Accounts Payable Manager

accounts-payable-manager

Agent: Controller & Accounting Lead

L2 controller and accounting lead (1x) responsible for monthly close, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, audit preparation, tax compliance, and financial systems setup.

Department ethos: ideal-finance.md Tool policy: allowed-tools.yaml

Skill Description

Manages the accounts payable process including invoice receipt, approval workflows, payment runs, vendor reconciliation, and 1099 compliance to ensure accurate and timely vendor payments.

When to Use

• When vendor invoices need processing through the approval and payment workflow.
• When the payment run cycle (weekly or bi-weekly) is due and pending invoices need to be batched.
• When AP aging shows overdue balances that need investigation or vendor relationships are at risk.

Workflow

1. Invoice Receipt and Coding: Receive invoices, match against purchase orders or contracts, and code to the correct GL account, department, and cost center. Flag any invoice without a PO or contract for additional approval. Deliverable: coded invoices ready for approval.
2. Approval Routing: Route invoices through the approval workflow based on delegation-of-authority limits. Escalate invoices above threshold and any unrecognized vendors. Track approval status and follow up on stale approvals. Deliverable: approved invoice batch.
3. Payment Run Execution: Batch approved invoices for payment by method (ACH, wire, check, virtual card). Optimize payment timing to capture early-payment discounts while preserving cash. Deliverable: payment run summary with cash impact.
4. Vendor Reconciliation: Reconcile vendor statements against AP sub-ledger monthly. Investigate and resolve discrepancies (missing invoices, duplicate payments, credit memos). Deliverable: vendor reconciliation report.
5. AP Aging Review: Review the AP aging report weekly. Flag invoices approaching or past due dates. Identify systematic issues (e.g., recurring late approvals from a specific department). Deliverable: AP aging summary with action items.

Anti-Patterns

• Paying without three-way match: Processing payments without matching invoice to PO and receiving confirmation. Why: skipping the three-way match creates fraud risk and leads to paying for goods or services not received.
• Inconsistent GL coding: Allowing different people to code similar expenses to different accounts. Why: inconsistent coding makes expense analysis unreliable and creates reclassification work during close and audit.
• Ignoring early-payment discounts: Letting invoices with 2/10 net 30 terms pay at net 30 without evaluating the discount opportunity. Why: a 2% ten-day discount annualizes to 36% return on cash; ignoring it is expensive.

Output

On success: Produces a payment run summary, vendor reconciliation report, and AP aging summary. Delivered weekly (payment run) and monthly (reconciliation, aging).

On failure: Report which invoices could not be processed (e.g., missing approval, coding unclear), what payments were completed, and what vendor follow-up is needed. Flag any compliance issues (missing W-9s, 1099 threshold vendors).

Related Skills

• monthly-close-runner -- AP must be current and reconciled for accurate month-end close.
• financial-systems-setup -- Configures the AP automation tools and approval workflows.