Joan Russo

• Preparation and payment of indirect taxes
• Computed tax returns according to prescribed rates, laws and regulations
• Created and distributed W9's, exemption and resale certificates
• Uploaded monthly files into vertex in order to reconcile tax entries

• Supervised staff of 2
• Responsible for electronically processing vendor invoices, review vendor contracts and purchase orders to determine invoice coding and approval
• Handled vendor maintenance, which included new setups, 1099 reporting, and vendor cleanup
• Executed check runs and wire payments done through JP Morgan Chase and Amex FX
• Identified opportunities and risks in AP process which resulted in 20% increase in productivity
• Pinpointed purchase order bottlenecks and worked diligently with purchasing department to resolve
• Cultivated business relationships with internal and external customers to provide superior customer service and expedite rapid resolution of workflow barriers
• Monitored Vendor Aging Report to facilitate timely payments
• Performed month end close and reconciled Vendor Aging to Trial Balance

Tax Analyst (Promotion) [06/2009 to 01/2016]

• Preparation and payment of indirect taxes
• Creation and distribution of W9's, exemption and resale certificates
• Reconciled monthly Pcard charges
• Administrator for digital archive services

Staff Accountant (Promotion) [04/2006-04/2009]

• Performed 120 Bank reconciliations for multiple business unit
• Investigated and resolved discrepancies for monthly bank statements while complying to stringent deadlines
• Recorded cash manually for non-BAI accounts
• Recorded and reconciled credit card activity
• Responsible for reviewing and posting Miscellaneous AR Cash
• Managed Abandon Property process
• Interfaced with banks and Accounts Payable Department to research and resolve unreconciled checks
• Preparation of journal entries
• Participated extensively with auditors during year-end audit process

Accounts Payable Disburser [7/2000 to 04/2006]

• Processed high volume check runs for multiple business entities
• Prepared and batched Wire and ACH payments
• Transmitted payment registers to bank
• Successfully utilized vendor discounts
• Regulated royalty and sweepstakes payment programs
• Recorded foreign check and book only payments
• Maintained check registers
• Requested stop payments and completed void process
• Audited employee expense reports
• Assisted in creation and reporting of 1099's
• Supervised delegation of authority approval levels
• Reviewed vendor statements
• Implemented and tested new disbursements accounts
• Reported disbursements and collaborated with Treasury Department to help optimized cash management decisions

• Processed 5.5 million Accounts Payable
• Daily processing of Non-PO and PO invoices with proper match and coding
• Acted as liaison for vendors following up on invoice status to ensure timely payments
• Issued month end accruals and journal entries
• Performed month end close and completed reconciliation process
• Assisted in tax preparation for Connecticut Sales and Use Tax as well as Connecticut Property Taxes
• Created and maintained department contract log
• Coordinated Records Retention Process
• Provided back-up to support email Administrator

• Financial administration for privately held company
• Responsible for Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Invoicing and Credit and Collections
• Prepared New York State Sales and Use Tax
• Central liaison with healthcare insurance carriers
• Processed Union payroll through ADP
• Negotiated contracts for office equipment and supplies

• Supervised staff of 6
• Updated and revised department policies and procedures in order to increase productivity and efficiency
• Initiated re-training of Accounts Payable department as well as providing cross training throughout other departments
• Improved Accounts Payable customer service levels for measurable reduction in turnaround timeliness
• Researched and resolved outstanding accruals, vouchers, and supplier statements
• Completed month end close and reconciliation
• Instituted laser check operations
• Proposed use of automatic clearing house
• Responsible for approving and posting all wire transfers, batches and journal entries

• Supervised staff of 7
• Managed 70 million Accounts Payable operation
• Monitored daily check and deduction registers with general ledger to resolve out of balance conditions
• Reconciled open customer deductions
• Maintained effective relationships with Field Sales and other related groups
• Established department Policies and Procedure Manual resulting in 30% increase in productivity
• Implemented job enrichment/training programs which aided in reduction of department turnover
• Finalized month end closed and completed reconciliation

• Supervised staff of 8
• Monitored daily flow of Cash Application for timely postings to customer accounts
• Suggested process improvements to secure prompt and regular receipts for organization
• Created team environment in which members acted as cohesive unit in resolving customer deductions and charge backs
• Approved all journal entries and refunds to customers
• Tracked and recorded unsaleable product statistics
• Selected and maintained department retention operations
• Preparation of annual budget for A/R Department

• Coordinated all aspects of Cash Application and Credit & Collections
• Posted revenue by verifying and entering transactions from lock box and local deposits
• Evaluated credit worthiness of new and existing customers
• Established and managed credit limits
• Resolved collections by examining customer payment plans, payment history, and credit line
• Filed freight claims with carriers for damaged goods
• Approved all billing adjustments for incorrect pricing, returned merchandise, and delivery discrepancies