Accounts Payable Accountant

Harbinger Motors Inc.•Garden Grove, CA

4d•$75,000 - $90,000•Onsite

About The Position

Harbinger is seeking an experienced, self-directed Accounts Payable Accountant to own the full procure-to-pay (P2P) cycle across multiple legal entities and business units. The right candidate brings solid GAAP knowledge, familiarity with SOX internal controls, and the professional maturity to work accurately and independently in a dynamic, multi-entity environment. This is not a role for someone who needs everything figured out before they can be effective. You will be expected to execute at a high level, stay organized under competing demands, identify and clearly communicate issues to management, and adapt as processes and systems evolve around you. We believe in being upfront about the environment you’re joining: The Current Environment A multi-entity, multi-business-unit structure requiring careful entity-level coding and cost allocation AP processes that are being actively assessed and improved by management Data quality issues that are being identified and remediated — your accuracy and attention to detail matters here Systems that may be mid-configuration or in transition A team rebuilding its foundation — reliability, consistency, and clear communication will be valued above all If you’re the kind of person who looks at that list and thinks “I can work in this,” we want to talk.

Requirements

3–7+ years of full-cycle accounts payable experience
Prior experience in a multi-entity or multi-business-unit environment with entity-level coding and allocation requirements
Demonstrated knowledge of GAAP as it applies to AP: accruals, cutoff, prepaid vs. expense treatment, liability recognition
Working familiarity with SOX internal controls in an AP environment: approvals, documentation, audit trails, segregation of duties
Deep, working knowledge of the end-to-end P2P process for both direct and indirect spend categories
Hands-on GR/IR reconciliation experience: investigating variances, clearing open items, coordinating with procurement and receiving
Practical understanding of sales tax concepts — including tax-exempt transactions, abatements, and when to dispute a vendor’s tax charge
Experience with ERP systems (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Dynamics 365, or similar)
Strong Excel skills: pivot tables, VLOOKUPs/XLOOKUPs, reconciliation workbooks
Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy
Highly organized: able to manage multiple open items, entities, and deadlines simultaneously without dropping the ball
Clear, professional communicator: knows when to ask, when to escalate, and how to explain an issue without prompting

Nice To Haves

Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field
Experience working in a high-change or transitional environment and maintaining accuracy throughout
Prior UAT participation for an ERP implementation, upgrade, or AP tool deployment
AP automation platform experience (Bill.com, Tipalti, Coupa, or similar)
Prior experience in a SOX-compliant or publicly traded company

Responsibilities

Process high-volume invoices accurately across multiple legal entities and business units, with correct entity, GL, and cost center coding on every transaction
Apply intercompany and cross-entity coding rules correctly; escalate ambiguous allocations rather than guessing
Perform 2-way and 3-way PO matching for both direct (inventory/production) and indirect (operating expense) vendor invoices
Understand the distinction between direct and indirect spend and apply the appropriate controls, approval workflows, and coding for each
Manage payment runs (ACH, wire, check); monitor aging and ensure accuracy of payment terms across all entities
Maintain vendor master data, collect W-8/W-9s, and support year-end 1099/1042 preparation and filing
Maintain working knowledge of which tax abatements apply to the company, which entities and transaction types they cover, and when they are in effect
Review vendor invoices for sales tax charges and apply informed judgment: know when a tax charge is correct, when it should be disputed, and when we are responsible for remitting tax directly
Professionally dispute incorrect tax billings with vendors, providing clear documentation of the applicable abatement
Escalate ambiguous tax situations to management rather than processing through incorrect charges
Perform regular GR/IR (Goods Receipt / Invoice Receipt) reconciliation to ensure receipts and invoices are matched and cleared on a timely basis
Investigate and resolve GR/IR open items: unmatched receipts, invoices without receipts, quantity and price variances
Coordinate with procurement and receiving to clear aged GR/IR items and prevent subledger distortion
Follow established internal controls consistently: proper approvals, documentation, and segregation of duties
Maintain complete, audit-ready records for every transaction; support internal and external audit requests
Prepare month-end AP accruals across all entities; ensure liabilities are captured at the correct entity level before close
Reconcile the AP subledger to the general ledger at the entity level and resolve open items on schedule
Deliver accurate AP aging reports and close deliverables by established deadlines
When something doesn’t look right — a duplicate, a mismatch, a missing approval, an incorrect tax charge — catch it, document it, and bring it to management promptly
Participate in UAT for system changes or upgrades: execute assigned test scenarios, note discrepancies, and report findings clearly to management
Provide clear, timely status updates so management can make informed decisions
Adapt readily when processes, systems, or priorities change; maintain accuracy through transitions
Build and maintain professional relationships with both direct and indirect vendors; manage vendor statements and reconciliations
Communicate clearly with internal stakeholders (procurement, operations, finance) to resolve coding, matching, and approval issues efficiently