Account Assistant Job Description

The job profile of an account assistant has changed a lot over the years and a lot many duties have been included in this profession. To start with, the inclusion of information technology into the recent times is the biggest change. Earlier, every account assistant was supposed to maintain the records and update information on paper but computers have changed the account assistant responsibilities to a large extent. Now their job description consists of the following duties:

Account Assistant Responsibilities

• Deal with monetary transactions daily and also update the account statements
• Maintain log of the reconciliation statements regularly and keep both the parties informed of the same
• To store the receipts for every transaction is also one of the account assistant responsibilities
• Train the newcomers for maintaining accurate data and make them aware of the work system
• Process the application, forms for any kind of expenses incurred by the organization by different departments
• Check the calculations, deals, and the numeric data for transactions between the company and clients
• Be updated with the information on refund matters or penalties and follow up on the same
• Compile data of contracts and report to the senior authority
• Timely fill up the form or application and ensure there are no mistakes in the same
• The person has to take care of the postal services as well, i.e., see to it that all the mails are dispatched on the proper addresses with the required details
• Update or make necessary changes in the application forms or the account particulars, with the changing requirements
• Being an account assistant in a company you need to check all the reports that are submitted to you
• One needs to check not only for accuracy but also whether the parameters are followed while filing the reports
• This above mentioned verification process is important because the final draft then goes to the management
• Sort financial documents and match the data after getting all the reports, i.e., maintain a proper balance sheet
• Be aware of what work is going on and report the same to the managing heads
• In organizations where the employees are supposed to submit reports, account assistants are responsible for checking them
• Among the administrative duties of an account assistant comes communicating on phone with clients

Professional Requirements of Account Assistant

Usually a certificate from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is required to become a professional account assistant. Although it is not necessary to get this certificate there are some other certificates that suffice for being eligible to work as an account assistant. They are as follows:

• CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)
• AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians)
• CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy)

Apart from these certificates a master's or bachelor's degree in mathematics, accounting, economics, finance are helpful in getting a job. A degree in statistics is also an asset.

Account Assistant Skills

An account assistant has to be really good in stress and time management. The main job responsibility being maintaining the figures of so many accounts, gathering from different parties and checking with the management reports can be tiresome.

One should be good in calculations and at the same time be knowledgeable about the software programs that are used for this purpose.

Managing abilities prove to be helpful to handle the account assistant responsibilities well and leadership qualities like being dependable, have good integrity is necessary. You have access to information about everyone and that is the reason why integrity matters in this field.

Apart from knowing the basic account assistant responsibilities, before looking for a job, one should also refer to the data published by the state governments regarding the salaries and growth opportunities. It proves helpful for planning your future and also to choose the right organization to work in.