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Senior accounts payable specialist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Curtis Nicholls Ph.D.,
Zev Fried Ph.D.
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical senior accounts payable specialist skills. We ranked the top skills for senior accounts payable specialists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 9.8% of senior accounts payable specialist resumes contained vendor statements as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a senior accounts payable specialist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 senior accounts payable specialist skills for your resume and career

1. Vendor Statements

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use vendor statements:
  • Reconciled monthly reports, vendor statements, liability reports, inventory and non-inventory accruals.
  • Reconciled vendor statements, resolved open issues and validated deductions.

2. Expense Reports

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use expense reports:
  • Review expense reports for compliance with travel and entertainment policy, including verifying and reconciling foreign currency exchange.
  • Reviewed expense reports for correct coding and verification of compliance with company policy.

3. Purchase Orders

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use purchase orders:
  • Pursued prompt management approval and/or delivery confirmation for invoices, purchase orders and credit memos to ensure payment within vendor/invoice terms.
  • Processed all non-purchase order related transactions ensuring appropriate general ledger and accounting period coding.

4. Data Entry

Data entry means entering data into a company's system with the help of a keyboard. A person responsible for entering data may also be asked to verify the authenticity of the data being entered. A person doing data entry must pay great attention to tiny details.

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use data entry:
  • Optimize payment of hospital invoices, expenses, and check requests through timely and accurate data entry and reconciliation process.
  • Process incoming vendor invoices to include scanning, coding and data entry into the company s ERP system.

5. Accruals

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use accruals:
  • Played a key role in general ledger activity including account analysis, reconciliation, journal entry preparation, and month-end accruals.
  • Maintained accurate records of franchise accounts receivable through accurate and timely performance of billing, accruals, adjustments, and review.

6. Reconciliations

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use reconciliations:
  • Provided monthly disbursement transaction activity reports to department manager as requested, and to complete month end reconciliations.
  • Prepared weekly aging reports and data for management distribution for proper reconciliations for each department.

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7. ACH

Automated Clearing House, ACH is a computerized electronic network to process, coordinate and manage transactions (credit and debit) and automated money transfers between banks and other financial institutions without the use of paper checks, electronic transfers, credit cards, or cash networks. The ACH network is regulated by the federal government and managed by the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA).

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use ach:
  • Process & Review Bank of America Wires and ACH report for payments PBS, Foundation for direct deposit and Release.
  • Prepared, processed, and submitted check files, wire transfers, ACH payments, and positive pay.

8. Journal Entries

Journal entries can be defined as an act of keeping or making records of any transactions either economic or non-economic. The journal entries are made in the accounting systems of an organization. The entries are filled with two main fields; debit and credit. The debit and credit must be equal at the end of a journal entry else it is not considered correct. The journal entries also keep the date of transactions and the names of the accounts that were affected by the transactions.

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use journal entries:
  • Calculate deferred rent and tenant improvement allowance amortization schedules; book monthly journal entries.
  • Recorded journal entries and assisted with monthly financial statement preparation.

9. Accounts Payable Processing

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use accounts payable processing:
  • Manage timely and accurate completion of weekly accounts payable processing.
  • Trained new team members on SAP and Accounts Payable processing.

10. Vendor Invoices

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use vendor invoices:
  • Communicated with purchasing and receiving to ensure accurate payment of vendor invoices.
  • Perform daily review of accounts payable transactions, including vendor invoices and employee business expense reimbursements, for accuracy and compliance.

11. Vendor Inquiries

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use vendor inquiries:
  • Printed checks, addressed vendor inquiries, and interacted with all levels of management regarding invoices and payments.
  • Respond to vendor inquiries and interact with vendors regarding issues relating to invoices through phone or email.

12. ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is computer software used by major corporations and organizations for conducting their management and accounting tasks efficiently. ERP systems bind different business processes with each other allowing smoother flow of data between them resulting in swift project assessment and completion.

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use erp:
  • Handled all appraisal invoices by cross referencing to PO and entering into ERP system for payment.
  • Processed 1,450 invoices per month utilizing Oracle ERP for Master Lock & Waterloo Industries.

13. Vendor Accounts

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use vendor accounts:
  • Reviewed vendor accounts to identify invoice and statement discrepancies.
  • Worked closely with business units on all returned checks due to incorrect addresses incorrect vendor accounts and incorrect amounts paid.

14. Payable Process

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use payable process:
  • Answer questions regarding payment and submission of invoices to create a more efficient and productive payable process.
  • Updated and improved several Accounts Payable processes, saving over one day of labor each week.

15. W-9

Here's how senior accounts payable specialists use w-9:
  • Work with new vendors to get their W-9 form and account information and set them up for processing in the system.
  • Requested W-9 form from vendors to update vendor information, entered new vendors into system and processed end of year 1099.
top-skills

What skills help Senior Accounts Payable Specialists find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on senior accounts payable specialist resumes?

