Accounts Payable Analyst
Posted on: December 23, 2025 | JOB ID: 202510-127243
Company Name: Roche.com
Application Deadline: Fixed-Term Until (06 January 2026)
Reports to: Account Payable Manager/Supervisor
Division: Finance & Accounting | Employment Type: Full-Time
Location: Sabana Norte, Saint Jones, Costa Rica (On-Site)
Schedule: Standard Business Hours | Experience Level: (02-04) years
About Roche: Transforming Healthcare Globally
At Roche, you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections, where you are valued, accepted, and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop, and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.
A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100,000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advancing science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.
Let's build a healthier future, together. At Roche, we believe that diverse perspectives strengthen our innovation and decision-making, and we're committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can contribute their best work while growing personally and professionally.
The Position: Accounts Payable Analyst
The Accounts Payable Analyst plays a key role in Roche's finance operations, responsible for ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of all disbursements while maintaining adequate internal controls that protect the organization's financial integrity. This position serves as a critical link between Roche and its global vendor community, ensuring suppliers are paid accurately and on time while maintaining compliance with company policies, tax regulations, and internal control frameworks.
Working within the Accounts Payable team, you'll help establish processes and system improvements to increase departmental efficiency based on industry best practices and continuous improvement methodologies. Your contributions will directly impact vendor relationships, cash flow management, and the accuracy of financial reporting across multiple countries and business units.
Our ideal candidate is a dedicated team player with an entrepreneurial spirit who is self-motivated and driven to deliver excellence. You'll bring strong attention to detail, analytical thinking, and a customer service mindset to every interaction. Excellent communication skills are required as you will work closely with different countries and departments, serving as a trusted partner to both internal stakeholders and external vendors.
This role offers the opportunity to work in Roche's modern shared services center in San José, Costa Rica, a strategic hub serving multiple regions and entities across the Americas. You'll leverage advanced ERP technology (SAP), collaborate with international colleagues, and contribute to process improvements that enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Your work will directly support Roche's mission by ensuring the financial operations that enable life-saving research, development, and delivery of healthcare solutions run smoothly.
Based in Sabana Norte, one of San José's premier business districts, you'll join a dynamic, multicultural team committed to operational excellence and continuous learning. This permanent, full-time position offers stability, competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and clear career progression opportunities within Roche's global finance organization.
Core Responsibilities
Invoice Review and Processing
You will review invoices correctly and timely, ensuring all invoices received meet company requirements and contain accurate information before processing. This critical first step in the accounts payable cycle requires attention to detail and thorough understanding of procurement policies, tax regulations, and payment terms. Your invoice review responsibilities include verifying that invoices match purchase orders and receiving documents (three-way matching), ensuring proper coding to correct general ledger accounts and cost centers, validating tax calculations and compliance with local regulations, confirming proper approvals are obtained according to authorization matrices, and identifying and resolving discrepancies or missing information before processing.
Properly processing Accounts Payable invoices to assure payments are released on time according to payment terms represents your core operational responsibility. You'll enter invoice data into SAP ERP system with accuracy, route invoices through electronic approval workflows efficiently, schedule payments to optimize cash management while meeting vendor terms, generate payment runs and process disbursements on established payment dates, handle urgent and priority payments following proper escalation procedures, and maintain meticulous documentation supporting all payment decisions.
Your processing efficiency directly impacts vendor satisfaction and Roche's reputation as a reliable business partner. You'll develop expertise in handling various invoice types including purchase order-based invoices, non-purchase order invoices requiring special handling, credit memos and adjustments, recurring invoices and standing payments, intercompany transactions, and expense reimbursements when applicable.
Quality control measures you'll implement include double-checking data entry for accuracy, reviewing payment proposals before execution, validating bank account information to prevent fraud, ensuring duplicate payment prevention controls function properly, and maintaining accuracy rates that meet or exceed departmental standards.
Stakeholder Communication and Customer Service
You will respond timely and accurately to internal and external inquiries from Roche colleagues and vendors/suppliers, demonstrating exceptional customer service and communication skills. Internal stakeholders rely on you for invoice status updates, payment confirmation and timing information, assistance with vendor setup and master data changes, guidance on accounts payable policies and procedures, and resolution of invoice or payment issues affecting their operations.
External vendor communication requires professionalism and diplomacy as you represent Roche to the supplier community. Your vendor interactions include confirming invoice receipt and processing status, explaining payment terms and expected payment dates, resolving payment disputes or discrepancies collaboratively, obtaining missing documentation or correcting invoice errors, and building positive relationships that enhance vendor satisfaction.
