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Shereen Blalock has over 25 years of experience in AP. In her current role as Accounts Payable Manager at Whalar, a digital marketing and creator agency that connects brands and influencers, she navigates a fast-paced environment spanning multiple time zones.
During our chat, Shereen discussed her career journey, how to handle some of the most challenging AP problems, and her tips for the next generation on building a sustainable, rewarding career.
From Graphic Design to a Mentorship in Legal Finance
Nick Levine: What first drew you to a career in accounting and finance? Was it a calling from the start, or did you fall into it?
Shereen Blalock: I fell into it. I initially wanted to get into graphic design, but at 17, my first job was in the accounting department at a law firm in Manhattan. I worked there full-time while going to Baruch College, either early in the morning or at night.
Nick Levine: What was the driving factor behind that pivot from graphic design into accounting?
Shereen Blalock: I think it was more the experience I had working with people at the law firm. I’ve always been good at math, and I love working with numbers, so that was natural for me. Being an accounts payable assistant, everything came easily. The people I was working with just made it so comfortable for me.
Nick Levine: Having a supportive environment early on makes a massive difference. Did you have a mentor who helped guide you?
Shereen Blalock: There were four of us in the department, and the controller just took me under his wing and trained me. He taught me everything from A to Z, including billing. It made me want to do more and learn more.
The Art of AP Problem Solving
Nick Levine: You’ve spent 25 years in AP at a variety of organizations. What has kept you continuously passionate about this specific niche within finance for over two decades?
Shereen Blalock: I was always naturally good with figures, and in accounts payable, it’s about solving things. A lot of aspects can be mundane, the same thing every day. But resolving the difficult issues that arise, where you have to research and investigate why things aren’t balancing, that’s what’s kept me working in the field.
Nick Levine: It sounds like you have to act like a financial detective. How do you handle those complex issues when they disrupt your balance?
Shereen Blalock: Some things come up that you would never expect. I often have to call the vendor or do some deep diving to figure out what’s happened. It could have been something so simple, but unless you research, you’re not going to find out. It’s always some headache that throws you off.
Nick Levine: For suppliers who want to ensure they get paid without delay, what are the most common mistakes you catch on their end?
Shereen Blalock: I’d say previous balances left on invoices, or carrying over incorrect account statements. They apply payments incorrectly on their side. We have to sit down and figure out what’s going on. We tell them, “We paid you X, Y, and Z, but you don’t have it recorded because you applied it to the wrong thing.” It creates a lot of back-and-forth.
Navigating the Creator Economy Globally at Whalar
Nick Levine: Your current role is at Whalar, a global digital marketing and creator agency. How does working in a creative company align with your historic passions, and where does your team step into the workflow?
Shereen Blalock: Accounting is accounting, but it’s definitely interesting to see how creators operate and how to tie AP into it. We manage creators for clients such as Facebook and TikTok. Once they complete their contracted social media campaigns for a straight flat fee, that’s when AP steps in.
Nick Levine: Whalar is UK-founded, but your accounting team is fully remote in the US. What unique time zone or cross-functional bottlenecks does that introduce?
Shereen Blalock: Time zones are definitely a challenge. All of our accounting is in the US, so UK teams are halfway through their day when I log on. If they have an emergency payment request, we have to rush to get things out before their day ends.
Nick Levine: How do you approach cross-functional business partnering with creative managers who lack a finance background?
Shereen Blalock: You have to be very accommodating because they don’t know the finance world. In creative, things happen on the fly. I deal with credit cards where cardholder limits are changed daily; if a manager needs to spend money at the last minute for a creator, I have to raise the limit right away.
The Seamless Sync of Automation
Nick Levine: You’ve been at Whalar since 2023. When you joined, was the organization still reliant on paper audit trails, or did you have a technology stack in place to support automation?
Shereen Blalock: When I started, they had already put Tipalti in place just before I arrived. It’s a very smooth process. We have an internal platform called Foam that syncs directly with Tipalti, and everything flows right into the system.
Nick Levine: That custom integration sounds unique. Can you share how the internal platform works on the creator’s side and how it integrates with your billing workflow?
Shereen Blalock: Whalar developed Foam from scratch. The creators have access to it to enter their social media platforms and the work they do. They also enter their own payment details. When their campaigns are finished, we mark them complete on our end, and the amounts they’re owed automatically sync into Tipalti as a bill.
Nick Levine: What are the foundational benefits of utilizing an automated, synchronized workflow compared to handling that data manually?
Shereen Blalock: Doing it manually would be a nightmare. Accounting doesn’t inherently know the exact figures creators are owed, so everything has to be validated in the system before we even see it. Vendor onboarding can also be a big challenge, so having that automated through Tipalti is great. It eliminates the manual risk of things getting incorrectly posted or uploaded.
Why Customer Service is an Irreplaceable Human Skill
Nick Levine: As AI assumes more process-driven accounting tasks, what do you believe is the most indispensable human skill an AP leader must bring to the table today?
Shereen Blalock: Customer service. It is very important in AP, whether you’re dealing with vendors, clients, or internal teams. Customer service is something AI can’t always handle because situations aren’t always straightforward. When dealing with vendors, you sometimes have to pick up the phone and negotiate terms from Net 30 to Net 60. Having that rapport and human connection is something AI can’t get right.
Nick Levine: Building that deep vendor rapport and learning when to negotiate must be a delicate commercial balance to maintain. Is that something you can teach, or does it require experience?
Shereen Blalock: I think you learn from experience because a good relationship is built over time. It’s about making good judgment calls. If a small business vendor calls to say their payment is due tomorrow and asks if they can be paid sooner, you look at the big picture. If it’s a small amount, you make the accommodation. It’s about maintaining that connection.
If you’ve enjoyed Shereen’s story of mastering AP in the creative sector, check out the rest of our Next Gen Finance Leaders series and see how today’s strategic minds are redefining the industry.
