Business Unit Description

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million that helps people turn their goals and dreams into 'Real Possibilities' by changing the way America defines aging. With staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and promote the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare security, financial security and personal fulfillment. AARP also advocates for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world's largest circulation magazine, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin.

Financial and Operational Services (FOS) manages AARP's multi-year financial planning, budgeting and forecasting; treasury and investments; tax reporting and planning; and accounting and financial reporting activities. The division provides project management and training and support for the systems used to manage AARP's money and assets.
Summary

The Accounts Payable Manager manages the outsourced partner in order to meet AARP's financial and strategic objectives.

Due to regulatory compliance and oversight, this position requires full comprehensive knowledge of all Accounts Payable (AP) processes, financial controls, risk and audit requirements to fully protect AARP and all subsidiaries. This position audits and analyzes internal controls to meet organizational standards, review vendor reports, and statistical metrics from a variety of sources that support decision-making recommendations for executive management. Additionally, the Accounts Payable Manager engages in team building; creates a solid working relationship and willingness to be a confident decision maker by exhibiting full knowledge of all AP process. This role is accountable in maintaining finance accounting GAAP compliance.
Responsibilities

Position Responsibilities (including but not limited to):

• Manages vendor relationships to ensure they meet statement of work (SOW) contractual requirements ensuring governance protocols are followed.
• Manages vendor performance through service-level agreement (SLA) management, monitoring and trending ensuring incidents are tracked, documented and resolved by the vendor.
• Plans and organizes closely with outsourced team to insure that staffing resource levels are appropriate for the transaction volume and process workflow existing in the department.
• Influences performance of vendor by challenging vendor to increase performance levels.
• Audits processes for accounting and financial control risk
• Executes approval for all required AP tax filings to ensure they meet regulatory compliance and internal policies including year-end processing and data management.
• Builds strategic and operational goals/objectives between the vendor and others by monitoring conflict resolution of escalated vendor-related issues.
• Prepares vendor scorecard report to identify, investigate, analyze and make assessment and recommendations to AARP management on vendor progress.
• Reviews and monitors established measures of efficiency and quality of transaction processing by the outsourced team, executing changes and improvements in the process.
• Develops and implements technology enhancements that will sufficiently improve Accounts Payable's level of efficiency through EDI, electronic invoices and consolidated billings.
• Ensures that Accounts Payable works effectively with our internal/external auditors to demonstrate that the Financial Services operational structure is in full compliance with the potential mandate for Sarbanes Oxley.
• Establishes a monthly reporting process that will provide useful reporting for the CFO and Controller to be advised of Accounts Payable's processing results as it pertains to our payment disbursement, workflow cycle time, and open aging vouchers. This would also include the establishment of useful benchmarks to ensure that AP is working toward AARP's strategy.
• Oversees and organizes special payment requests of complexity and/or high dollar volume or priority.
• Monitors and reinforces complete confidentiality of all financial information at all times
• Establishes and maintains excellent communication with clients in all AARP entities to allow for a joint resolution of issues and changes that could impact business unit owners/operations.
• Supports the training initiative for the Office of the Controller by coordinating all finance oriented training needs.
• Leads, coaches, motivates, and promotes training and development of others through daily communication supplemented by periodic performance feedback. Also, responsible for creating and maintaining an environment of openness, teamwork and mutual respect.

Requirements

· Completion of a Associate's degree in Accounting or Finance is required, or equivalent experience.

· A minimum of 8+ years of relevant experience is required.

· Current and demonstrated knowledge of all Accounts Payable processes and best practices, including financial controls, risk and audit requirements.

· Current and demonstrated knowledge of relevant regulatory and compliance standards, including GAAP and Sarbanes Oxley.

· Experience working with PeopleSoft is strongly preferred.

· Experience managing people and vendors is strongly preferred.

· Excellent written and oral communication skills and relationship management skills are essential.
Benefits Offered

AARP offers competitive benefits with a 401K, 100% company funded pension plan, health, dental, vision and life insurance, STD/LTD, paid vacation and sick, and other benefits.
Equal Employment Opportunity

AARP is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse workforce and sustaining an inclusive culture. AARP does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, color, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mental or physical disability, genetic information, veteran status, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.