Managing communication across multiple countries and time zones requires flexibility and cultural sensitivity. You'll adapt your communication style to different audiences, utilize email, phone, and collaboration tools effectively, document all significant communications for audit trail purposes, escalate complex issues to appropriate team members or management, and maintain professional, courteous tone in all interactions.
Your customer service mindset means treating every inquiry with urgency and importance, setting clear expectations for resolution timelines, following through on commitments consistently, proactively communicating potential delays or issues, and viewing problems as opportunities to improve processes and relationships.
Payment Monitoring and Cash Management
You will monitor timely payments to ensure vendors are paid according to agreed terms and Roche maintains its reputation as a reliable payment partner. Your payment monitoring activities include reviewing upcoming payment due dates and planning accordingly, tracking payment runs and confirming successful execution, monitoring for failed payments and resolving issues promptly, ensuring early payment discounts are captured when beneficial, coordinating with treasury on cash flow and funding requirements, and identifying and preventing late payments that could incur penalties or damage relationships.
Effective cash management requires balancing competing priorities—paying vendors on time while optimizing cash flow and working capital. You'll work within established payment calendars and cycles, prioritize critical payments when cash constraints exist, recommend payment term negotiations when appropriate, analyze payment trends and patterns for insights, and contribute to cash flow forecasting accuracy through accurate payment projections.
Your monitoring extends to identifying payment exceptions requiring special handling, such as rush payments for business-critical items, partial payments when disputes exist, payment holds for vendor performance issues, and tax withholding requirements for specific vendor types or jurisdictions.
Documentation and Process Management
You will set up and maintain documentation for Accounts Payable processes, ensuring procedures are clearly documented, current, and accessible to team members. Your documentation responsibilities include creating and updating standard operating procedures (SOPs) for routine processes, documenting system workflows and approval routing, maintaining work instruction guides for new team members, capturing process changes and improvement implementations, and organizing documentation in centralized repositories for easy access.
Comprehensive process documentation serves multiple purposes: enabling consistent execution across team members, facilitating training for new staff, supporting business continuity during absences, meeting audit and compliance requirements, and providing foundation for continuous improvement initiatives.
You'll contribute to process improvement efforts by identifying inefficiencies and bottlenecks in current workflows, recommending automation opportunities to reduce manual effort, suggesting system enhancements to improve functionality, sharing best practices from other organizations or departments, and participating in process redesign projects and working groups.
Your entrepreneurial spirit drives you to question "why do we do it this way?" and propose innovative solutions. You'll pilot new approaches and measure results, document process improvements and lessons learned, share knowledge with team members to build capabilities, and celebrate successful improvements that deliver value.
Audit Support and Compliance
You will provide supporting documentation for audit processes, ensuring auditors have access to information needed for their testing while maintaining professional, cooperative relationships. Your audit support includes preparing audit schedules showing account activity and balances, gathering supporting documentation for sampled transactions including invoices, purchase orders, receiving documents, and payment confirmations, responding to auditor questions and information requests promptly, facilitating auditor testing by providing system access or data extracts, and addressing audit findings through corrective action plans.
Compliance with internal controls represents a critical responsibility. You'll follow established approval and authorization procedures, maintain proper segregation of duties, comply with vendor master data management policies, adhere to payment authorization limits, document exceptions and obtain proper approvals, and report control deficiencies or potential fraud indicators immediately.
Your understanding of internal control objectives—ensuring accuracy, completeness, validity, authorization, and proper cutoff of accounts payable transactions—guides your daily work. You'll recognize red flags indicating potential issues, challenge unusual requests or transactions appropriately, protect sensitive financial information and vendor data, and maintain professional skepticism while remaining collaborative.
Account Reconciliation
You will reconcile Accounts Payable transactions to ensure accuracy and completeness of financial records. Your reconciliation responsibilities include matching accounts payable subsidiary ledger to general ledger balances, investigating and resolving reconciling differences, clearing aged items and outstanding transactions, verifying vendor statement balances against system records, and documenting reconciliation results with supporting evidence.
Effective reconciliation requires analytical thinking and investigative skills. You'll analyze aging reports to identify issues requiring attention, investigate duplicate payments and initiate recovery when necessary, identify and resolve missing invoices or unmatched receipts, track down lost or misapplied payments, and ensure reconciling items are resolved before period-end close.
Your reconciliation work contributes to financial statement accuracy by ensuring accounts payable balances are fairly stated, identifying accruals needed for goods or services received but not yet invoiced, confirming expense recognition aligns with receipt of goods/services, supporting accurate accounts payable reporting in financial statements, and providing assurance to management and auditors regarding balance sheet integrity.
