General Accountant – Accounts Payable

The role

The General Accountant supports accurate and timely financial reporting through general ledger maintenance, accounts payable processing, account reconciliations, and month-end close activities.

The role requires strong accounts payable experience, including invoice processing, employee expense claims, vendor account management, prepaid expense schedules, accrued liabilities, capital assets depreciations. Working under the guidance of the Manager, Finance and Accounting, the General Accountant maintains complete supporting documentation, investigates discrepancies, and contributes to effective financial controls and process improvements.

Position responsibilities

Accounts Payable and Expense Claims

• Review and process supplier invoices and employee expense claims, ensuring appropriate approvals, supporting documentation, account coding, and compliance with organizational policies.
• Review unverified invoices in Concur and route them to the appropriate approvers.
• Follow up on outstanding approvals, missing documentation, and invoice discrepancies to support timely payment.
• Prepare and process payment batches, including electronic funds transfers (EFTs), wire transfers and cheques, for approved invoices, expense claims, and authorized trust fund disbursements, ensuring required payment approvals are obtained.
• Respond to internal and external inquiries regarding Concur, invoices, expense claims, and payment status.
• Reconcile vendor statements and investigate outstanding balances, duplicate invoices, credits, and payment discrepancies.

Prepaid Expenses and Accrued Liabilities

• Prepare and maintain prepaid expense schedules, ensuring costs are allocated to the appropriate accounting periods.
• Calculate and post monthly prepaid expense amortization entries and reconcile schedules to the general ledger.
• Identify expenses requiring accrual through review of outstanding invoices, purchase commitments, subsequent payments, and input from departments.
• Prepare supporting schedules and journal entries for accrued liabilities, including reversals and adjustments.
• Review prepaid and accrual balances regularly and resolve outstanding or unusual items.

General Ledger and Month-End Close

• Prepare and post journal entries with complete and accurate supporting documentation.
• Reconcile assigned balance sheet accounts, including accounts payable, prepaid expenses, accrued liabilities, and bank or clearing accounts, as assigned.
• Investigate discrepancies and prepare correcting entries where required.
• Complete assigned month-end and year-end close activities within established deadlines.
• Prepare account analyses and supporting schedules for financial reporting, budgeting, and the three-year plan.

Vendor Management and Financial Controls

• Create and update vendor records in Sage, ensuring required documentation and approvals are obtained.
• Verify requests to change vendor banking information in accordance with established controls.
• Maintain accurate vendor records and identify duplicate or inactive accounts.
• Follow established approval authorities and segregation of duties across vendor maintenance, invoice approval, and payment processing.
• Maintain organized and accessible financial records to support review and audit requirements.

Dormant and Trust Account Transactions

• Prepare and coordinate cheque deposits for dormant and trust accounts.
• Maintain deposit trackers and reconcile recorded transactions to supporting documentation and bank activity.
• Prepare related journal entries and investigate discrepancies.
• Process authorized trust-related payments with appropriate approvals and supporting records.

Audit Support and Process Improvement

• Prepare schedules and retrieve supporting documentation for internal reviews and external audits.
• Document and maintain procedures for assigned accounting activities.
• Identify opportunities to improve accuracy, efficiency, and controls within accounts payable and general accounting.

Backup & Support

• Provide backup coverage within the Finance team and perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications and experience

• Postsecondary degree or diploma in accounting, finance, or a related discipline.
• Experience in general accounting and accounts payable is required, including invoice processing, employee expense claims, prepaid expense schedules, accrued liabilities, journal entries, and account reconciliations.
• Knowledge of SAP Concur and Sage.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including formulas, lookups, and pivot tables.
• Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to meet deadlines.
• Effective communication skills to respond to employee and vendor inquiries and resolve discrepancies.

Core competencies

• Accountability and Execution
• Decision Quality
• Cross-Team Collaboration
• Risk-Based Judgment
• Service Excellence