Accounts Payable Manager

Confidential · Islamabad, Pakistan

We are seeking an experienced Manager – Accounts Payable to strengthen our Finance & Accounts team and lead the Accounts Payable function. The successful candidate will be a qualified CA or ACCA professional with 7 – 8 years of experience across accounts payable and general accounting, including time spent leading a team. In this role, you will take full ownership of both the accounts payable and provident fund functions across the group's entities. You will bring a strong technical foundation, a meticulous eye for detail, and solid tax and compliance knowledge, together with the leadership presence to guide a team and build trusted working relationships with vendors, trustees, and auditors.

What You Will Do

1. Payables Management (Core Area)

• Take end-to-end ownership of the purchase-to-pay cycle across the group's entities, covering invoice receipt, verification, processing, payment, and reconciliation.
• Review vendor invoices to confirm accuracy, proper approvals, and complete supporting documents, matching them to purchase orders and goods/services receipts where relevant.
• Ensure invoices, debit notes, and credit notes are recorded correctly in the ERP with the right account, cost centre, and tax codes.
• Plan and review regular payment runs via bank transfer and cheque, verify beneficiary details, and route payments for approval as per the delegation of authority.
• Make sure withholding tax is deducted at source on vendor payments and that sales tax on purchases is handled correctly.
• Oversee reconciliation of vendor accounts and statements, resolve discrepancies, and manage the tracking and settlement of advances and retentions.
• Control employee expense claims, reimbursements, and petty cash in accordance with company policy.
• Track payables aging and outstanding liabilities, and contribute to cash outflow planning for payments due.
• Keep payable records well organized and audit-ready, and resolve escalated queries from vendors and internal teams.

2. Provident Fund Administration (Core Area)

• Manage and oversee the provident fund schemes of the group's entities in accordance with their trust deeds and relevant regulations.
• Handle monthly provident fund processing and ensure contributions are remitted on time.
• Maintain precise member-level records, contribution histories, and fund balances.
• Carry out and review regular reconciliations of provident fund bank and investment accounts against member ledgers and the general ledger.
• Process member settlements, withdrawals, and eligible advances upon separation or as applicable, ensuring final settlement calculations are correct.
• Work closely with trustees, HR, and payroll on contributions, approvals, and communication with members.

3. Ledger Maintenance & Period-End Close

• Contribute to the monthly close for each entity, ensuring all transactions are recorded completely and accurately.
• Review and post accruals, prepayments, provisions, and other adjusting entries related to payables and the provident fund.
• Oversee reconciliations of payables, provident fund, and associated balance sheet accounts.
• Prepare and review periodic financial reports within the required formats and deadlines.
• Reconcile reports against the books of accounts and resolve any differences prior to submission.
• Compile the supporting schedules needed for reporting, including petty cash details, expense breakdowns, and other relevant disclosures.
• Ensure report content, timelines, and formats stay accurate and in line with applicable financial and organizational requirements.
• Serve as the finance point of contact for internal stakeholders on payables, provident fund, and reporting matters.

5. Taxation & Regulatory Compliance

• Oversee the preparation of sales tax (GST) data supporting monthly filings and payments for the relevant entities.
• Ensure withholding tax is deducted accurately and on time, and support the preparation of related statements.
• Work with the tax function to ensure compliance with applicable federal and provincial requirements.
• Stay up to date with tax rule changes impacting payables, the provident fund, and reporting.

6. People Leadership & Internal Controls

• Lead, develop, and review the work of the accounts payable and provident fund team, assign workload, and build capability and backup within the function.
• Define, document, and enforce payables and provident fund policies, internal controls, and the delegation of authority.
• Champion standardization, automation, and continuous improvement across payables and fund processes for all entities.
• Support internal and external audits by supplying schedules, reconciliations, and documentation, and by closing audit observations.
• Deliver analysis and reporting on payables, cash outflows, and fund positions to senior management.
• Proven leadership, coaching, and team-building ability.
• Exceptional attention to detail with a consistently high standard of accuracy.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and confidence handling large volumes of data.
• Ability to handle high transaction volumes, set priorities, and consistently meet month-end and reporting deadlines.
• Strong grasp of accounting principles, the end-to-end purchase-to-pay cycle, and fund accounting.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills for engaging with vendors, internal teams, trustees, and auditors.
• High integrity and discretion, with the ability to manage confidential financial and member information.
• Able to work independently as well as lead and collaborate within a team.

Professional Experience

• Essential: 7 to 8 years of progressive experience in accounts payable and general accounting, including supervisory or managerial responsibility, ideally within a multi-entity or group setup.
• Desirable: 8 – 10 years of relevant experience.

Qualifications & Knowledge

• Qualified Chartered Accountant (CA) or member of ACCA.
• Practical working knowledge of an ERP system.
• Solid understanding of Pakistan tax requirements, including income tax withholding on payments and federal and provincial sales tax on goods and services.
• Exposure to IFRS and US GAAP-based reporting.
• Hands-on experience managing a provident fund or a similar employee fund will be considered a strong advantage.