Accounts Payable Manager
About this role
AeroVironment is hiring a Accounts Payable Manager, full-time, on-site in Simi Valley, CA, in the DEFENSE sector.
Worker Type
Regular
Job Description
Summary
The Accounts Payable Manager supports the Senior Manager, Accounts Payable in leading day-to-day Accounts Payable operations across the organization. This role manages the Accounts Payable team and is responsible for the timely, accurate, and compliant processing of invoices, supplier payments, employee reimbursements, and related AP activities.
Reporting to the Senior Manager, the Accounts Payable Manager is a hands-on operational leader who balances service, accuracy, internal controls, and continuous improvement. The role will also support the Senior Manager's Oracle Fusion rollout across all other AV business units currently operating in other ERP systems by providing AP subject-matter expertise and helping ensure a smooth transition from legacy environments.
Position Responsibilities
Day-to-Day AP Operations
- Support the Accounts Payable Senior Manager in overseeing daily AP operations and ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant processing across the AP function.
- Manage, coach, and develop AP staff; establish clear priorities, balance workloads, provide training, and foster a service-oriented and accountable team environment.
- Oversee invoice intake, coding, purchase-order matching, approvals, exception management, and payment processing to ensure adherence to policy, appropriate approval, and timely supplier payment.
- Review AP aging, payment holds, supplier inquiries, and employee reimbursement requests; resolve escalated issues and identify opportunities to improve service levels and discount capture.
- Oversee supplier onboarding and maintenance, including review of payment terms, banking information, and tax documentation in accordance with established controls.
- Support check runs, ACH and wire payments, and other payment activities; ensure accurate execution, appropriate approvals, and timely resolution of payment exceptions.
- Monitor AP performance metrics, aging trends, workflow bottlenecks, and recurring issues; communicate operational results and risks to the Senior Manager.
- Partner with Procurement, Treasury, Accounting, and business-unit teams to resolve invoice, receipt, supplier, and payment issues.
Close, Controls, and Compliance
- Ensure timely and accurate AP month-end close activities, including aging review, accrual support, account reconciliations, and timely resolution of discrepant items.
- Maintain effective AP internal controls, policies, procedures, and segregation-of-duties practices that support SOX compliance, audit readiness, and applicable company requirements.
- Coordinate preparation and review of 1099 reporting and other AP-related tax or compliance activities.
- Support internal and external audit requests by ensuring documentation is complete, accurate, and readily available.
- Review and improve AP processes, controls, and standard operating procedures to reduce risk, increase efficiency, and strengthen the user and supplier experience.
Oracle Fusion Implementation Support
- Support the Accounts Payable Senior Manager in the Oracle Fusion rollout across all other AV business units currently operating in other ERP systems while maintaining continuity of daily AP operations.
- Serve as an AP subject-matter expert for requirements gathering, future-state process design, workflow review, testing, training, and issue resolution.
- Partner with Finance Systems, IT, Procurement, Treasury, and external implementation partners to validate AP configuration, integrations, workflows, reports, and role-based access against approved business requirements.
- Coordinate assigned AP implementation-readiness activities, including action plans, open-item tracking, defect triage, resource needs, cutover checklists, and go-live readiness inputs for the Senior Manager.
- Facilitate AP process reviews and conference-room pilots; document process gaps, configuration decisions, control impacts, and recommended resolutions.
- Assist with AP data-conversion activities, including data validation, reconciliation, exception research, and business signoff for supplier records, open invoices, payment information, and other AP data.
- Participate in system integration testing, user acceptance testing, mock conversions, cutover readiness, and post-go-live hypercare as assigned by the Senior Manager.
- Validate end-to-end AP scenarios in Fusion, including invoice intake, purchase-order matching, approvals, payment processing, supplier maintenance, expense and P-Card interfaces, month-end close, and reporting.
- Track AP defects and enhancement requests through resolution; confirm fixes meet business requirements and do not disrupt operational controls or service levels.
- Help develop and deliver process documentation, job aids, and training for AP team members, approvers, requesters, and other business users.
- Identify operational risks and improvement opportunities during the transition from legacy ERP systems to Oracle Fusion; escalate material issues promptly to the Senior Manager.
Continuous Improvement and Collaboration
- Identify and implement practical process improvements, automation opportunities, reporting enhancements, and metrics that improve AP efficiency, accuracy, visibility, and control effectiveness.
- Create and maintain AP procedures, desk guides, and training materials; ensure the team is trained on current policies, systems, and processes.
- Collaborate with Treasury, Procurement, Accounting, Tax, Internal Audit, Finance Systems, and business-unit leaders to resolve operational issues and advance process improvements.
- Serve as a trusted AP subject-matter expert and communicate operational status, risks, and recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Experience)
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
- Seven or more years of progressive Accounts Payable or procure-to-pay experience, including experience in a complex, multi-entity environment.
- Three or more years of people-management or AP team-leadership experience.
- Experience supporting an ERP implementation, enhancement, or system conversion in an AP functional role is preferred.
- Hands-on Oracle Fusion Cloud Payables experience is preferred; experience with Oracle Fusion Procurement and Expenses is a plus.
- Experience with Costpoint, Unanet, NetSuite, or comparable ERP platforms is preferred.
- Experience in a publicly traded company and/or government contracting, aerospace and defense, or other regulated environment is preferred.
Functional and Technical Skills
<Description from AeroVironment's official posting. Always confirm details on the company careers page.
About AeroVironment
AeroVironment
Company in the mobility sector tracked nightly on the Mobility Jobs board.
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About Larry Sherwood Jr.
Talent Acquisition Leader specializing in mobility, EV, and frontier tech. 1,000+ hires across roles ranging from production technicians to VPs, including 48 hires for the AFEELA U.S. launch at Sony Honda Mobility (98% offer acceptance, $1.5M+ agency savings). SHRM-CP certified. Build recruiting functions from scratch, no agencies.
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