Seasoned financial leader with over 16 years of experience in accounting, team building, financial planning and reporting. Highly accomplished in Collections. Demonstrated development and adapting complex financial reporting processes to achieve organizational profitability goals and capitalize on new revenue streams.
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PHELP PAYTON
Summary
Overview
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Aprio, LLP
Interim Assistant Controller
12.2022 - 06.2023
Job overview
- Worked to reconcile accounting inaccuracies, standardize accounting work papers and enhance GL structures
- Prepared tax filings and collaborated with external tax advisors as needed
- Achieved budget objectives by analyzing variances, initiating corrective actions and making appropriate entries
- Produced, managed balance sheets and income statements
- Examined forecasted data and provided explanations and recommended courses of action
- Assisted with the annual external review and ensured compliance with government regulations
- Managed daily banking activities, balance sheet reconciliations, fixed asset reconciliations
- Coordinated with Controller, CFO and upper management to prepare reports on financial performance
- Oversaw the accounting system (Sage Intacct) to ensure it continuously met the company needs.
- Managed AP and AR operations, coordinating staff workflows and reviewing completed work to reduce errors.
- Coordinated and finalized quarterly and annual financial reporting packages.
- Oversaw cash and merchant services, as well as processing of accounts payable and receivable, to ensure invoices were paid on time.
Aptean
Senior Collections Specialist- Contractor
03.2022 - 11.2022
Job overview
- Responsible for the overall recovery and management of accounts receivable for the traverse global product line
- Position entailed detailed account research and account reconciliation
- Created cases in Salesforce to request credits or rebills from the billing team
- Prepared extremely delinquent accounts to be sent to the legal department
- Collaborated with the sales team when necessary to get payment from customers
- Worked closely with the cash app team to get unapplied payments applied to past due invoices
- Portfolio has 1500 accounts totaling 8 million dollars
- Total overall past due debt percentage for this product line was reduced from 44% to 17% during my tenure
- Processed payments over phone and set up recurring drafts.
- Recorded and updated customer personal accounts with accurate contact information.
- Reviewed accounts to determine payment plan compliance.
- Located and monitored overdue accounts using billing system to begin collections process.
Sovos Brands Intermediate
AR/Collections Specialist - Contractor
10.2021 - 02.2022
Job overview
- Aided with account reconciliation and collection efforts
- Created cases in Salesforce for the accounts receivable team
- Contacted customers with outstanding balances via email
- Partnered with the sales team to get payment from customers
- Responsible for a portfolio of accounts totaling 2 million
- 87% of the portfolio was collected.
- Identified needs of customers promptly and efficiently.
- Worked with current clients to assess needs and develop improvement plans.
- Displayed strong telephone etiquette, effectively handling difficult calls.
SalesLoft
Revenue Analyst
06.2020 - 10.2021
Job overview
- Created regular revenue reports to show company profits and losses over specific times
- Analyzed financial data to find trends in customer patterns
- Responsible for process improvement and new strategy development
- Processed sales orders using NetSuite and Salesforce
- Created invoices and corrected invoices as needed
- Designed budgets and created forecasts for collections.
Ryder Logistics
Staff Accountant
11.2019 - 05.2020
Job overview
- Managed accounting functions for 3 different entities including accounts payable and receivable as well as payroll
- Ensuring the accuracy and integrity of internal controls
- Involved in the end -to-end accounting process, including month end close project management
- Played a key role in annual audits, compilations, and reviews
- Prepared detailed reports and recommended remediation/ corrective measures
- Streamlined the credit card and cash application process
- Reducing 2-week reconciliations to 1 week
- Automated several of the internal accounting processes
- Cutting the total time for bookkeeping and handling reconciliations by 20%
- Realized 2 million dollars savings in annual costs by identifying and fixing a recurring error in the accounting system.
Bibliotheca LLC
Accounts Receivable Specialist / Staff accountant
02.2018 - 11.2019
Job overview
- Responsible for the collection of financial services and Government sector accounts representing approximately 35% of Bibliotheca North America total accounts receivable
- Delivered exceptional customer service by addressing collection issues, processing customer refunds, handling account adjustments, and resolving discrepancies and short pays
- Collaborated with sales personnel as needed
- Fostered productive relationships with project managers to ensure prompt payment of delinquent invoices
- Managed a portfolio of 700 accounts totaling $60 million dollars for Library of Congress, UCLA Medical Library, Harvard Law School Library, and other clients
- Enhanced billing operations by overseeing all facets of customer billing, including meticulous government contractor processing and diligent monitoring
- Kept Track of credit holds and customer credit lines
- Prepared monthly accounts receivable suspense reconciliations
- Continued constant communication and shared direct feedback with Project Management and Operations management team members
- Handled communication and work in progress with external accountants in Canada and Mexico
- Posted daily cash receipts in a timely and accurate manner
- Supported the accounting team in the general ledger close cycle (Including account reconciliations, journal entries, accruals, and account analysis) Was also backup A/P support
- Led Collection effort that resulted in $2.4 million dollar payment from Fulton County Libraries on a delinquency of over 730 days past due.
Sage Software
Contractor
04.2017 - 02.2018
Job overview
- Oversaw Collection And Resolving Issues With Customer Accounts In a Portfolio Of 650 Accounts Totaling 30 Million Dollars.
