PAGE 6
EMPLOYEE
SPOTLIGHT:
KEVIN
KURUZAR,
CONTINUED
...Kevin began his career at the public a c c o u n t i n g firm Dauby O ’ C o n n o r
and all revolve around getting the most out of the technology available to us. This is vital as we add around 70-80 lower-tier partnerships and a handful of funds every year, while investor reporting requests continue to vary. Tell us about your team. What type of backgrounds do they have? How long have they been with CREA, etc.? The FM team has grown and had completely turned over the last several years. Other than Kelli Ozdemir, I am the only person still in FM since my first day at CREA in 2012. The department has grown from five people then to twelve today. There are four Vice Presidents and seven Fund Analysts, with varying backgrounds and anywhere from two months to thirteen years of affordable housing experience. There isn’t enough space to fit eleven individual compliments, so I’ll just say that I’m extremely appreciative of everything they do. They make FM, and really all of CREA in some respects, run smoothly. I’m not even aware of every little thing they do, and I don’t have to be, because they always do what is right. They put in a lot of effort, and they are always looking out for both our investor and our developer partnerships. They make my job easy. What’s the most challenging thing about FM and the work you do to protect the investors’ benefits? A couple of things come to mind. FM leans toward looking out for our
investors’ interests, but we have to be mindful that developers are our partners, too. CREA is also the GP/ MM of these funds and is trying to make a profit, as well. Balancing all of these interests, being in the middle of issues and making suggestions that simultaneously affect investors, developers and CREA all at once, is a unique space in this industry. It comes with its challenges, but we genuinely care about treating all parties involved fairly, and we always put investors and developers ahead of CREA, which sometimes makes it simple. The other thing is tax season, due to sheer volume of work. FM reviews about 600 property-level and about 70 fund-level audits and tax returns. To fit this all in during a period of just a few months, on top of the day-to-day tasks, is taxing… no pun intended. Oh yeah, and tax reform was easily the least cool thing that’s happened in my career, and right when I was promoted! You’ve been with CREA for over 7 years now, what is it about the company that keeps you coming to work here every day? The work/life balance, culture and friendships I have made. It sounds cliché, and a lot of companies say it, including past employers I’ve had, but CREA truly stresses and implements these ideas and has therefore become a part of my life - not just my job. I don’t have to say it or ask for special privileges. CREA just understands my priorities in life and I’m given the flexibility to make those my priority - even on weekdays,
& Zaleski, LLC in 2006 where he supervised audit engagement teams of affordable housing partnerships, developers and other participants in the affordable housing industry. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from Indiana University and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of Indiana. Learn more about Kevin in this Q & A: It’s been almost 2 years since you became Head of Fund Management (“FM”); how are you liking your new role and what changes have you implemented within your department? The role has been challenging and satisfying at the same time. It took some time, but I think I’ve struck a nice balance between being consistently challenged and finding a comfort zone. There is never a dull day. I felt overwhelmed at times at first, probably due to self-pressure, but those days have become less frequent. Regarding implementing changes, I initially wanted FM to simply keep up with the growth that the rest of CREA has experienced. Now, I try to be more forward- thinking, to get ahead of where I think we’ll be or need to be. All changes made and all future plans center around gaining efficiencies and being able to do more with less,
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