Accounts Payable Associate

Exponent•Phoenix, AZ

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Exponent is seeking an Accounting Associate to join its Finance/Accounting team in Phoenix, Arizona. The role works closely with colleagues to process accounts payable transactions, manage employee expense reports, and serve as a point of contact for vendors and employees across engineering and corporate departments. The position also involves reviewing vendor accounts and payments, preparing Excel templates for data imports, supporting audit activities, and contributing to financial projects and department goals. The Accounts Payable Associate supports procure-to-pay operations in an automated environment, with an emphasis on review, analysis, internal controls, and issue resolution. Responsibilities include processing vendor invoices and payments, reviewing employee expenses, supporting vendor onboarding, resolving purchasing and invoice discrepancies, monitoring approvals, responding to inquiries, and maintaining accurate records for close, reconciliations, audits, and reporting. The role also supports system testing, training, documentation, and process improvement. The position requires a hybrid schedule with at least three days per week in the office. Exponent describes its workplace as supportive, collaborative, dynamic, and multidisciplinary, and emphasizes in-person interaction, employee engagement, development, and inclusion. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States; immigration sponsorship or processing is not available.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or progress toward a degree in a related field, or substantial professional experience in finance within an office environment.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to investigate discrepancies, identify trends and exceptions, and drive issues to resolution independently.
Solid understanding of accounting principles and ability to apply accounting judgment to expense classification, prepaid expenses, accruals, fixed assets, and period-end activities.
Strong systems aptitude and ability to work effectively with automated financial applications.
Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including PivotTables, VLOOKUP, reconciliations, and analysis of large data sets.
Ability to work in an exception-based, highly automated accounts payable environment focused on review, analysis, controls, and issue resolution rather than transactional data entry.
Understanding of accounts payable and purchasing controls, including approval workflows, segregation of duties, vendor master controls, duplicate-payment prevention, and payment authorization.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to collaborate with vendors and cross-functional business partners.
Ability to take ownership of issues, exercise sound judgment, and appropriately escalate higher-risk or unusual transactions.
Ability to maintain a hybrid work schedule requiring at least three days per week in the office.
Presently legally authorized to work in the United States; no immigration sponsorship or processing is required.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Ramp or similar accounts payable automation platforms.
Continuous-improvement mindset and ability to identify opportunities to streamline processes, strengthen controls, and leverage technology, AI, and automation.

Responsibilities

Process vendor invoices and payments through the accounting system, ensuring accurate coding, supporting documentation, approvals, and compliance with internal controls.
Review employee expense reports for documentation, coding, business purpose, approvals, and policy compliance.
Support vendor onboarding and maintenance, including W-9s, payment information, ACH and wire verification, and 1099 reporting requirements.
Support purchasing and procurement activities, including resolution of purchase order and invoice discrepancies.
Monitor approval workflows, research exceptions, and follow up on outstanding approvals or processing issues.
Communicate with vendors and internal stakeholders to resolve invoice, payment, reimbursement, and account inquiries.
Support payment processing, including ACH, wires, checks, and special payment requests, and assess use tax when applicable.
Maintain accurate accounts payable records and supporting documentation for month-end close, reconciliations, audits, financial reporting, and internal controls.
Partner with Accounting, Purchasing, project teams, and approvers to support efficient and timely procure-to-pay processes.
Support system testing, process documentation, training, cross-training, and continuous process improvement.
Participate in special projects and contribute to a collaborative, customer-focused team environment.