- Evaluated New And Existing Customer Relationships By Completing A Thorough Risk Assessment Including Analysis and Interpretation Of Financials Including Balance Sheet , Income Statement, And Cash Flow Statements.
- Performed Analysis Of Dun & Bradstreet Credit Report Profiles To Analyze Payment Trends, DBT,And Overall Business Viability.
- Collaborated With Sales And Other Departments As Needed To Resolve Customer Issues.
- Contacted Customers With Past Due Invoices With Attempt To Collect Outstanding Amounts.
- Recorded information about customers' financial status and collections status efforts.
- Developed collection methods to achieve or exceed company financial goals.
- Processed payments over phone and set up recurring drafts.
- Arranged for debt repayment and established repayment schedule based on customer finances.
Cox Automotive, Autotrader
Collections/Cash Apps Specialist
01.2015 - 02.2017
Job overview
- Managed a portfolio of 900 accounts totaling 50 million dollars
- (Portfolio included co-op accounts for multiple dealerships in the southwest region)
- Analyzed accounts to discover discrepancies & resolve all variances promptly
- Applied daily cash receipts of checks and wired payments to customer’s accounts averaging $950k per day
- Maximized accounts receivable through collection efforts, settlement of problem accounts, write-offs, and third party/legal collection action when needed
- Worked with various teams (Customer service, Shipping, Sales) to improve processes that improved cash flow and the customer service experience
- Reviewed customer financial documents to determine credit limits
- Authorized to submit request for credit line up to $75k with management approval
- Led the team in the identification and reconciliation of all disputed claims, which yielded an increase in revenue by 80 % and increased service output to customers.
One Diversified LLC
Accounts Receivable Manager
05.2005 - 01.2015
Job overview
- Position was responsible for collecting nearly 42% of the company’s $1.2B in annual revenue
- Led and trained a team of 10 direct reports and 5 indirect reports
- Reconciled significant past due and disputed accounts to maintain a minimum average current receivable of 75 % or greater
- Prepared invoices, credit memos, aging reports, statements and collection letters
- Processed credit applications for approval, checked references, and pulled Dun & Bradstreet information for each client
- Set credit limits and terms for both US and International accounts
- Researched and resolved customer issues, processed Chargeback invoices for unauthorized deductions
- Worked with 3rd party collection and prepared document support
- Partnered with sales, shipping, and other departments as needed to prevent recurring issues and streamlined billing and collection efforts
- Handled all customer escalations
- Responsible for the training and support of applicable staff
- Led Monthly & Weekly Department Collection meetings discussing problem areas on the A/R
- Used Great Plains, Salesforce and later JD Edwards when company switched ERP systems
- Team Achievements Included:
- Exceeded cash collection objectives for 18 consecutive quarters by 105% or greater
- Annual write-offs less than .1% of sales approximately $50m annually from 2010-2015
- The team exceeded the company MTD net collection’s goal 9 out of 12 months in 2014
- Consistently increased year end revenues by more than 20% during tenure.
Education
Capella University
Master’s Degree of Business from Administration/Project Management
University Overview
University of Phoenix
Bachelor’s Degree of Science from Business Management
University Overview
DeVry University
Bachelor’s Degree of Science from Accounting
University Overview
Skills
- Financial Analysis and Forecasting
- Process Improvement and Workflow Optimization
- Accruals and Financial Reporting
- Balance Sheet Reconciliations
- Fixed Assets and Property Taxes
- GL Structures and Accounting Work Papers
- Tax Filings and Compliance
- Budgeting and Variance Analysis
- Government Regulations and Reporting
- Vast experience managing end to end accounts receivable, collections, and accounts payable processes with a proven track record of achieving exceptional results
- Established track record of successfully managing multiple departments, ensuring seamless coordination and alignment of company objectives
- Proficient in utilizing NetSuite for day-to-day operations and actively involved with implementing and optimizing the system
- SYSTEMS / SOFTWARE EXPERIENCE
- Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel (Key functions such as, v-lookups, pivot tables and other references), PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, Dun & Bradstreet, SAP, Salesforce, Waypoint, 10-key, CyberSource, Workday, Tesorio, JD Edwards, Oracle, AS-400, Great Plains, NAV, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks
References
References
REFERENCES UPON REQUESTAvailability
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Quote
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
Timeline
Interim Assistant Controller
Aprio, LLP
12.2022 - 06.2023
Senior Collections Specialist- Contractor
Aptean
03.2022 - 11.2022
AR/Collections Specialist - Contractor
Sovos Brands Intermediate
10.2021 - 02.2022
Revenue Analyst
SalesLoft
06.2020 - 10.2021
Staff Accountant
Ryder Logistics
11.2019 - 05.2020
Accounts Receivable Specialist / Staff accountant
Bibliotheca LLC
02.2018 - 11.2019
Contractor
Sage Software
04.2017 - 02.2018
Collections/Cash Apps Specialist
Cox Automotive, Autotrader
01.2015 - 02.2017
Accounts Receivable Manager
One Diversified LLC
05.2005 - 01.2015
Capella University
Master’s Degree of Business from Administration/Project Management
University of Phoenix
Bachelor’s Degree of Science from Business Management
DeVry University
Bachelor’s Degree of Science from Accounting
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