Accounts Payable Financial Analyst (hybrid)

Accounts Payable Financial Analyst

Location: Columbus, OH (Hybrid – 3 days/week in office)

**We are open to hire at either the Analyst or Senior level, depending on experience (years of experience and salary band listed is for Analyst level)**

Job Summary
The Financial Analyst provides value-added financial services to both internal and external customers. The incumbent may assume responsibility for financial activities, including but not limited to reviewing and interpreting the impact of financial reporting proposals promulgated by governing bodies; preparing analytical studies on historical, forecast, and pro-forma financial data; developing comprehensive financial data reports for both internal and external customers; and providing other needed expertise and reporting to accurately reflect and manage financial matters.

Essential Functions

• Assists with the oversight of A/P outsourced activities

• Acknowledges and commits to objectives, SLA's and KPI’s

• Investigates and resolves root cause issues related to SLA’s and KPI’s

• Serve as first point of escalation for questions from outsourced A/P team

• Guides and assists team Associates regarding invoice processing including complicated and/or unusual items

• Acknowledges corporate payment processes and policies

• Build and maintain query capability on accounts payable data to ensure accurate, timely, and efficient reporting

• Maintains and improves dashboards for reporting on SLAs, KPIs, and other meaningful metrics

• Establishes Continuous Improvement ideas

• Handles all inbound mail sent to AP team

• Perform TIN matching for new vendor set ups

• Conduct outbound phone calls to verify payment information for sensitive suppliers

• Execute financial reconciliations between systems

• Partners with IT personnel concerning the support of all AP systems and interfaces to the accounts payable systems

• Serves as integral member of team responsible for reviewing AP processes and systems and recommending a single process and system for use by all operating units

• Reviews internal controls, and participates in quarterly and annual SOX testing to ensure AP processes are working as intended, and to ensure that potential for fraud or other abuses are minimized

• Responds to internal and external customer inquiries and requests in a timely, professional manner

• Demonstrates leadership through functional knowledge and personnel skills, motiving peers and business partners
   

Required Qualifications For Position

• Bachelor's Degree Requires 4 year degree in business discipline

• 1-2 years of experience in finance, accounting, regulatory or a related field, specific A/P experience preferred

• Requires knowledge of PC applications

• Prefer CPA

• Requires multiple functional experience

• Financial Acumen- Understands basics of finance and accounting, including the relationships between segments of the financial statements (e.g. balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow)

• Continuous Improvement - Originating action to improve existing conditions and processes; identifying improvement opportunities, generating ideas, and implementing solutions.

• Data analysis - Analyze information from a variety of sources to detect trends, associations, cause-effect relationships and other anomalies.

• Time management - Effectively manage his or her time to ensure deadlines are met and quality is achieved.

• Networking- Pursue opportunities to network with different parts of finance as well as other parts of NI.

• Quality Orientation- Produces processes, tasks, and work products to ensure freedom from errors, omissions, or defects.

As a public utility, NiSource is required to provide continuous service to customers at all times. To ensure we fulfill that obligation, employees may be required to work outside their normal work hours and perform tasks outside of their normal responsibilities in support of emergency operations.

Work Authorization

Authorized to work in the United States witho