Accounts Receivable Manager (AR/Collections)

Published: 6/14/2022

Job Description

Arkansas Talent Group is partnering with a well-established mid- to large-sized company in Central Arkansas to help them find an Accounts Receivable Manager. This role will oversee the full accounts receivable lifecycle, including credit risk management, collections, cash application, and team leadership, while managing a team of 5–10 AR and collections professionals.

This is a highly collaborative, cross-functional position that interacts with multiple lines of business internally and serves as a key point of contact for clients and vendors externally. It is an excellent opportunity for an experienced, professional, and driven AR leader to make a visible impact on working capital, process improvement, team development, and scalable growth within a large, complex corporate environment.

The company is open to qualified remote candidates located in Arkansas. Frequent travel to the Little Rock area will be required for key meetings, team collaboration, and business needs.

Key Responsibilities

Manage, mentor, and develop a team of 5–10 Accounts Receivable Specialists, Collections Analysts, and Cash Application personnel, including goal setting, performance reviews, workload distribution, coaching, cross-training, and ongoing professional development.

Provide hands-on leadership in a high-volume, fast-paced environment, establishing clear expectations, accountability, and performance standards across the AR function.

Oversee the end-to-end AR process, including customer invoicing, payment posting, cash application, deductions, and unapplied cash resolution.

Manage cash application across all payment channels, including lockbox, ACH, wire, and check, ensuring accurate and timely posting as well as research of unresolved items.

Evaluate customer creditworthiness, establish and adjust credit limits, and manage credit holds in accordance with company policy.

Lead collections strategy across the full aging spectrum by driving outreach on past-due accounts, negotiating payment plans, and escalating to legal or third-party collections when necessary.

Monitor and report on key AR metrics, including DSO, CEI, aging trends, unapplied cash, and bad-debt exposure; use data to identify opportunities and drive measurable improvement.

Manage month-end AR close processes, including reconciliations, journal entries, and reporting.

Work closely with Sales, Operations, Billing, Treasury, and Customer Service to resolve billing disputes, deductions, process breakdowns, and customer-account issues.

Serve as a professional, client-facing and vendor-facing representative of the AR function, building and maintaining strong relationships with key customer accounts and suppliers.

Partner with the Controller and CFO on cash forecasting, banking relationships, receipts, and lockbox operations.

Collaborate with IT and shared services on ERP enhancements, automation initiatives, integrations, and system improvements affecting the AR function.

Develop, document, and maintain AR policies, procedures, workflows, and internal-control documentation.

Identify and implement process improvements that strengthen efficiency, accuracy, automation, scalability, and the overall customer payment experience.

Ensure compliance with company policies, GAAP, and internal audit requirements; support external audit requests related to AR, allowance for doubtful accounts, revenue tie-outs, and related controls.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field preferred, but not required.

Five or more years of management experience leading accounts receivable, collections, credit, cash application, or related accounting teams within a mid-sized or large organization.

Demonstrated leadership experience managing, mentoring, and developing a team of at least five direct reports.

Proven success working in a fast-growth, high-volume, deadline-driven environment with multiple priorities, transactions, stakeholders, and shifting business needs.

Professional, driven, and accountable leadership style with the ability to establish credibility, create team alignment, and lead by example.

Hands-on experience with cash application processes, including lockbox, ACH, wire, and check postings.

Strong understanding of credit-risk assessment, credit-policy development, collections strategy, and best practices for reducing aging and improving cash flow.

Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, SUMIFS, data validation, and large-dataset manipulation; macros/VBA experience is a plus.

Experience working across multiple internal lines of business in a complex, multi-entity corporate environment.

Client-facing and vendor-facing communication experience, with the ability to represent the finance function professionally and confidently.

Working knowledge of GAAP and internal controls; SOX experience is preferred.

ERP system experience, such as SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, or a comparable platform.

Excellent analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, make sound decisions, and maintain a high level of accuracy in a high-volume environment.

Must be located in Arkansas and able to travel periodically to Little Rock for team meetings and business needs.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Currently serving as an Accounts Receivable Manager, Credit and Collections Manager, AR Supervisor, or in a similar AR leadership role.

A strong people leader who builds, develops, retains, and motivates high-performing teams while maintaining a professional, collaborative, and accountable culture.

Polished and professional communicator with the leadership presence to engage effectively with executives, customers, vendors, and cross-functional business partners.

Highly driven and proactive, with a sense of ownership over AR performance, working-capital results, process improvement, and team development.

Comfortable operating in a fast-growth, high-volume environment where priorities can shift and scalable processes are essential.

Analytical thinker who can interpret large volumes of data, identify trends and root causes, and translate findings into actionable recommendations.

Solutions-oriented problem solver who takes a hands-on approach to resolving billing disputes, unapplied cash, deductions, customer-account issues, and process gaps.

Exercises sound judgment regarding credit-risk decisions, write-offs, customer escalations, and collection strategy.

Interested in owning and improving processes while helping build long-term AR stability, efficiency, and scalability.

Compensation & Benefits

Strong base salary based on experience and qualifications, with total compensation expected in the $80,000-130,000 range.

Comprehensive benefits package.

PTO and paid holidays.

401(k) match.

Clear long-term growth potential.

Hybrid flexibility for Central Arkansas candidates and remote flexibility for qualified candidates located elsewhere in Arkansas, with periodic Little Rock travel required.

Please reach out to Stephanie Shine, Laura Slay, or any of your ATG recruiters to inquire further.

Arkansas Talent Group is an Executive Permanent Placement Recruitment Firm, and all considerations will be held confidential.