Associate Director- Accounts Payable

BDO India; Mumbai City; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

BDO India in Mumbai seeks a Chartered Accountant to lead Accounts Payable operations, overseeing a 15–20 person team and ensuring timely, accurate processing and vendor reconciliations.

This role covers payments and treasury coordination, month-end closing, vendor management, compliance, and process improvement, with at least 10+ years in Finance & Accounts and 5+ years AP leadership; experience with SAP, Oracle or Microsoft Dynamics 365 is preferred.

Qualifications

• CA is mandatory.
• 10+ years of overall experience in Finance & Accounts.
• At least 5 years of hands-on experience managing Accounts Payable operations, including payment processing and month-end closing.
• Demonstrated experience leading large teams.
• Preference for experience in large organizations with turnover ~₹1,000 crore; AR experience is a plus.
• ERP experience with SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of 15-20 AP professionals and ensure delivery against service levels.
• Oversee end-to-end AP cycle: invoices, verifications, payments, and reconciliations.
• Ensure timely, accurate processing of vendor invoices and reimbursements.
• Manage backlog, discrepancies, and payment delays; drive standardization and improvements.
• Coordinate payments and cash flow with Treasury and Finance; ensure controls.
• Own AP month-end close, GL balancing, reconciliations, and reporting.
• Drive vendor management, escalation mechanisms, and stakeholder engagement.

Skills

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Process improvement

Education

CA (Chartered Accountant)

Tools

SAP

Oracle

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Job description

Key Responsibilities

1. Accounts Payable Operations & Leadership

• Lead and manage a team of 15-20 professionals, ensuring effective workload distribution, performance management, and delivery against defined service levels.
• Oversee the end-to-end Accounts Payable cycle, including invoice receipt, verification, processing, accounting, approvals, and vendor reconciliations.
• Ensure timely and accurate processing of vendor invoices, employee reimbursements, expense claims, and other payables.
• Establish robust processes to manage invoice backlogs, resolve discrepancies, and minimize payment delays.
• Drive standardization, productivity, and continuous improvement across AP operations.

2. Payments & Treasury Coordination

• Oversee domestic and other applicable vendor payment cycles, ensuring payments are accurate, timely, and compliant with internal policies.
• Monitor payment schedules, due dates, cash flow requirements, and payment priorities in coordination with Treasury and Finance.
• Ensure appropriate authorization, segregation of duties, and controls across payment processing.
• Manage payment exceptions, failed transactions, urgent payment requests, and vendor escalations.
• Strengthen controls to mitigate duplicate payments, fraudulent transactions, and other payment-related risks.

3. Month-End Closing

• Own the Accounts Payable month-end close process, ensuring timely closure and accurate reporting.
• Review AP-related general ledger balances, vendor reconciliations, outstanding invoices, accruals, provisions, and advances.
• Ensure accurate accounting of expenses, liabilities, and cut-off entries in accordance with applicable accounting standards and company policies.
• Reconcile AP sub-ledgers with the general ledger and investigate discrepancies.
• Provide timely schedules, reconciliations, and supporting documentation for financial reporting and audits.

4. Vendor Management & Stakeholder Engagement

• Drive effective vendor account management, statement reconciliations, and timely resolution of invoice and payment disputes.
• Build strong working relationships with Procurement, Business Teams, Plant Operations, Treasury, Tax, and Finance.
• Establish clear escalation mechanisms to resolve vendor issues and improve stakeholder experience.
• Monitor vendor ageing. overdue liabilities, and payment commitments to support working capital management.

5. Compliance, Controls & Audit

• Ensure compliance with applicable statutory requirements, tax regulations, GST, TDS, and internal financial control policies relevant to AP.
• Maintain appropriate documentation and audit trails for invoices, payments, approvals, and reconciliations.
• Coordinate with internal and statutory auditors and ensure timely closure of audit observations.
• Identify control gaps and implement corrective actions to strengthen governance and reduce operational risk.

6. Process Improvement & Systems

• Identify opportunities to streamline AP processes, improve turnaround times, and enhance operational efficiency.
• Drive automation and effective utilization of ERP systems and finance tools.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators, including invoice processing turnaround time, overdue invoices, payment accuracy, and reconciliation status.
• Develop dashboards and management reports to provide visibility into AP performance, risks, and process bottlenecks.

7. Accounts Receivable Additional Advantage

• Provide oversight or support to Accounts Receivable operations, where required.
• Support process integration and improved coordination between AP, AR, and other finance functions.

Preferred candidate profile

• Chartered Accountant (CA) is mandatory.
• 10+ years of overall experience in Finance & Accounts.
• At least 5 years of hands-on experience managing Accounts Payable operations, including payment processing and month-end closing.
• Demonstrated experience leading large teams
• Prior experience in a large organization, ideally with a turnover of approximately 1,000 crore or more, is preferred.
• Experience in Accounts Receivable will be an added advantage.
• Experience with ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 will be preferred.
• Candidates from both multinational corporations and large Indian organizations are welcome.