What does a senior accounts payable specialist do?
A senior accounts payable specialist is responsible for performing more complex tasks in the accounting department of an organization and assisting the junior staff in processing financial transactions. Senior accounts payable specialists manage invoice release for vendors and perform bank reconciliations. They also handle the vendors' inquiries and concerns regarding their paychecks and resolve billing discrepancies that they may have. A senior account payable specialist must have excellent knowledge of the accounting principles to generate payments accurately and maintain an organized record of the financial filing system.
Senior accounts payable specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior accounts payable specialist resumes:
- Manage payroll garnishments to accurately comply with applicable state and municipal laws.
- Prepare, process, and submit check files, wire transfers, ACH payments, and positive pay.
- Maintain W9 forms for all vendors in the system.
- Verify if all vendors W9's are on file.
- Analyze and prepare the monthly/quarterly payments to IRS for FICA/FUTA taxes.
- Train new staff on ERP software, AP policy and procedures, and customer service.
- Handle all appraisal invoices by cross referencing to PO and entering into ERP system for payment.
- File maintenance and distribution of accounting documents, records and reports in accordance to SOX requirements.
- Process payments, credit memos, wire and ACH payments, post invoices to appropriate general ledger accounts
- Assist in transitioning to a publicly hold entity to ensure readiness for SOX testing and financial audit.
- Prepare and submit annual 1099-MISC forms to recipients and remain in compliance with IRS rules and regulations.
- Play a key role in general ledger activity including account analysis, reconciliation, journal entry preparation, and month-end accruals.
- Maintain accurate records of franchise accounts receivable through accurate and timely performance of billing, accruals, adjustments, and review.
- Enforce established payroll relate policies, procedures and regulations.
- Prepare weekly aging reports and data for management distribution for proper reconciliations for each department.
Senior accounts payable specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Senior Accounts Payable Specialists are proficient in Vendor Statements, Expense Reports, and Purchase Orders. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Integrity, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Senior Accounts Payable Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Vendor Statements, 10%
Reconciled monthly reports, vendor statements, liability reports, inventory and non-inventory accruals.
- Expense Reports, 7%
Review expense reports for compliance with travel and entertainment policy, including verifying and reconciling foreign currency exchange.
- Purchase Orders, 7%
Pursued prompt management approval and/or delivery confirmation for invoices, purchase orders and credit memos to ensure payment within vendor/invoice terms.
- Data Entry, 6%
Optimize payment of hospital invoices, expenses, and check requests through timely and accurate data entry and reconciliation process.
- Accruals, 5%
Played a key role in general ledger activity including account analysis, reconciliation, journal entry preparation, and month-end accruals.
- Reconciliations, 5%
Provided monthly disbursement transaction activity reports to department manager as requested, and to complete month end reconciliations.
Most senior accounts payable specialists use their skills in "vendor statements," "expense reports," and "purchase orders" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior accounts payable specialist responsibilities here:
Computer skills. One of the key soft skills for a senior accounts payable specialist to have is computer skills. You can see how this relates to what senior accounts payable specialists do because "bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks need to be comfortable using computer spreadsheets and bookkeeping software." Additionally, a senior accounts payable specialist resume shows how senior accounts payable specialists use computer skills: "operated a computer terminal and maintained extensive knowledge of appropriate computer systems necessary for data entry and retrieval. "
Integrity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior accounts payable specialist duties is integrity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks have control of an organization’s financial documentation, which they must use properly and keep confidential." According to a senior accounts payable specialist resume, here's how senior accounts payable specialists can utilize integrity in their job responsibilities: "post credit memos and manual check entries to ensure data integrity. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior accounts payable specialists is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday senior accounts payable specialist duties, as "bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are responsible for producing accurate financial records." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "emailed and filed detail eft's, ach's and prepaid accounts. "
Math skills. A big part of what senior accounts payable specialists do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to senior accounts payable specialist responsibilities because "bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks deal with numbers daily and should be comfortable with basic arithmetic." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical senior accounts payable specialist tasks: "monitored invoice payment statistics, follows-up on overdue payments, uncollected credit memos and warranties. "
The three companies that hire the most senior accounts payable specialists are:
Choose from 10+ customizable senior accounts payable specialist resume templates
Build a professional senior accounts payable specialist resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior accounts payable specialist resume.
