Accounts Payable & Procure-to-Pay Optimization Specialist

Job Title: Accounts Payable & Procure-to-Pay Optimization Specialist

Duration: 3 months, full-time, with a defined start and end date.

Location:  hybrid 3 days a week in Radnor, PA

Function: CS Procurement — Accounts Payable & Procure-to-Pay

Reports To: Procurement / Transformation leadership (day-to-day direction from A/P and Procurement Tech leads)

Systems: SAP Ariba (Buying & Invoicing, Contracts, Supplier Network) — hands-on knowledge required

Start Target: Sept start

Engagement Overview

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Accounts Payable and Procure-to-Pay (P2P) specialist for a focused 3-month engagement to deep-dive and clean up our A/P processes end to end. This is an execution-oriented role, not an advisory assignment: the individual is expected to roll up their sleeves, provide SAP Ariba configuration changes as needed, fix issues, tighten controls, and leave behind streamlined processes and documentation the internal team can sustain.

The right candidate combines strong A/P and P2P process knowledge, practical SOX controls experience, indirect (sales/use) tax knowledge, and demonstrates hands-on SAP Ariba operating expertise.

Key Responsibilities:

A/P Process Deep Dive & Cleanup

• Understand current A/P processes end to end, identify legacy practices and manual workarounds, and drive a prioritized cleanup.
• Resolve exceptions and process gaps during the engagement — not just document them — leaving processes measurably cleaner and more standardized; addressing highlighted specific use cases by category.
• SOX Controls — Ensure Solid & Streamlined
• Confirm robust SOX controls exist across the procure-to-pay cycle and streamline them to remove duplication and manual effort.
• Validate clear segregation of duties (SoD), payment-run controls, and duplicate-payment detection, with a documented control/SoD matrix.
• Produce audit-ready, controlled documentation and, where applicable, test scripts.
• Right Purchase Vehicle by Category
• Recommend the appropriate purchase vehicle for each category of purchase — Blanket Purchase Order (BPO), standard PO, release/contract order — based on business need, spend profile, and control requirements.
• Provide a clear decision matrix mapping purchase category to document type, with supporting Ariba configuration to enable consistent usage.
• Touchless Invoicing with 2/3-Way Match
• Increase straight-through (touchless) invoice processing as far as practical while maintaining appropriate control.
• Define and configure 2-way and 3-way match rules and tolerance thresholds by purchase type, balancing automation against control risk.
• Redesign exception handling and resolution routing to reduce manual A/P intervention.
• Tax Processes & Accurate Ship-To
• Take ownership of tax setup within P2P and sourcing processes upstream so correct ship-to locations are captured and drive the right tax allocation from the start.
• Prioritize the top 5–10 use cases with the greatest dollar impact — fix the data points, correct ship-to logic, defaults, and validation at request and invoice requirements so no downstream cleanup is needed ongoing.
• Fixed Assets & Tax-Audit Readiness
• Ensure fixed-asset purchases are properly categorized and documented within the procurement and invoicing flow.
• Establish organized, well-structured records to support state and local tax audits, including exemption documentation where relevant.

Expected Deliverables

• Workstream      Expected Deliverable
• A/P Current-State & Cleanup     Documented A/P process issues and fixes, exception taxonomy with volumes, and a prioritized cleanup of issues resolved during the engagement.
• SOX Controls    Streamlined, documented SOX control set for procure-to-pay (approvals, segregation of duties, duplicate-payment, payment-run controls) with a control/SoD matrix.
• Purchase Vehicle        Decision matrix — the right purchase vehicle (BPO, standard PO) by purchase category, with Ariba configuration notes passed to Ariba tech lead.
• Touchless Invoicing     Touchless-processing improvements with defined 2-way/3-way match rules and tolerances by purchase type; measurable increase in touchless rate.
• Tax & Ship-To   Corrected ship-to logic for the top 5–10 highest-dollar-impact use cases, with default logic and validation at request/invoice.
• Fixed Assets & Audit Records    Fixed-asset purchases correctly categorized and documented; organized, audit-ready records to support state and local tax audits.
• Handover        Written procedures, configuration documentation, and knowledge transfer to internal A/P and Procurement Tech teams.

Required Qualifications

• Hands-on SAP Ariba expertise (required) — direct experience operating Ariba Buying & Invoicing, including matching rules, tolerances, approval workflows, and exception routing.
• A/P and Procure-to-Pay depth — proven track record improving invoice-to-pay processes, touchless processing, and PO compliance.
• SOX / internal controls — practical experience designing and streamlining P2P controls, SoD, and payment integrity controls.
• Indirect tax awareness — working knowledge of sales/use tax as it relates to ship-to accuracy, taxability, and audit support.
• Fixed-asset and records discipline — experience categorizing fixed-asset spend and maintaining audit-ready documentation.
• Execution mindset — able to work independently, drive cleanup to completion, and transfer knowledge to internal teams within a compressed timeframe.
• Data analytics and management — strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, filtering, data cleansing, and basic trend analysis, with the ability to organize large A/P and P2P data sets, identify patterns, quantify issues, and translate findings into actionable process improvements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in financial services or another regulated industry.
• Familiarity with BPO / release-order structures and PO-only operating models.
• Exposure to A/P KPI reporting (touchless rate, exception aging, PO compliance, cycle time).
• Prior experience partnering with tax, finance, and supplier-management stakeholders.

Engagement Logistics

• Engagement model: Contingent resource sourced through our MSP staffing partner.
• Success measures: Cleaner A/P processes, streamlined SOX controls, an agreed purchase-vehicle matrix, improved touchless rate, corrected ship-to for the top 5–10 tax use cases, and audit-ready fixed-asset records.
• Handover: Documented procedures, configuration notes, and knowledge transfer to the internal A/P and Procurement Tech teams at close.