Senior Lease Auditor

Panda Restaurant Group•Rosemead, CA

45d•$90,000 - $126,500•Hybrid

About The Position

The Sr. Lease Auditor is responsible for performing a high volume of complex lease audits to ensure Panda is accurately billed. This position prepares clear and comprehensive audit reports, negotiates directly with landlords to resolve moderately complex to advanced audit findings and secures significant financial recoveries. The Sr. Lease Auditor provides strategic insights to Real Estate Legal & Property Management, influencing cost-saving initiatives, lease language improvements, and long-term expense control strategies.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in accounting, finance or real estate
Minimum five years of lease auditing experience, preferably in the hospitality industry
Successful completion of initial and periodically required trainings.
Obtaining a valid Food Handler's Card within 30 days of employment is a requirement of this position.

Responsibilities

Conducts a high volume of audits, including a minimum of 200 desktop audits in addition to 10-20 onsite audits annually.
Performs advanced analysis of CAM, real estate taxes, insurance and other pass-through expenses to ensure strict compliance with lease terms and identify overcharges.
Conducts detailed reviews of landlords’ books and annual operating expense reconciliations; applies advanced knowledge of lease language, historical trends, industry standards and market benchmarks to uncover discrepancies and maximize recoveries.
Obtains, evaluates, researches/investigates, and interprets complex supporting documentation to validate billed expenses and ensure compliance with lease requirements, compliance with laws/regulations and industry standards.
Prepares detailed, accurate and well-organized audit reports that clearly outline findings, supporting evidence, documentation and recommended actions.
Communicates with landlords and their representatives to resolve moderately complex to advanced audit disputes, recover funds, negotiate settlements and successfully close out audit with minimal supervision.
Ensures all credits and charges are accurately applied and properly documented as part of the audit results.
Provides guidance and answers questions that impact lease accounting during month-end close.
Collaborates with legal, finance, property management and other departments to ensure a coordinated and informed response to audit findings.
Offers strategic recommendations related to CAM language, billing practices and audit trends to support future lease negotiations and strengthen overall expense-control strategies.
Acts as the liaison between Operations and landlords regarding property management issues concerning the premises and common areas and/or related billings and develops and maintains positive working relationships with Operations and landlords.
Assist property management with special projects, while assisting the department to meet its annual goals.
Overviews new store openings and prepares LTS for new stores and renewals accurately.
Maintains the accuracy of the property management database (AMT Direct), which includes tracking critical dates, lease abstracts, and lease summaries.