Senior Accounts Payable Specialist

Aston Carter•Irvine, CA

6d•$29 - $33•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Accounts Payable Specialist oversees the full accounts payable cycle, from invoice receipt through payment, ensuring accurate processing, strong financial controls, and timely support for internal and external stakeholders. The role serves as a key resource for accounts payable procedures and systems, provides guidance to team members, and helps drive process improvements while managing high weekly invoice volumes. The specialist supports the accounts payable team and department leadership without direct people-management responsibilities. The position also contributes to financial close activities, audits, reporting, and special projects. It is a contract-to-hire hybrid position based in Irvine, California.

Requirements

At least 5 years of progressive accounts payable experience, including full-cycle processing of purchase order and non-purchase order invoices.
Experience processing high invoice volumes, approximately 200–300 invoices per week, accurately.
Hands-on experience with accounts payable operations, invoice processing, purchase order matching, and general ledger reconciliation.
Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, VLOOKUP or similar lookup functions, and SUMIFS; ability to use Excel extensively for analysis and reporting.
Experience with automated invoice processing, accounts payable platforms, or workflow automation tools.
Experience with employee expense management platforms such as Emburse or Concur, including expense review, documentation validation, reimbursement processing, and policy compliance monitoring.
Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and recordkeeping abilities.
Ability to prioritize responsibilities, manage high volumes, follow through on outstanding items, and meet deadlines.
Professional and collaborative approach when working with colleagues, vendors, and business partners.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain accounts payable processes and resolve issues clearly.
Dependable attendance and reliability, with flexibility to work additional hours when business needs or close-cycle demands require it.
Comfort working in a hybrid environment and adapting to onsite training requirements.
Ability to support and help lead a small accounts payable team as a key partner to leadership, without direct managerial responsibilities.
Ability to manage a shared accounts payable email inbox and coordinate responses and processing efficiently.
Willingness to take on special assignments and broader accounting responsibilities as business needs evolve.
Ability to balance accuracy and speed while processing high invoice volumes and maintaining quality.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity or experience with SAP or JDE.

Responsibilities

Manage the full accounts payable cycle, including purchase order and non-purchase order invoices, coding, system entry, approval coordination, and payment preparation.
Validate invoices against purchase orders and receiving records to confirm documentation, accuracy, and authorization before payment.
Review employee expense submissions for accuracy, supporting documentation, and compliance with expense policies; process reimbursements promptly.
Reconcile accounts payable activity to the general ledger, investigate variances and outstanding items, and support accurate financial reporting.
Create and maintain accurate vendor profiles and ensure required documentation and account information are current and complete.
Respond to vendor, employee, and internal business partner inquiries about invoices, payment status, discrepancies, and other accounts payable matters.
Track invoice and payment activity to meet processing deadlines, volume targets, and departmental service expectations.
Coordinate recurring payments by check, ACH, wire transfer, and other approved methods.
Support monthly and annual financial close activities, including accounts payable reconciliations and accrual preparation.
Provide guidance on accounts payable procedures, systems, controls, and operational questions.
Assist team members with daily questions, process guidance, training, and complex transactions or exceptions.
Review team output as needed to help ensure accurate, complete, and consistent processing and documentation.
Evaluate workflows and recommend improvements to streamline processing, reduce errors, improve automation, and strengthen financial controls.
Provide invoices, payment records, reconciliations, and other supporting documents for internal and external audits.
Maintain organized and compliant accounts payable records in accordance with document retention practices.
Assist department leadership in monitoring operational targets, invoice volume, workload distribution, and performance measures.
Support accounts payable leadership as a key team partner, without direct people-management responsibilities.
Manage the shared accounts payable email inbox and ensure inquiries and invoices are handled efficiently and accurately.
Use Excel extensively, including pivot tables, lookup functions, and SUMIFS, to analyze data, support reconciliations, and monitor invoice and payment activity.
Participate in special projects, process improvement initiatives, and other accounting-related responsibilities as business needs arise.

Benefits

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Critical illness, accident, and hospital coverage
401(k) retirement plan with pre-tax and Roth post-tax contribution options
Voluntary life and AD&D insurance for employees and dependents
Short- and long-term disability coverage
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Transportation benefits
Employee Assistance Program
Time off and leave, including PTO, vacation, or sick leave, subject to eligibility and applicable terms