Accounts Payable Lead

Outdoor Research•Seattle, WA

12d•Onsite

About The Position

The Accounts Payable Lead manages the day-to-day accounts payable workflow, including internal controls, invoice processing, payment activity, vendor and employee inquiries, and related reporting. The role requires attention to detail, critical thinking, issue resolution, and cross-functional collaboration with employees at all levels. It reports to the Controller and requires onsite work to support varying business needs. The position owns the Accounts Payable inbox and invoicing workflow, administers payment processing and related systems, supports weekly payment runs and cash-flow reporting, and provides guidance and training to employees and business partners. It also supports monthly close, maintains records for tax preparation and audits, and handles sensitive accounting matters confidentially.

Requirements

Experience using AP automation for invoice processing.
Thorough understanding of the procure-to-payment ecosystem, SOX controls and AP financial controls, and the stand-alone and integrated technology systems involved.
Critical-thinking and analytical skills, including the ability to identify inefficiencies or process gaps and drive continuous improvement.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills for interacting with internal associates and external vendors.
Ability to take ownership of all Accounts Payable work and perform it with integrity and accuracy.
Strong time-management, prioritization, organizational, and attention-to-detail skills.
Flexibility to handle ad-hoc projects in a changing environment.
Three to five years of Accounts Payable experience, including a lead or informal supervisory role.
Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Outlook and working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, including templates, pivot tables, and SUMIF formulas.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a manufacturing or retail environment, with knowledge of invoice processing, PO matching, product receipts, prepayments, and vendor management.
Experience with an accounting ERP system; Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations is preferred.
Experience with AP automation software; the company uses PaperSave by PairSoft.
Experience administering expense-reporting software; the company currently uses Concur.
Associate or bachelor's degree in a business discipline.

Responsibilities

Manage the Accounts Payable inbox, retrieve invoices, communicate with vendors about payment inquiries, provide settlement guidance, and respond to employee payment and coding inquiries.
Manage daily invoice processing, including receiving invoices, routing them through AP software to budget owners for approval and coding, reviewing coding for accuracy and completeness, routing invoices to the ERP system, and processing them for approval and payment.
Perform daily quality checks to support accurate and timely payments in a high-volume invoice-processing environment.
Administer Accounts Payable processes and systems, including ordering and canceling credit cards, creating invoice-software accounts for budget owners, setting up coding, retrieving bank statements, and monitoring payment processing.
Prepare and maintain management reporting related to weekly payment runs and cash-flow management.
Review vouchered invoices for timely payment and manage weekly check runs by assembling payments due.
Address payment inquiries from the VP of Finance; create ACH and wire payments in USD and CAD; issue payments through online portals; print checks; create Positive Pay files; and post payments in the ERP system.
Provide Accounts Payable guidance to employees and train business partners on invoice processing and approvals.
Support monthly close by processing invoices to match bank activity, creating journal entries for credit card payments, creating invoice accruals, and processing Concur expense reports.
Maintain appropriate records for tax preparation and audits.
Maintain confidentiality of sensitive accounting matters.