Real Estate Change Management

Steven J. Matejek, CPA

*** ********* ***, ************, ** 07092 - 908-***-**** - ********@*****.***

PROFILE

Visionary executive, change agent, and hands-on contributor with a proven track record of transforming accounting and operational systems to unlock performance, reduce costs, and elevate reporting. Known for leading high-performance teams and delivering data-driven insights that fuel profitability, governance, and investor confidence. Adept at aligning financial strategy with organizational goals through best practices, technology, and cross-functional collaboration. Core competencies include:

Reporting (US GAAP, IFRS, REITS)

Leadership & Change Management

Business Process Improvement

Revenue Recognition & Optimization

Budgeting & Forecasting

BOD Reporting & Presentations

ERP & BI System Implementations

Performance Measurement

Accounting Policy & Procedures

Internal Control / Risk Management

Treasury / Cash Management

Contract Negotiation and Review

M&A / Underwriting / Due Diligence

Property & Asset Management

Capital Markets & Restructuring

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

VP OF ACCOUNTING & OPERATIONS 2023 - Present

Arctrust Properties, Inc. – Vertically integrated, institutional-grade real estate platform with $5B AUM.

Led a period of strategic change, repositioning the organization for lean, scalable operations and reinforcing management’s growth initiatives. Reimagined and elevated the accounting function, realigning talent, systems, and workflows to enhance accuracy, responsiveness, and cross-departmental impact. Focused on governance, cost efficiency, and operational alignment to drive performance and transparency across all financial systems.

Reengineered accounting and operations functions, improving speed, accuracy, and scalability across REITs, funds, and privately held LLCs.

Cut AP costs by 60% while improving vendor accountability and cycle time.

Identified and recovered over $800K in financial irregularities through forensic analysis and governance oversight.

Led governance committee initiatives and implemented investor, client, and JV-facing reporting that strengthened trust and compliance.

Strategically enhanced asset positioning to attract alternative investments and facilitate 1031 exchanges.

Directed enterprise-wide change management to embed collaborative systems and integrated workflows, positioning the organization for scalable growth and operational resilience.

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (Hired as Finance Director and promoted to CFO)

2019 – 2023

Stro Realty, Inc. - Family office that acquires, develops, repositions, and manages commercial real estate.

Completely redesigned the family office’s finance team to add value and enable growth. Supported 130% portfolio growth through acquisitions and optimizing cash flow on existing and acquired assets. Recognized areas where missing and inaccurate information lead to cost overruns and brought transparency and accountability to all stakeholders. Added zero staff despite rapid growth, expanding deliverables, removing silos, and professionalizing the organization. Instead, I focused on how to empower and inspire excellence in a new collaborative environment.

Revolutionized the organization by replacing legacy systems and processes with world class tools, and best practices.

Integrated disparate departments and functions to quantify progress and success against common objectives.

Defined goals and implemented actual solutions to accelerate acquisitions, cost control, and revenue growth.

Partnering with all domains to elevate expectations and results related to finance, operations, investors, and customers.

Maintaining sound business practices, providing financial analysis and business acumen to support organizational goals.

Instilled a culture of fiduciary responsibility and awareness to promote growth, efficiency, transparency, and accountability that exceed existing standards.

COUNCILMAN, PLANNING BOARD, FIRE, POLICE, & DPW CHAIR, Borough of Mountainside. 2021 – Present

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

2015 – 2018

Healthcasts Technology Group, LLC. - Provides digital media and Ad-Tech to the pharmaceutical and medical industries.

Reorganized the finance department to support rapidly scaling results and introduce sophisticated business intelligence to the senior management team to inform decisions. Reduced the closing cycle time by 90%, improved collection efficiency by 20%, and won praise from independent auditors for the vastly improved quality and timeliness of deliverables.

Remedied the Company’s accounting operations, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning, and treasury activities, while being a strategic business partner to the Executive Management Team.

Enhanced the profile of the organization to maximize its value and liquidity for strategic capital initiatives. Facilitated

buyouts of multiple minority interests. Identified and tracked new revenue growth opportunities.

Retrained existing staff and professionalized the Finance Department. Created processes, workflows, and tools to increase efficiency to save $95K in payroll.

Immediately stopped employee benefits leakage, recovered $50K and implemented processes to prevent a recurrence.

Identified cost reductions including equivalent employee benefits resulting in savings exceeding 20%.

CONTROLLER & HEAD OF FINANCE, NORTH AMERICA

2011 - 2015

SimCorp North America - Publicly traded global provider of FinTech software, professional services, and SaaS.

