Accounts Payable Specialist

Accounts Payable Specialist

Overall Goal of Position:

This position is responsible for supporting 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.

Job Summary:

The Accounts Payable Specialist performs all accounts payable functions including but not limited to 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.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• General Operations
  • Assist with weekly KPI preparation and analyze results; quickly 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 as applicable, 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.
• Culture Building
  • Participates in company and department meetings.
  • Participates on other teams as requested.
  • Supports department leadership in actions and programs necessary for maintaining the desired company culture.

Performance Standards (the criteria that will be used to evaluate performance):

• Timely, accurate, and compliant processing of vendor invoices in the automated AP system, including effective coordination with internal business partners to resolve invoice exceptions and payment issues.
• 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)
• Diligent research and documentation to support resolution of customer payment deductions.
• Strong analytical review of AP aging, vendor statements, recurring invoice issues, open invoices, and month-end accrual support.
• Assist in preparation of AP, financial, and operational reporting in partnership with corporate accounting.

What We Are Looking For:

• Personal Characteristics
  • Professional Demeanor
  • Entrepreneurial drive and the desire to "build a business".
  • Passionate, outgoing, energetic, and results oriented personality.
  • Overall confidence in one's abilities and comfortable communicating the 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 positive attitude
  • Determination/Grit-Pursuit of Excellence
  • Passion for organization, and attention to details
  • Personal values that mesh with Company values
• Demonstrated proficiency in the following areas.
  • 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 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.
• Education & Experience:
  • 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 most common office machines (copier, fax, printer, multi-line phone, etc)

What Is In It For You:

Our company acknowledges talented people are attracted to companies that provide competitive pay, comprehensive benefits packages and outstanding advancement opportunities. For this reason, we offer a Comprehensive Benefits Plan that includes the following:

• 401K
• Medical/Dental/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

Sauer Brands, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.