May 13, 2026 • Extuent • Finance & Accounting
If you've had an accounts payable role open for more than 60 days, you're not alone. According to Robert Half's 2026 hiring data, finance and accounting roles now take an average of 73 days to fill, and 87% of finance leaders report active talent shortages. The good news: US companies are building high-performing remote AP teams — fully vetted and operationally live in as little as 14 days.
The US accounting workforce shrank by roughly 10% between 2019 and 2024. Competition for experienced AP specialists is now fierce — candidates receive multiple offers before second-round interviews are done. The result: backlogs grow, vendor relationships strain, early payment discounts get missed, and the cost of that open seat far exceeds the salary you were trying to hire for.
Top remote AP teams are embedded into your workflows, use your existing tools (NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP), follow your processes, and operate within your business hours. They handle the full AP function: invoice processing, vendor management, payment runs, reconciliation, and reporting — drawing from talent in the Philippines and India at 40–50% less than equivalent onshore cost.
A structured discovery session covers AP volume, ERP tools, team structure, time zone requirements, compliance needs, and culture fit preferences. Done properly in two to three hours, it produces a candidate brief specific enough to filter candidates meaningfully — not just match keywords.
A specialist partner delivers a shortlist of pre-screened candidates within 48 hours. Each comes with an AI assessment score, a recorded one-way video interview, and proposed compensation. You review five to eight evaluated candidates — not 50 unqualified applications.
You interview your top one or two candidates. At this stage qualification is already confirmed — you're assessing cultural fit and team dynamic. Most clients are choosing between two strong candidates, not hunting for one.
Your staffing partner handles employment contracts, local compliance, payroll, and access provisioning. A dedicated client success manager configures system access, builds out two weeks of training, and establishes communication rhythms with your existing team.
By Day 14 your remote AP team member is processing invoices and operating in your workflow. By Week 3, most clients report the hire is operating independently and exceeding expectations — a long-term team member embedded in your operations.
A Texas auto lending company placed an 8-person remote team in 14 days — $500K+ savings and 40% increase in collections in Month 1. A Florida wellness company (2,500 employees) built an 18-person team in 30 days — $1.25M in annualized savings. A Tennessee car wash chain (75 locations) built a 10-person team in 14 days — $750K savings and higher quality of work.
This model works best for US mid-market companies (100–5,000 employees) with recurring, volume-based AP workflows who need to move quickly and want to reduce costs without reducing quality. For most finance leaders dealing with a talent shortage and margin pressure, it's one of the fastest, most cost-effective decisions available.
Extuent's AI-powered platform vets, matches, and onboards top 3% finance talent from India and the Philippines — delivering a shortlist in 48 hours and a fully operational team in 14–30 days.
Building a remote accounts payable team no longer means months of uncertainty. With the right vetting process and dedicated onboarding support, your team can be live in 14 days at half the cost of onshore hiring. Contact Extuent today to receive your first shortlist within 48 hours.
