Accounts Payable Specialist

About the Role

This position supports accounts payable and accounting functions by processing invoices accurately and timely, resolving invoice exceptions, supporting month-end close activities, and collaborating with internal business partners to maintain accurate financial records and ensure compliance with company policy.

The Accounts Payable Specialist performs all accounts payable functions including invoice processing, reconciliation, reporting, and analytical duties. This role partners with internal business partners and procurement vendors to ensure invoices are processed accurately, coded correctly, approved timely, and resolved in accordance with company policy. The position requires strong AP knowledge, analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to research discrepancies, identify root causes, recommend corrective actions, and support month-end close activities.

Responsibilities

• Assist with weekly KPI preparation and analyze results; research anomalies for root cause identification and work with internal stakeholders to remediate or lessen variations to plan.
• Research customer payment deductions and determine recommendations for processing in coordination with management.
• Process and monitor invoices in the automated AP processing tool, ensuring accurate GL coding, cost center assignment, approval routing, sales/use tax treatment, and compliance with company policy.
• Collaborate with internal business partners to resolve PO and non-PO invoice exceptions, aged open invoices, vendor statement discrepancies, payment status issues, and all AP-related questions.
• Analyze invoice trends, recurring AP errors, bottlenecks, and exception patterns; partner with procurement, vendors, and internal business partners to identify root causes, recommend process improvements, and reduce rework.
• Assist leadership and internal business partners with ad hoc AP, reconciliation, reporting, and process improvement projects as requested.
• Perform 3-way match for goods and services purchased through Purchase Orders, research price and quantity variances, and coordinate resolution with purchasing, receiving, vendors, and internal business partners.
• Obtain proper authorization for non-PO purchases (expenses and other).
• Support month-end close activities, including diligent research and documentation for AP aging, vendor statements, recurring invoice issues, open invoices, and accrual support.
• Investigate discrepancies, identify root causes, document findings, recommend corrective actions, and follow through to resolution.
• Assist in preparation of AP, financial, and operational reporting in partnership with corporate accounting.
• Participate in company and department meetings, and support department leadership in maintaining the desired company culture.

Qualifications

Personal Characteristics

• Professional demeanor with entrepreneurial drive and a desire to “build a business.”
• Passionate, outgoing, energetic, and results-oriented personality.
• Confidence in abilities and comfortable communicating facts.
• Strong character and integrity—does the right thing even when no one is looking.
• Disciplined approach, no-excuses mindset, reliable, and accountable for KPIs.
• Dependable team player with a positive attitude.
• Determination and grit—pursuit of excellence.
• Passion for organization and attention to detail.
• Personal values that align with company values.

Skills & Experience

• Takes direction well and works efficiently and quickly.
• Ability to work and thrive under time constraints and prioritize responsibilities.
• High attention to detail and ability to work safely in a fast-paced environment.
• Team-oriented, collaborative, diplomatic, and flexible, with the ability to build strong working relationships with internal business partners and cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret data, evaluate discrepancies, determine root cause, and recommend practical solutions.
• Advanced understanding of corporate accounts payable processes, including 3-way matching, vendor statement reconciliation, AP aging review, accrual support, coding accuracy, approval workflows, and internal controls.
• 3 to 5 years of corporate accounting and accounts payable experience, including invoice processing, reconciliations, exception handling, vendor issue resolution, and month-end close support.
• Associate Degree in Accounting/business or equivalent experience.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office 365, especially Excel for data analysis, reconciliations, pivot tables, lookups, filtering, and exception tracking.
• Previous experience using PeopleSoft, Medius, or similar automated AP workflow tools, and Power BI or other reporting tools desirable.
• Intermediate to advanced level experience using common office machines (copier, fax, printer, multi-line phone, etc.).

Benefits

• 401K
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
• Parental Leave
• Vacation, Sick Days, and Holidays
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee and Dependent Life Insurance
• Voluntary Disability Insurance
• Other Voluntary Insurance Options