Chung Li
New York,NY
Summary
Highly accomplished accounting professional with over 20 years of working knowledge in commercial and residential real estate, new acquisition due diligence, property management takeover, ground-up development & construction, affordable housing, private real estate equity investments, joint venture partnerships, and private-held REIT. Ability to lead a large team of 25+ associates for all the financial needs, day-to-day accounting processes, and financial planning & reporting. As a strong leader and great team player, who is able to roll-up sleeves and hands-on in high demands and fast-pace environment.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Corporate Controller
Paths Management Services (previously Reliant Realty Services, acquired by Nuveen on 5/2022)
2022.06 - Current
- Hire as the Controller to lead the full accounting team (25-30 direct/indirect associates) including payroll, AR, AP, property accounting, bookkeepers, and working closely to support all the needs of the other departments. In charge of the accounting aspects of the Affordable Housing portfolio of 52-54 properties, totaling 14,000 units in 10 different states with more to add-on.
- Responsible to onboard all the in-house or client-based new acquisitions and takeovers (estimate up to 20,000 units, appx. 60-65 buildings, over the next 5 years from the parent company, Nuveen) for the due diligence process of all accounting related which include coordinating with the previous management entities on gathering their financial materials and supporting documents.
- Work closely with CFO and senior leaders on operational budgets and forecasts of the existing operating entities, new acquisitions, property management takeovers, funding capital calls, staffing needs to achieve targeted results, and provide analysis of the full accounting financial planning for the future expansion.
- Analyze the monthly P&L for all the operating entities (Property Management, Security Installation, & Repair & Maintenance) by comparing actuals vs budgeted and review on how to achieve the Key Performance Indicators set by measuring and monitoring the operational performances and cash flow positions.
- Responsible to oversee monthly accounting close of the 4 operating entities and the entire Affordable Housing portfolio, address any questions on the general ledger activities as part of the parent-level consolidation, monitor cash inflows/outflows, review 3rd party outsourced payables and intercompany payables, estimate working capital needs, along with monitor the property-level cash flows on weekly basis and communicate with Nuveen’s Asset Manager on operating shortfall needs for the entire in-house/ client-based portfolios.
- Oversee the workflow and performance of the ongoing accounting functions, including staffing, hiring, & training, participating in the annual staff performance evaluation process, developing best practices and coaching existing associates and new hires for efficiency and improvement to support the future growth.
- Manage the internal & internal reporting and communication of financial information are delivered timely to parent company, senior management, other departments, and external agencies timely, address any concerns and additional requests, assist in year-end audit preparation, and answer any audit questions.
- Re-design new financial templates in Excel to cut down the time used for various purposes - budgeting & forecasting processes, provide meaningful analyses & recommendations to support strategic decision making and achieve effective outcomes.
- Conduct ad hoc projects as requested by the senior leaders, pull massive financial data, provide financial analysis and reporting with key point reviews on business performance, potential risks, opportunities.
- Responsible to compile the annual compensations for all the operating entities, communicate with all other department heads on their staff compensations, send the final numbers to the senior leader for final approval, and deliver them to Payroll Department to update the new increases and year-end bonuses in Dayforce.
Controller - Affordable Housing & New Development
Acacia Networks
2020.10 - 2022.05
- Brought on to supervise the Finance team (10+ members) of the Affordable Housing & new development division on day-to-day accounting functions – from AR, AP, bank reconciliation, general ledger review, payment disbursements, wire transfers, & monthly closing according to GAAP, analysis of the financial statements and responsible to deliver the financial reporting package to the Board of Directors.
- Financial and accounting setup of pre-/new developments in Yardi – reviewed the new budget, attended GC pencil requisition meeting, and confirmed construction draw accuracy before released payment to GC and sub-contractors.
- Collaborated with Executives, Property Management, Development, Asset Management, and Compliance teams on all operating, budgeting, and spending aspects – took the role to maintain financial integrity, identified any financial concerns, and provided analysis and strategic recommendations to obtain short & long-term objectives. Developed and implemented accounting procedures & practices to address any weaknesses, improve the efficiency, and reduced costs to achieve optimum financial results.
- Accountable to review all consolidated monthly/quarterly/annual closing of the financial reporting - include review of the balance sheets and P&L accounts, variance explanations for over budgeted items, cash flow forecasting, capital planning needs, all related supporting schedules.
- Coordinated year-end schedules to oversee multiple external audits being delivered to 3rd party investors, HPD, HUD, lenders, etc.
Assistant Controller
L3C Capital Partners
2019.06 - 2020.09
- Hired to assist on the conversion of 14 properties included those managed by 3rd party property management company, maintained the investors portal in Dynamo Reporting system, and addressed questions from investors regarding their accounts and K-1 tax return.
- Generated consolidated financial statements (Income Statement, Balance Sheet, & Cash Flow), analyzed all balance sheet accounts, review P&L transactions in GL, and provide Actual vs Budget variances and explanations to the partners.
- Calculated quarterly distribution for 900 investors across the portfolio, maintained the waterfall distribution to track the investors’ investments, contribution, distributions, uploaded all the ACH/Wire payments to the investors, and recorded all their transactions in QuickBooks.
