business decisions. Who we are looking for: We are seeking a proactive, business‑minded, and results‑oriented Senior Accounting Manager to play a key leadership role within the Make Space Finance team. Reporting to the Controller, this position serves as a strategic bridge between Finance, Operations, and Executive Leadership, ensuring that financial reporting, insights, and decision‑support tools are aligned with the realities of our rapidly growing multi‑site business. The Senior Accounting Manager will oversee a team of accountants responsible for full‑cycle accounting across a diverse portfolio of entities. Beyond managing month‑end close and financial reporting, this role is deeply embedded in the operations of the business - working closely with regional and facility managers to translate financial data into actionable business insights. The ideal candidate brings strong technical accounting skills, construction accounting experience, exceptional leadership capabilities, and a passion for continuous improvement. This is a hands‑on role for someone who thrives in a dynamic environment, takes ownership, and is excited to improve processes, strengthen internal controls, and elevate the relationship between Finance and Operations. Key Responsibilities: Financial Reporting & Controls Oversee monthly and quarterly close processes across multiple entities, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timeliness. Review and approve journal entries, accruals, intercompany eliminations, and balance sheet reconciliations. Lead monthly reporting cycles, ensuring delivery of financial statements with clear variance commentary. Maintain and strengthen internal control procedures, including documentation of accounting policies and processes. Ensure compliance with regulatory and internal accounting standards, coordinating with external auditors as needed. Business Partnering & Operational Support Act as the finance liaison for regional and facility managers, translating financial results into clear operational insights. Coordinate monthly performance meetings with Operations to review P&L variances, margin drivers, and cash flow impacts. Collaborate with non‑finance leaders to build financial acumen across the business and provide tools to manage budgets and KPIs effectively. Provide ad hoc analysis to support site‑level decision‑making (e.g., evaluating marketing ROI, pricing impacts, or cost‑saving initiatives). Construction Accounting Oversee construction accounting for active development and major capital projects, ensuring accurate tracking of construction‑in‑progress (CIP), capitalization, and cost allocations by project and phase. Manage the full construction draw process, including reviewing and validating contractor invoices, consultant fees, and supporting documentation. Coordinate internally with Operations and Project Management teams to confirm work completed and eligibility for funding. Monitor construction budgets versus actuals, identifying cost overruns, timing differences, and funding risks, and proactively escalating issues with clear recommendations. Budgeting & Forecasting Coordinate annual budgeting process for all properties, working cross‑functionally with operations and leadership. Develop rolling forecasts and scenario planning models in collaboration with the Controller. Monitor financial performance against budget and highlight risks, opportunities, and corrective actions where needed. Help build dashboards and automated reporting tools to improve forecasting accuracy and visibility. Process Improvement Identify gaps in accounting and reporting processes and lead initiatives to streamline workflows across the team. Drive adoption of automation tools, standardize reconciliations and reporting packages across entities. Partner with the Corporate Controller and BI team to improve data quality, integrations, and system upgrades (QuickBooks, Yardi, Power BI, etc.). Provide guidance on AR process improvements, monitoring collection trends, and ensuring strong collaboration between Finance and Operations. Maintain and refine SOPs, process maps, and internal controls documentation to ensure scalability. Collaborate on special projects such as ERP migrations, financial system integrations, and cross‑functional initiatives impacting financial operations. Leadership & Team Management Lead a team of property accountants responsible for full‑cycle accounting across multiple regions and funds. Set performance expectations, review work for accuracy and completeness, and provide constructive feedback. Mentor and coach team members, supporting their professional development and cross‑training in different areas of the business. Foster a positive and accountable team culture, encouraging collaboration and ownership. Qualifications CPA designation (or close to completion) required. 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, including at least 2 years in a supervisory or team lead role. Experience managing construction draws and familiarity with construction accounting is required. Experience with multi‑entity or multi‑location environments (real estate, self‑storage, or construction‑related industries is considered an asset). Strong understanding of full‑cycle accounting, intercompany transactions, and consolidations. Proficiency in accounting systems (e.g., QuickBooks, NetSuite) and intermediate to advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, Power Query, lookups). Proven ability to translate financial data into business insights for non‑finance stakeholders. Key Competencies A coach and collaborator: You thrive on guiding team members and working cross‑functionally. A problem‑solver: You proactively identify and resolve issues before they escalate. A business‑minded accountant: You understand that numbers tell a story, and you help others read it. A builder: You love building processes, teams, and reports that scale with growth. Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to inclusive and accessible hiring practices. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, skills, and business needs. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals. Use of Artificial Intelligence: We may use AI‑enabled tools to support parts of our recruitment process, including sourcing candidates or screening through external job boards. These tools are used to assist our team and do not replace human decision‑making. #J-18808-Ljbffr