Month-End Close Support
You will assist with the monthly close process, ensuring accounts payable activities are completed timely to support financial statement preparation. Your close responsibilities include processing all invoices received by cutoff date, executing final payment runs for the period, posting period-end accruals for goods/services received but not invoiced, reconciling accounts payable balances and investigating variances, preparing close checklists and deliverables, reviewing and analyzing accounts payable reports for reasonableness, and coordinating with other finance teams on interdependent activities.
Meeting strict close deadlines requires careful planning and prioritization. You'll follow standardized close calendars and task lists, communicate status updates regularly to management, identify and escalate potential delays early, work efficiently during peak close periods, and maintain accuracy despite time pressure.
Your contributions to close process improvement include identifying opportunities to accelerate close timelines, recommending process changes that improve efficiency, automating routine close tasks where possible, eliminating non-value-added activities, and ensuring close procedures remain current and effective.
Required Qualifications and Experience
Professional Experience
Minimum 2-3 years of Accounts Payable experience is required, demonstrating your practical expertise and readiness for this mid-level role. Your background should showcase progressive responsibility, exposure to full-cycle accounts payable operations, involvement in process improvements, experience handling high transaction volumes, and proven ability to deliver accurate, timely results.
Full cycle of Accounts Payable experience is essential, meaning you've handled all aspects of the AP process from invoice receipt through payment execution and reconciliation. Your full-cycle experience should include invoice data entry and coding, approval workflow management, payment processing and disbursement, vendor communication and issue resolution, account reconciliation, and month-end close support.
Technical Skills
SAP ERP with large experience is required as Roche's primary financial system. You should demonstrate extensive hands-on experience navigating and transacting in SAP, proficiency in accounts payable module functionality including invoice processing (MIRO, FB60), payment runs (F110), vendor master data (FK01, FK02), account analysis and reporting, and ability to troubleshoot system issues and identify workarounds.
Your SAP expertise should extend beyond basic transactions to understanding system configuration impacts, utilizing advanced SAP functionality and shortcuts, generating and analyzing SAP reports, extracting data for analysis using tools like SAP Query, and recommending system enhancements based on user experience.
Proficiency in MS Office with working knowledge of Excel enables effective data analysis and reporting. Your Excel skills should include formulas and functions (VLOOKUP, SUMIF, pivot tables), data sorting, filtering, and manipulation, creating charts and visualizations, using conditional formatting, working with large datasets efficiently, and basic macro recording for task automation.
Additional technical proficiencies valued in this role include familiarity with electronic invoicing and workflow tools, experience with payment file formats and banking systems, understanding of OCR and document scanning technologies, comfort learning new software applications quickly, and appreciation for automation and digitalization opportunities.
Professional Competencies
Must be hands-on, organized, detail-oriented, a team player, analytical, accurate, and have strong multi-tasking skills. These attributes define success in this fast-paced operational role:
- Hands-on: Rolling up your sleeves to process transactions, troubleshoot issues, and contribute directly to operational execution
- Organized: Managing multiple priorities, meeting deadlines, maintaining structured workflows and documentation
- Detail-oriented: Catching errors before they occur, ensuring data accuracy, maintaining quality standards
- Team player: Collaborating effectively, supporting colleagues, sharing knowledge, contributing to team success
- Analytical: Investigating discrepancies, identifying root causes, recommending solutions based on data
- Accurate: Delivering error-free work, double-checking critical information, maintaining high quality standards
- Strong multi-tasking: Handling multiple invoice batches, vendor inquiries, and projects simultaneously without sacrificing quality
Must be able to thrive in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift, transaction volumes fluctuate, and adaptability is essential. Your ability to remain calm under pressure, maintain accuracy despite time constraints, adjust priorities as business needs evolve, work efficiently during peak periods (month-end, year-end), and maintain positive attitude during challenging times will determine your success.
Communication Skills
Excellent verbal and written communication skills are essential, enabling you to interact professionally with internal and external customers with great customer service. Your communication skills should include explaining complex AP processes in simple terms, writing clear, professional emails in English, articulating issues and recommendations effectively, active listening to understand stakeholder needs, adapting communication style to different audiences, and demonstrating empathy and patience in difficult situations.
Fluent English is required as the primary business language for Roche's international operations. Your English proficiency should enable clear written communication for business purposes, confident verbal communication in meetings and phone calls, understanding of financial and business terminology in English, ability to read and interpret contracts and agreements, and effective communication with colleagues across multiple countries.