- Reviewed the monthly financial reporting by the 3rd party PM company, provided feedbacks to the partners, and calculated the maximum fund to distribute to the investors and joint venture partners, JPMC on quarterly basis.
- Filed NYC commercial rent tax return quarterly, maintain vendor records, and process year-end 1099s and filing and provided the financial data to the external tax accountants for partnership tax filings.
- Interpreted Joint Venture agreements and recorded all the cost allocations and Amex transactions accordingly to the terms and provided analysis to partners.
Development Accountant
RXR Realty
2017.05 - 2019.06
- Assigned to the $1.3B master development to transform into a mixed-use community with commercial, rental apartments, condo for sale, public open space, etc. in City of Glen Cove. The development also included working closely with City of Glen Cove for $89M infrastructure on road works, sewer pipes, and public amenities.
- Worked with Development & Asset Management team on finalizing the development budget for lender’s review to close construction loan, took ownership of budget reallocations, attended requisition meeting with the GC/Sub-contractors/bank construction inspector, reviewed all projects thoroughly of hard/soft cost billings, commitments/change orders, G702/G703, lien waivers, general conditions, retainage, COI, store materials log, and anticipated cost of completion schedule.
- Responsible to review all commitments/contracts, routed into the accounting system for approval, entered the approved budget amount in job costing, tracked any future change orders, and re-allocated the budget from favorable line or available contingency.
- Reviewed hard/soft cost invoices, reimbursable, general conditions, cost allocations, fee calculation for proper coding, classified the expenses between building vs project loan, and submission to the lender monthly.
- Confirmed receipt of funding for all responsible projects, prepared capital call requests as needed, setup wire transfers, and released all disbursement to vendors and intercompany parties.
- Maintained schedules on buyer deposits, escrow accounts, interests for building and project loans and recorded recurring journal entries, all-cash activities, and provide supporting documents for month-end closing.
Senior Project Accountant
Hines
2006.07 - 2017.04
- Joined as intern, hired as Staff Accountant, escalated to Project Accountant, promoted to Senior Project Accountant, and worked on different projects in Class A commercial real estates, accounting system conversion, new acquisitions at $360M in 2004 and sold for $1B in 2014, ground-up development at $750M, major renovation at $89M, new property management transitions, and trained new hires coming onboard.
- Performed monthly tasks included attending pencil requisition meetings with the general contractor and bank representative, reviewed final G702, G703, lien waiver submitted by general contractor along with subs’ AIA, lien waiver, soft costs, supporting documents for loan submission for a $750M ground-up luxury condo in Tribeca, sale price ranged from $5M to $60M.
- On-site accountant and performed full accounting cycle accounting functions included monitored cash inflow/ outflow, reviewed invoice coding and allocation, processed payments and wire transfers, recorded cash receipts, maintained schedules included - straight-line rent, prepayment, cash activities, escrows/reserve draws, capital improvements, tenant improvements, depreciations/ amortizations, annual CAM/real estate taxes escalation and year-end true-up, management fee & mortgage calculations, and partners equity funding.
- Prepared all the monthly reporting package included balance sheet supporting documents, provided variance explanations on actual vs budget, and generated the workpaper for unaudited financial statements and notes at year-end to external auditor.
- Assigned to review multiple property management assignments included interpreted lease terms for proper tenant billing of monthly rent, calculated CAM & tax escalations, prepared submeters billing & additional service charges, filed annual RPIE forms and sales tax returns.
Education
Certificate -
City University of New York, Baruch College
11.2016
Bachelor of Business Administrative - Major: Public Accounting
Pace University: Lubin School of Business
09.2002
Examination:
Skills
- ERP Accounting System Conversion
- Due Diligence process and onboarding New Acquisitions and PM assignments
- Knowledgeable in Chart of Accounts setup, general ledger and sub-ledgers accounting, payroll, AP, AR, financial statement review, financial planning and reporting
- Cash Flow Management, budgeting, forecasting, monthly & year-end closings, and audit managements
- Project Management of new acquisitions and transitions
- Implement Internal Controls and Risk Assessments
- Microsoft Office with Advanced level in Excel – Pivot Table, Power Query Editor, Vlookup, Xlookup, Sumif, and charts
- Proficient in the software - Yardi, Payscan, JD Edwards, MRI, Timberline, Timberscan, Acumatica, QuickBooks, Kardin, Dayforce, and Dynamo Investor Reporting
Timeline
Corporate Controller
Paths Management Services (previously Reliant Realty Services, acquired by Nuveen on 5/2022)
2022.06 - Current
Controller - Affordable Housing & New Development
Acacia Networks
2020.10 - 2022.05
Assistant Controller
L3C Capital Partners
2019.06 - 2020.09
Development Accountant
RXR Realty
2017.05 - 2019.06
Senior Project Accountant
Hines
2006.07 - 2017.04
Certificate -
City University of New York, Baruch College
Bachelor of Business Administrative - Major: Public Accounting
Pace University: Lubin School of Business
Examination:
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