Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Income Supervisor

🎯 Role Definition

Are you a seasoned finance professional with a knack for leadership and a deep understanding of the revenue cycle? This role requires a dynamic and meticulous Income Supervisor to join our growing team. In this pivotal role, you will be the driving force behind our income operations, responsible for overseeing the entire accounts receivable and billing process. You will lead, mentor, and develop a dedicated team of specialists, ensuring the timely and accurate recording of all company revenue. Your strategic oversight will be critical in optimizing cash flow, minimizing bad debt, and enhancing our financial reporting capabilities. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and are passionate about building efficient systems and high-performing teams, we want to hear from you.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Accounts Receivable Specialist
Lead Billing Analyst
Senior Accountant (with a focus on revenue)

Advancement To:

Income Manager / Revenue Manager
Accounts Receivable Manager
Assistant Controller

Lateral Moves:

Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Supervisor
Accounting Supervisor
Treasury Supervisor

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Supervise, train, and mentor a team of income and accounts receivable specialists, fostering a collaborative and high-performance work environment through regular coaching and professional development.
Oversee the entire end-to-end income management cycle, including customer invoicing, payment processing, cash application, and collections, to ensure timeliness and accuracy.
Develop, implement, and enforce robust policies and procedures for all income-related activities to enhance operational efficiency and internal controls.
Manage the month-end and year-end closing processes for accounts receivable, including the preparation of journal entries, account reconciliations, and supporting schedules.
Analyze accounts receivable aging reports to identify delinquent accounts, trends, and potential credit risks, proactively developing strategies for resolution.
Lead the team’s collection efforts on past-due accounts, managing escalated customer issues and negotiating payment plans to minimize bad debt exposure.
Ensure strict compliance with corporate policies, internal controls (SOX), and accounting principles such as GAAP, particularly concerning revenue recognition standards (ASC 606).
Prepare and present comprehensive financial reports and key performance indicators (KPIs) related to income, collections, and cash flow to senior management.
Drive continuous process improvement initiatives by identifying bottlenecks, evaluating new technologies, and implementing automation to streamline workflows.
Collaborate closely with the Sales, Customer Service, and Legal departments to resolve complex billing discrepancies and contractual payment issues.
Manage the customer credit review process, including assessing creditworthiness for new customers and periodically reviewing credit limits for existing ones.
Serve as the primary liaison for internal and external auditors, providing all necessary documentation and explanations related to income and receivables.
Monitor team workload and productivity, strategically distributing tasks to ensure all deadlines are met and operational goals are achieved.
Maintain the integrity of customer master data within the ERP system, ensuring all information is accurate and up-to-date.
Conduct regular performance evaluations for team members, setting clear objectives and providing constructive feedback to support their career growth.
Spearhead the integration of new business acquisitions or systems into the existing income and AR processes, ensuring a smooth transition.
Investigate and resolve unapplied cash and other payment discrepancies in a timely manner to maintain clean and accurate receivable ledgers.
Develop and maintain a comprehensive dashboard for tracking daily cash receipts, collections activities, and team performance metrics.
Assist in cash flow forecasting by providing accurate projections of customer payments and collection timelines.
Manage relationships with third-party collections agencies and payment processing vendors, ensuring service level agreements are met.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis from finance leadership and other departments.
Contribute to the organization's broader data strategy and financial systems roadmap by providing subject matter expertise on revenue cycle management.
Collaborate with business units to translate complex data needs into clear engineering and reporting requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the finance and data teams for system enhancement projects.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

ERP Systems: Deep proficiency with major ERP platforms such as SAP, Oracle NetSuite, or Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Advanced Excel: Mastery of Excel functions, including VLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, Pivot Tables, and data modeling for analysis and reporting.
Accounts Receivable Management: Expert knowledge of the full A/R cycle, including billing, credit, collections, and cash application.
US GAAP/IFRS: Strong understanding of accounting principles, especially revenue recognition standards (e.g., ASC 606).
Financial Reporting: Ability to generate, analyze, and present detailed financial reports and KPIs.
Process Improvement: Experience in identifying inefficiencies and implementing streamlined financial processes.
Credit Management: Skilled in evaluating customer credit risk and setting appropriate credit limits.
Reconciliation: Proven ability to perform complex account reconciliations and resolve discrepancies.
Data Analysis: Competency in using data analysis tools (SQL is a plus) to extract insights from financial data.
Internal Controls (SOX): Familiarity with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and maintaining a strong internal control environment.

Soft Skills

Leadership & Mentorship: Proven ability to lead, motivate, and develop a team of finance professionals.
Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills for interacting with internal teams, management, and external clients.
Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and critical thinking skills to identify root causes and implement effective solutions.
Attention to Detail: Meticulous and highly organized approach to ensure accuracy in all financial operations.
Negotiation & Conflict Resolution: Ability to handle difficult conversations and negotiate payment terms with clients effectively.
Time Management: Excellent organizational skills to manage multiple priorities and meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced setting.
Adaptability: Flexibility to adapt to changing priorities, business needs, and new technologies.
Interpersonal Skills: Strong ability to build collaborative relationships across different departments.
Strategic Thinking: Capacity to see the bigger picture and align team goals with overall company objectives.
Resilience: Poise and professionalism when dealing with high-pressure situations and challenging accounts.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field.

Preferred Education:

Master's Degree (MBA, M.S. in Accounting) or professional certification (CPA, CMA).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Accounting
Finance
Business Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5-8 years of progressive experience in accounts receivable, billing, or general accounting, including at least 2-3 years in a supervisory or lead capacity.

Preferred:

Experience in a high-volume transaction environment.
Prior experience leading process improvement projects or system implementations.
Industry-specific experience (e.g., SaaS, Manufacturing, Healthcare) is highly advantageous.