Accounts Receivable Analyst

Heidrick & Struggles•Chicago, IL

About The Position

Heidrick & Struggles is the world’s foremost advisor on executive leadership, driving superior client performance through premier human capital leadership advisory services. For more than 70 years, we’ve delivered value for our clients by leveraging unrivaled expertise to help organizations discover and enable outstanding leaders and teams. Learn more at www.heidrick.com Who We Are: Heidrick & Struggles is a premier provider of executive search, leadership assessment and development, organization and team effectiveness, and culture shaping services globally. In our more than 60 year history, we have conducted some of the most high-profile C-suite and board-level searches in the world. Today, we are working with our clients across 29 countries to help them accelerate their performance and respond with agility to new opportunities and challenges in every industry. We continue to raise the bar in serving our clients as trusted leadership advisors, and we are also providing an expanded range of data-driven, tech-enabled tools and platforms across our executive search and consulting businesses. Managing top talent isn’t just our business. It’s our passion, and we are committed to investing in and developing the careers of our own people. We look for people with experience from a variety of industries and diverse educational backgrounds who are passionate about partnering with innovative and influential organizations and share our commitment to our purpose – to help our clients change the world, one leadership team at a time. Additional information on the firm can be found at www.heidrick.com . The Role: The Accounts Receivable Analyst is responsible for ensuring the timely, accurate, and efficient processing of global cash receipts and accounts receivable transactions. This role supports the Order-to-Cash (OTC) process by applying customer payments, resolving payment discrepancies, maintaining financial integrity, and improving cash flow. The Analyst partners closely with internal stakeholders to enhance operational efficiency and customer experience, identifies automation opportunities, supports system enhancements, and contributes to continuous process improvement initiatives.

Requirements

3 to 5 years of related professional experience.
Knowledge of the Order-to-Cash process.
Experience working with accounting and financial systems (preferably PeopleSoft).
Prior internal and external customer service experience.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including PivotTables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, Power Query, and advanced formulas.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Strong attention to detail with a high degree of accuracy, and excellent organizational and time management skills.
Ability to multi-task effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree.
Prior cash application experience, with billing, accounts receivable, or collections experience highly desired.
Demonstrated customer orientation, with the ability to understand internal and external customers’ needs and act to exceed their expectations.
Strong analytical thinking skills with the ability to break down business problems, present solutions, and evaluate options.
Self-confidence and determination, with the ability to maintain a calm, results-focused approach in challenging situations.
Ability to manage innovation by developing and applying creative solutions to business problems, anticipating needs, and championing improvements that enhance business performance.

Responsibilities

Ensure accurate and timely application of cash receipts for our global business units.
Verify lockbox transmissions have been received daily and take appropriate steps with the IT department when files are missing.
Follow up with internal departments (including OA, FM, EA, Consultants, Collectors, and Treasury) to help resolve unidentified cash receipts.
Process Offsets (Links) and apply AR credits to invoices.
Process returned client payments.
Create journal entries for non-invoice-related receipts.
Monitor and reconcile suspense accounts to ensure payments are reconciled on a timely basis.
Support monthly, quarterly, and year-end financial activities.
Research open payments on the client aging report and in the unidentified cash account.
Perform GL reconciliations on a monthly basis to ensure compliance with accounting policies and internal controls.
Run error reports regularly and enter appropriate corrections.
Perform system testing as needed.
Provide global support and assistance to internal and external customers.
Work closely and follow up with the PeopleSoft Support team regarding issues and enhancements.
Analyze and resolve complex payment discrepancies, unapplied cash, deductions, and short payments.
Review remittance information to ensure accurate allocation of customer payments.
Identify recurring payment issues and recommend corrective actions.
Perform root cause analysis for unapplied cash and aged credit balances.
Partner with Billing, Collections, Treasury, and Business Finance teams to resolve payment issues.
Assist with internal and external auditor requests, including pulling documents as needed.
Support finance transformation initiatives.
Participate in AI and automation projects and recommend technology solutions that improve the Order-to-Cash process.
Support collection efforts by researching payment history and customer account activity.
Assist with client account reconciliations.
Work independently as well as part of a team, supporting team members in their absence.
Maintain functional knowledge of cash applications, billing, and collections processes.
Other duties as assigned.