Compare different senior accounts payable specialists
Senior accounts payable specialist vs. Bookkeeper
Bookkeepers are employees who are in charge of the company's general ledger. They are well-versed in basic accounting principles, and they apply these in their work. Bookkeepers manage the entry of items in the general ledger, assign items into their proper categories, and ensure that the entries are balanced. They also act as auditors by checking the accuracy and veracity of the receipts or vouchers in their possession before entering them into the system. Bookkeepers ensure that their files are up to date and free of errors.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior accounts payable specialist are more likely to require skills like "vendor statements," "accruals," "accounts payable processing," and "vendor inquiries." On the other hand, a job as a bookkeeper requires skills like "payroll tax returns," "customer service," "financial transactions," and "hr." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Bookkeepers tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $42,063. In contrast, senior accounts payable specialists make the biggest average salary, $69,450, in the finance industry.The education levels that bookkeepers earn slightly differ from senior accounts payable specialists. In particular, bookkeepers are 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a senior accounts payable specialist. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior accounts payable specialist vs. Charge bookkeeper
A full charge bookkeeper's primary job is to manage and handle all the accounts of a small or medium-sized business. They are responsible for overseeing the accounting duties for a company, including billing customers, preparing bank statements and tax returns, and processing timesheets. Also, a full charge bookkeeper collates and enters vendor expenses, maintains the ledger's accuracy, and process accounts receivables. There are specific requirements you should meet to become a successful full charge bookkeeper, such as having a bachelor's degree in accounting, previous work experience as a charge bookkeeper, and bookkeeping certification.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior accounts payable specialist responsibilities requires skills like "vendor statements," "purchase orders," "data entry," and "accruals." But a charge bookkeeper might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "payroll tax returns," "balance sheet," "excellent organizational," and "financial data."
On average, charge bookkeepers earn a lower salary than senior accounts payable specialists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, charge bookkeepers earn the most pay in the construction industry with an average salary of $51,567. Whereas senior accounts payable specialists have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $69,450.In general, charge bookkeepers achieve similar levels of education than senior accounts payable specialists. They're 0.2% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior accounts payable specialist vs. Accounting clerk
Accounting clerks are employees assigned to manage administrative and clerical tasks in the accounting department. Accounting clerks handle office accounting records and ensure that files are properly labeled and stored. They validate records and check whether these are updated. They also sort through documents to ensure that they are in their proper storage bins. Aside from document handling, they also help with creating and validating financial statements and bookkeeping. As such, accounting clerks should have a strong background in accounting to manage their tasks better.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from senior accounts payable specialist resumes include skills like "accruals," "journal entries," "vendor inquiries," and "erp," whereas an accounting clerk is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "hr," "credit card payments," and "ledgers. "
Accounting clerks make a very good living in the government industry with an average annual salary of $40,064. On the other hand, senior accounts payable specialists are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $69,450.When it comes to education, accounting clerks tend to earn similar degree levels compared to senior accounts payable specialists. In fact, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior accounts payable specialist vs. Accounting assistant
An accounting assistant is responsible for supporting the daily operations of the business' accounting department, from reviewing financial transactions to the submission of financial reports. Accounting assistants' duties include performing data entry and clerical tasks, maintaining a safe record of account statements, updating and analyzing transactions, verifying the accuracy of financial records, and managing customers and vendors' inquiries as immediate as possible. An accounting assistant must have a broad knowledge of the accounting principles and processes, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills, especially on meeting strict deadlines and doing complex tasks as needed.
Types of senior accounts payable specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
