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How to hire an Accounts Payable and Expense team
Start a Search Financial Headhunters Salary Guide
Financial Headhunters: Decide between high volume data entry or complex exception management to maintain vendor data integrity and resolve invoice discrepancies.
This is what we do all day: recruit accounting, finance, banking and insurance professionals.
- Controller
- CFO
- VP Finance
- FP&A Director
- Accounting Manager
- Director of Accounting
- Assistant Controller
- Tax Director
- Treasury Manager
- Internal Audit Director
- Senior Accountant
- Financial Analyst
- Head of Financial Reporting
- Commercial Lender
- Chief Credit Officer
- Business Systems Finance Lead
01
Team Structure and Levels
Clerks perform data entry and simple reconciliations. They handle high volume invoice coding. Specialists manage the payment cycle and vendor relationships. They resolve discrepancies. Senior specialists handle construction sub-contractor pay apps. They manage complex lien waivers and compliance. Master Data specialists maintain the vendor database. They restrict payment risks. T&E Auditors verify policy compliance. They check receipt validity against corporate guidelines.
When scoping this role, distinguish between routine processing and exception management. Ask candidates to describe a specific time they reconciled a complex invoice discrepancy that stalled a payment run. Require them to explain their exact logic for identifying the error and the steps taken to resolve it with the vendor. If they cannot describe the specific fields they checked within the ERP to find the variance, they lack the depth required for this role. Test them on their ability to distinguish between a pricing error and a quantity variance. Understanding these details prevents downstream lien issues and maintains vendor data integrity. Focus on their decision-making process when documentation is missing or incomplete during the invoice approval stage. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- 01ClerkEntry-level processing tasks.
- 02SpecialistFull-cycle AP ownership.
- 03Construction SpecialistPay apps and lien compliance.
- 04Vendor Data SpecialistDatabase integrity.
- 05T&E AuditorPolicy and receipt enforcement.
02
Interview Question Bank
Use these questions to verify hands-on ability. Listen for precise descriptions of workflows. Follow up on every gap in their process knowledge.
Explain your daily process for a three-way match. Listen for: purchase order, receiving report, and invoice verification. Follow up: How do you handle a price discrepancy on a purchase order?
Describe your experience with vendor setup. Listen for: W-9 verification, payment terms, and banking validation. Follow up: What specific step prevents duplicate vendor profiles?
Explain the workflow for a construction pay application. Listen for: lien waivers, retainage calculations, and COI expirations. Follow up: How do you verify if a waiver is conditional or unconditional?
How do you audit an expense report for policy violations? Listen for: duplicate receipts, personal items, and threshold limits. Follow up: What is your process when a senior leader violates the travel policy?
- 01Three-way match logic.
- 02W-9 and tax documentation accuracy.
- 03Lien waiver compliance steps.
- 04Policy enforcement protocols.
03
Common Hiring Mistakes
Do not ignore software-specific experience. A user of Bill.com may struggle with Sage 300 CRE. Do not assume ERP knowledge is universal. Verify specific modules. Avoid candidates who rely on automation without understanding the underlying accounting logic. These people cannot fix errors when the software fails. Do not hire someone who avoids vendor communication. AP requires daily contact with external parties. Do not prioritize years of experience over recent volume. The tools change too fast.
- 01Ignoring specific ERP or software requirements.
- 02Selecting for tenure instead of recent software volume.
- 03Overlooking the need for vendor communication skills.
- 04Assuming automated systems require no manual oversight.
04
Credentials Explained
The Institute of Finance and Management provides the APS certification. It proves the candidate passed an exam on AP processes. It does not replace experience in your specific ERP. Current status check: verify the certificate is active on their website. The Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional credential from CFMA proves knowledge of construction accounting. It demonstrates understanding of AIA billing. It does not prove the person can use Procore Pay. Always ask for a walkthrough of their process.
Exams confirm theoretical knowledge. Certificates confirm participation or specific training. Licenses are not required for these roles. Registration is rarely applicable here. Always call the issuer to confirm current validity.
- 01APSProcess knowledge but not ERP experience.
- 02CCIFPConstruction accounting theory.
- 03Verify all credentials directly with the issuing organization.
- 04Practical ability remains separate from certification.
05
Scoping the Role
Start by defining your volume. Determine if you have 100 invoices a month or 5,000. Low volume needs a generalist. High volume needs a focused clerk. Decide if you require lien management. This is a niche skill. Do not hire a standard AP person for construction projects. They will miss the legal requirements of sub-contractor pay apps. Decide if the role is purely processing or policy enforcement. Auditors need a firmer personality than clerks. Base your level on the complexity of the exception handling, not just the invoice count.
- 01Volume determines clerk versus specialist.
- 02Lien management requires construction-specific experience.
- 03Auditor roles require stronger policy enforcement skills.
- 04Scope by complexity of exceptions rather than task volume.
06
Which related hiring decisions are worth comparing?
Questions people ask
Should I require experience in my specific software?
While accounting logic is universal, the shortcuts and error-handling in tools like Coupa or Sage 300 CRE take months to learn.
What is the best way to test for attention to detail?
Provide a sample batch of invoices and a dummy purchase order. Ask them to identify the matches and the errors.
When should I hire an auditor versus a specialist?
Hire an auditor if the primary goal is expense policy enforcement. Hire a specialist if the goal is throughput and vendor payment accuracy.
How do I spot a candidate who cannot handle high volume?
Ask for their daily processing numbers and the specific automation tools they used to achieve them.