Accounting Manager: AR Operations

About the Role

Our growing food manufacturing client is seeking an Accounting Manager: AR Operations to join their team.

We are seeking an analytical, hands-on Accounting Operations Manager for a newly created role supporting our growing US and Canadian operations, as well as the continued development of our recently established business in Mexico. Reporting to the Director of Accounting, this position manages five AR Specialists and owns the performance of our large-scale accounts receivable portfolio. The role combines traditional AR leadership—including collections, credit, cash application and account reconciliations—with particular focus on retailer deductions, trade promotion management, claims recovery, systems and internal controls.

Responsibilities

• Key Responsibilities
• Trade Deductions, TPM & Order-to-Cash Oversight
• Oversee retailer deductions, promotional billbacks, chargebacks, shortages and compliance claims; analyze trends, validate claims against approved promotions, prioritize disputes and recoveries, and coordinate with Sales, Operations and third-party partners.
• Manage a large-scale AR portfolio with focused attention on top active accounts; drive collections, aging and DSO performance, customer account reconciliations, cash application, unapplied cash resolution, credit holds and timely escalation of at-risk balances.
• Partner with Operations to review billing completeness and accuracy, including pricing, terms, invoice discrepancies and order-to-invoice exceptions; oversee accounting-side reconciliation of Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon and other DTC/marketplace activity.
• Team Leadership & Operational Controls
• Lead, coach and develop five AR Specialists across collections, customer account ownership, deductions, claims and cash application; establish priorities, performance expectations, reviews and escalation paths.
• Step in on complex issues or capacity gaps to keep critical work moving; plan for increasing customer volumes as the business scales.
• Design and maintain practical internal controls, including documented SOPs, approvals, segregation of duties, reconciliations, exception monitoring and evidence of review.
• Systems, Reporting & Close Support
• Own Confido/TPM administration, data quality, reporting, controls and improvements; ensure deductions are appropriately matched to promotions, reconciled to accounting records and supported by clear documentation.
• Assist with investigating EDI issues affecting order and invoice accuracy, deductions and payments; partner with Operations, IT and external providers to identify root causes and resolve exceptions.
• Improve order-to-cash accounting controls, system integrations and automation; coordinate AR cutoff, accrual and reserve inputs, reconciliations and audit support with the GL team.

Qualifications

• Required Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance or related field, 5+ years of progressive accounting/finance experience with meaningful AR operational exposure.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop teams, interpret financial and operational data, and resolve complex customer-account issues.
• Strong Excel, systems, communication and cross-functional problem-solving skills.

Preferred Skills

• Preferred Qualifications
• CPG, food/beverage or high-volume distribution experience; exposure to retailer deductions, trade promotion management, EDI, Dynamics 365, Confido and DTC/marketplace platforms.
• What We’re Looking For
• Analytical, detail-oriented problem solver who investigates root causes, challenges established processes and does not accept recurring issues as inevitable.
• Proactive improvement mindset: identifies inefficiencies, fixes broken workflows and makes full use of available technology and automation.
• Excellent communicator who collaborates across Accounting, Sales, Operations and IT, prioritizes competing deadlines and raises capacity constraints or support needs early.