Curtis Nicholls Ph.D.Curtis Nicholls Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor of Accounting, Co-director of the Student Managed Investment Fund, Bucknell University

The obvious trends are going to become more pronounced: coding and technology-related skills. I think we are going to see an elevation in the coding expectations. In the future, I expect employers to begin providing coding assessments to potential candidates. This is a common feature of engineering and finance jobs, and I think we will see it with respect to claims about coding prowess.

Data skills will also continue to become more prevalent across all business disciplines. Employers are looking for experience with large data sets, data visualization software (e.g. Tableau, PowerBI, Alteryx, etc.) and statistical analysis. Data has become a major currency, and employees' ability to utilize data for decision making will be critical to success in the employment marketplace.

Beyond the obvious, I think the pandemic has also shifted focus to skills surrounding resilience and motivation. I've heard employers during the pandemic express surprise at the disparity of responses to the pandemic: some employees made the pivot to remote work seamlessly, others required significantly more support. Skills that demonstrate resilience, such as group work, honors programs, etc. will become more important.
I would encourage job seekers to highlight skills learned during the pandemic. I would anticipate a regular interview question inquiring about how the job seeker used their extra time during the pandemic. The most common answers will likely include lots of Queen's Gambit and Tiger King, but employers will look for answers surrounding the development of new skills or acquired certifications. Imagine the employer's thoughts when you suggest that you used the extra time to pursue a lifelong dream such as learning to play the piano or guitar. If you missed the early pandemic window of opportunity, take advantage now!

This line of questions may precede a dangerous trend for employers to look for indications of mental strength. I find this possibility disheartening as we could see employers screening employees with mental health challenges at a time when the solidarity of a job could provide much needed structure.

What technical skills for a senior accounts payable specialist stand out to employers?

Zev Fried Ph.D.Zev Fried Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor, Fairleigh Dickinson University

For accountants, the same skills that were always needed such as proficiency with numbers, use of different types of computer software, and problem identification and solving are still needed. Emerging from the pandemic, there are also added skills such as the ability to work remotely and collaborate and share your work that will be important to employers.

What soft skills should all senior accounts payable specialists possess?

Jose AldrichJose Aldrich LinkedIn profile

Professor, Florida International University

-Strong relationship building skills. Trusted relationships with peers, bosses and clients/customers are key.
-Analytical abilities. A lot of the work will involve interpreting data and using business analytics.
-Effective decision making. Identifying business risks and courage to take calculated risks in business.
-Leadership skills
-Ability to speak up at meetings.
-Organizational skills

What hard/technical skills are most important for senior accounts payable specialists?

Frank Longo

Assistant Professor of Business, Centenary University

Proficiency with emerging technology is an attention-getter. We should note that the Certified Public Accountants Exam will contain three sections by 2024, including Data Analytics, Tax Compliance and Planning, and Information System and Controls. A basic knowledge will be required in each of these, and the CPA candidate will identify one area of the above for more detailed testing. This change in knowledge requirements reflects the skills employers see as most important to hire. Using technology in any of these areas can move a candidate to the top of the hiring list. We should emphasize that the job candidate does not need to be an expert in each area, but the ability to effectively use technology in one area is important. Employers are looking for the ability to use technology in information security, business processes, information systems, IT audits, data analytics, and tax planning but not all of them.

Keep in mind that successful firms performed audits, prepared tax returns, advised clients on data security, and much more during the pandemic, and they often did so remotely. This can be expected to continue into the future.

List of senior accounts payable specialist skills to add to your resume

Senior accounts payable specialist skills

The most important skills for a senior accounts payable specialist resume and required skills for a senior accounts payable specialist to have include:

  • Vendor Statements
  • Expense Reports
  • Purchase Orders
  • Data Entry
  • Accruals
  • Reconciliations
  • ACH
  • Journal Entries
  • Accounts Payable Processing
  • Vendor Invoices
  • Vendor Inquiries
  • ERP
  • Vendor Accounts
  • Payable Process
  • W-9
  • Invoice Processing
  • General Ledger Accounts
  • Payroll
  • W9
  • Vendor Payments
  • Process Improvement
  • Account Reconciliations
  • Wire Transfers
  • Shared Services
  • SOX
  • Treasury
  • Internal Controls
  • IRS
  • Payment Terms
  • Wire Payments
  • GAAP
  • Payment Processing
  • Credit Memos
  • Payment Issues
  • Payable Invoices
  • Fixed Assets
  • Payable Issues
  • QuickBooks
  • Payable Functions
  • Reconcile Accounts Payable
  • Payable Checks
  • Vendor Maintenance
  • EFT
  • Manual Checks
  • PeopleSoft
  • Financial Reports
  • Payable Reports
  • Payable System
  • P-Card
  • Vendor Issues

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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