Additional Qualifications
General accounting knowledge is desirable, providing broader context for accounts payable within the accounting cycle. Beneficial accounting knowledge includes understanding of double-entry bookkeeping principles, familiarity with financial statements and how AP impacts them, basic understanding of accrual accounting, awareness of internal control concepts, and appreciation for how AP fits within overall financial operations.
Teamwork, achieving results, and strategic agility represent key success factors aligned with Roche's competency framework:
- Teamwork: Collaborating across functions and geographies, supporting colleagues, contributing to team objectives
- Achieving Results: Delivering on commitments, meeting deadlines, driving projects to completion, maintaining quality standards
- Strategic Agility: Understanding how AP supports broader organizational goals, anticipating future needs, thinking beyond tactical execution
Ability to work within a team to achieve the team's specific and overall goals demonstrates your collaborative mindset and commitment to collective success rather than just individual accomplishments. You'll contribute to team performance metrics, support colleagues during high-volume periods, share best practices and knowledge, participate in team meetings and improvement initiatives, and celebrate team successes.
What Roche Offers You
Career Development and Growth
Working in Roche's Accounts Payable function provides exceptional career development opportunities through exposure to international operations and best practices, structured training and onboarding programs, cross-functional learning and job rotation possibilities, mentorship from experienced finance professionals, clear career progression paths within AP and broader finance, opportunities for process improvement leadership, and professional development in SAP and financial systems.
Many successful Roche finance leaders began their careers in accounts payable, developing foundational skills, building business understanding, and demonstrating excellence that opened doors to advancement. Your performance and initiative determine your career trajectory.
Work Environment and Culture
You'll join Roche's modern shared services center in Sabana Norte, San José, featuring contemporary office facilities designed for productivity and collaboration, advanced technology and tools supporting efficient work, convenient location in premier business district, diverse, multicultural team representing multiple nationalities, inclusive culture valuing different perspectives, collaborative work environment encouraging knowledge sharing, and leadership focused on employee development and engagement.
Our team culture emphasizes respect, trust, and mutual support. You'll work alongside dedicated professionals who take pride in operational excellence, celebrate achievements together, learn from challenges, support each other's growth, and maintain positive, professional atmosphere even during demanding periods.
Comprehensive Benefits
Roche provides competitive compensation and benefits tailored to the Costa Rican market, including competitive base salary aligned with experience and market rates, performance-based bonuses rewarding individual and team achievements, comprehensive medical insurance covering you and eligible dependents, life insurance and disability coverage, retirement savings programs, paid time off including vacation, sick leave, and holidays, professional development and training allowances, employee wellness programs, and additional benefits per local practices.
Costa Rica Location Advantages
San José, Costa Rica offers exceptional quality of life combining natural beauty with modern infrastructure, political stability and strong democratic institutions, growing international business community and expat networks, relatively affordable cost of living, excellent climate year-round, proximity to beaches, mountains, and natural attractions, good healthcare system and infrastructure, bilingual culture (Spanish/English) facilitating integration, and strategic location with good connectivity to Americas and beyond.
Sabana Norte specifically provides modern business district amenities, convenient access to restaurants and services, proximity to Parque Metropolitano La Sabana, good public transportation connections, safe, professional environment, and vibrant business community.
Application Process and Timeline
Application Deadline: January 6, 2026
We encourage interested candidates who meet the qualifications to apply promptly. Our selection process typically includes initial resume screening, phone or video interview with HR, technical interview with AP Manager/Supervisor, skills assessment (may include Excel or SAP testing), final interview with broader team or senior leadership, reference checks, and job offer and onboarding.
To Apply: Submit your application including updated CV/resume in English highlighting your accounts payable experience, SAP ERP experience and proficiency level, full-cycle AP responsibilities you've handled, examples of process improvements you've implemented, language skills and any additional relevant qualifications.
Join Roche and Make an Impact
As an Accounts Payable Analyst at Roche, you'll contribute to the financial operations that enable life-changing healthcare innovations. Every invoice you process, every vendor you support, and every process you improve helps ensure resources flow efficiently to research, development, and delivery of medicines and diagnostics that save and improve lives worldwide.
If you're a detail-oriented, customer-focused accounting professional with strong SAP skills and fluent English who thrives in fast-paced, international environments, we want to hear from you. Bring your accounts payable expertise to an organization where your work matters and your voice is heard.
Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Let's build a healthier future, together. Apply today and start your career journey with Roche Costa Rica!
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