Supervisor Accounts Payable
The Supervisor Accounts Payable position is eligible for Niagara Region’s Hybrid Work Model, with the opportunity to work 50% of the time from home and working 50% of the time in office at Niagara Region Headquarters (Thorold, Ontario). Please note that fully remote work is not available for this position.
Job Summary
Reporting to the Manager Accounting Services, the Supervisor Accounts Payable is responsible for supervising and coordinating the accounts payable activities to ensure effective and efficient operations and to meet approved levels of service. Activities include payment processing, compliance and customer service for Regional departments and shared service partners, in accordance with Regional policies and procedures. Provides system and technical leadership and expertise to the Accounts Payable team. This position also has responsibility for providing ad-hoc analysis and reports as required.
Education
- Post-secondary degree in Accounting or Finance.
- Completion or enrolment in the Municipal Finance Course is an asset
Knowledge
- Minimum 3 years of team leadership experience in Accounting or Finance.
- Experienced in a municipal or large scale accounting environment with an advanced ERP system (e.g. PeopleSoft Financial preferred)
- Experience implementing process improvements and automation tools is an asset.
- Proficient knowledge and use of Microsoft Excel, such as Pivot Tables & Formulas (v-lookups, sumif, etc.)
- Ability to research, troubleshoot and find solutions to challenges.
- Ability to prioritize workload and multi-task efficiently.
- Professional Accounting Designation (CPA/CA, CGA, CMA) is preferred.
- Team leadership experience, within a unionized environment is preferred
- Experience with Public Sector Accounting (PSA) and not-for-profit accounting standards is preferred.
- An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
Responsibilities
Supervises staff, coordinating and planning work, providing work direction, assigning tasks and projects, determining methods and procedures to be used, monitoring quality of work, resolving problems and ensuring assigned results are achieved. (50% of time)
- Enables results with the organization’s human capital strategy to foster employee engagement.
- In conjunction with the Manager provides training and development, coaching and discipline when necessary, and manages staff recruitment.
- Ensures focus is service excellence, communication/transparency, innovation, and data integrity and work flow integration.
- Ensures staff has the information and resources to make successful plans and decisions.
- Ensures all people related issues, including recruitment, grievances and labour relations issues, are aligned to HR and Corporate standards and practices.
- Helps to break down barriers to employee success, ensuring collaboration and cooperation with other teams within their division and department.
- Ensures Occupational Health & Safety policies, programs and practices are implemented, and maintained. This includes workplace inspections, monitoring, accident reporting and investigations, and ensuring any observed hazards or lapses in the functioning of OH&S processes, and other OH&S concerns are responded to promptly.
- Ensures all individuals under supervision have beeninformed of hazards and instructed on the necessary risk control and emergency response measures.
Manage account reconciliations and reoccurring tasks/reviews as follows: (20% of time)
- Responsible for reconciling AP sub-ledger versus general ledger monthly.
- Performs additional accruals, reconciliations and reporting as requested by the Manager or Associate Director.
- Responsible for reconciling Purchasing card module versus general ledger monthly, follow up communication with users to clear transactions to GL.
- Support monthly AP close process, working closely with Reporting team and Program Financial Specialists to ensure costs are appropriately recognized within PeopleSoft.
- Support annual external financial audit.
- Communicate with Expense Report users and approvers to clear pending expense reports in a timely manner.
- Review AP WorkCenter on a weekly basis to ensure items are cleared.
- Run AP Voucher match exception and incomplete voucher reports on a weekly basis; ensure exceptions and incompletes are being actioned in a timely manner; perform overrides as required.
- Review and assign corrections for utility vouchers entered by the accounts payable team.
- Act as an Accounts Payable expert panel member and prepare accounts payable metrics for annual Municipal Benchmark Networking Canada (MBNC) reporting.
- Approve all payment runs (daily, weekly, monthly and ad hoc) prepared by the accounts payable team.
- Approve all zero dollar vouchers created by the accounts payable team to ensure integrity and completeness of supplier accounts and payments.
- Perform due diligence checks to validate supplier bank information when supplier newly enrolls or makes changes to EFT information, as requested by Supplier Admin team (Procurement).
- Determine annual calendar of accounts payable processes (e.g. purchasing card reconciliation dates, payment runs and accruals) in alignment with Corporate Finance schedule.
- Prepare accounts payable information for annual Financial Information Return.
- Monitor replenishment of cheques and other department supplies as needed.
Responsible for driving a high-level of customer service to internal and external partners. (15% of time).
- Ensures team customer service levels are acceptable and consistently met.
- Fosters strong communication and collaboration with team and other departments at all levels within the organization.
- Supports Corporate compliance with procure to pay processes, applicable legislation (e.g. Construction Act) and Procurement Bylaw.
- Problem solves with operational departments and procurement as it pertains to changes in procedures or functionality in PeopleSoft and other in-house systems.
- Maintains positive relationships with department/division staff & other key invested parties to ensure customer satisfaction and improve efficiency.
- Responds to emergencies, complaints and request for service and takes appropriate action in a timely manner.
- Investigates complaints (internal and external), assessing the nature and validity of complaints and recommending courses of action to Manager/Associate Director as required.
Provide strong financial and analytical support to Manager, team and client groups: (15% of time)
- Assist AP team with problem solving as it pertains to their everyday duties and cross-departmental interactions.
- Create job aids and ensure financial transactions are being executed as per financial policy/guidance.
- Respond to requests for confirmation from vendor’s auditors.
- Prepare and investigate year end working papers for external auditors as requested.
- Assist client group staff with troubleshooting PeopleSoft issues and engage ERP Education and Communications Advisor for additional training and support when required.
- Provide knowledgeable direction on recoverable vs. non-recoverable HST, chart of accounts, accounting entries and other accounting terminology, such as accruals and prepaids, etc.
- Perform ad-hoc analysis and/or reports as requested by the Manager or Associate Director.
Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned or required.
Special Requirements
- In accordance with the Corporate Criminal Record Check Policy, the position requires the incumbent to undergo a Criminal Records Check and submit a Canadian Police Clearance Certificate.
Regional staff strive to enable the strategic priorities of council and the organization through the completion of their work. Staff carry out their work by demonstrating the corporate values.
How to Apply
Regional staff strive to enable the strategic priorities of council and the organization through the completion of their work. Staff carry out their work by demonstrating the corporate values. To view the full job description, requirements and apply on our Careers Site, visit our Careers page – Job Opening #42472 (https://www.niagararegion.ca/government/hr/careers/)
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