Led a diverse finance team during rapid growth. Responsible for accounting operations, revenue recognition, financial / management reporting, F/X, treasury, KPIs, budgeting, forecasting, business intelligence, and multi-state and international payroll, taxation, and multi-national transfer pricing. Managed the consolidation, reporting, and analysis of operating results, ensuring compliance with US GAAP and IFRS. Negotiated commercial terms in client contracts with legal staff and oversaw major vendor relationships thereby adding $350K to results. Advised the BOD and Managing Director on recommendations to drive profitability, improve operational efficiencies, and other key initiatives.

Implemented professional services initiatives to increase EBITDA by $1.2M by aligning capacity and utilization.

Drove the initiative to invest in and improve the billing system which reduced non-billed activity, billing errors and billing cycle time, providing greater flexibility to clients. Identified and recaptured missed billings of $125K.

Recommended, implemented, tracked, and reported on benchmarks for measuring financial and operating performance that resulted in reduced operating expenses and improved profitability.

Coordinated full-scope financial and compliance audits and provided recommendations for procedural improvements; all audits were completed on time and with no material findings. Abated a $35K Use-Tax assessment.

Provided transfer pricing analysis, contemporaneous documentation for audits and advanced pricing agreements to alleviate a $1MM assessment that was realized prior to joining the Company.

Recalibrated the Company’s commission plans to align the sales team with the Company’s strategic objectives while decreasing overall commission spend as a percentage of revenue.

Partnered with Global HR and Global Finance as well as the Managing Director on the compensation budgeting and planning process as well as the annual year-end performance bonus.

CONTROLLER

2005 - 2011

The Trump Organization - International real estate development, asset management, licensing, and media.

Supervised a team and supported multiple projects within and outside of the real-estate divisions. Managed the monthly close, financial (US GAAP / consolidated, managerial, ad-hoc) reporting, annual budgeting, interim forecasting, and cash management. Ensured compliance with all tax laws and regulations on the local, state, and federal levels. Managed inter-company accounting, AR, AP, HR, payroll, cost and inventory accounting.

Developed and implemented controls, procedures and reporting for areas including cash, budgeting and forecasting, risk, taxation, inter-company accounting, combined financials, and foreign currency.

Built a new finance team to provide exceptional service to both internal customers and outside stakeholders.

Created efficiencies and accurate accounting of remote warehouse to optimize cost and reduce waste.

CONTROLLER (Hired as Accounting Manager, promoted to assistant Controller, then to Controller)

1998 - 2005

The Grand Summit – Family office and asset manager of a real estate portfolio, retail, and a full-service hotel.

Performed the monthly close, consolidated financial statements and analysis of operating results across multiple divisions (hospitality, real estate, and retail), generating $25M in annual revenue. Responsibilities included budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, internal controls / audits, accounting operations (AP/AR etc.), employee benefits, treasury and inventory. Obtained financing sources and lines of credit and directed the use of funds. Maintained banking and debt covenants. Facilitated annual reviews, tax returns and tax planning. Motivated, trained and developed the accounting team.

Employed entrepreneurial spirit to create and grow new entities and net wealth with best practices for holdings in hospitality, real estate, retail, construction, and manufacturing.

Developed and maintained accounting policies and procedures to ensure compliance with GAAP, and all federal and local tax codes and relevant statutes.

Managed and optimized inventory, systems, and accounting for multiple locations. Resolved errors and omissions.

Successfully defended accounting practices during multiple State audits of Sales & Use Tax, and had large assessments abated. Experienced in contract and labor negotiations.

Implemented and maintained all IT hardware and software for the front-office, accounting packages, POS, LAN, servers, property management system, interfaces, telephones, and workstations.

Construction job costing and WIP for custom home building.

FINANCIAL AUDITOR

1997 - 1998

Auditor General’s Office, State of Arizona - Provides impartial assurance services to the Arizona Legislature.

Performed financial and compliance audits in accordance with GAAS, GAAP, CFRs, and state regulations of federal projects, municipalities, counties, community college districts, state agencies, and universities.

Reported findings to the State Legislature and appropriate Federal Agencies.

EDUCATION

Arizona State University, W. P. Carey School of Business Tempe, AZ

Bachelor of Science, Accountancy, December 1996

Multiple accolades for Dean’s Academic Honor List while working as a Teaching Assistant at the School of Business.

TECHNOLOGY SKILLS

Superior Excel and financial modeling skills, strategic identification and implementation of technology, especially artificial intelligence, large language models, automation, and machine learning. Proficient with Yardi, AppFolio, Asana, Monday, MS Dynamics, Navision, QuickBooks, Salesforce, Hyperion, Access, Oracle, Infor, Skyline, computer networking, cybersecurity, system integration, ERP and BI system implementation and deployment.

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