Post Title:                           Apprentice Accounts Assistant

Reporting to:                      Business Accountant

Line Manager:                    Business Accountant

Grade                                  National Apprenticeship rate

Hours:                                 37 hours per week, all year round

Job Purpose

• Working as part of the Finance Team providing support to Westcountry Schools Trust specifically. This will be achieved within Academy Financial Procedures whilst ensuring internal and external deadlines and audit requirements are consistently met.

•Provide comprehensive financial and general administrative support to the Finance Team and in particular to the Business Accountant.

•Undertake a Level 3 Assistant Accountant Apprenticeship to develop the relevant skills and expertise such that the post holder can play an active role and contribute appropriately to the work of the team.

•Contribute to a solution based team approach.

Main duties and responsibilities

Within the limits of the programme of training, provide a specific specialist support service in the following areas of activity ensuring confidentiality is maintained at all times:     

Income Accounting

Assisting with:

• Setting financially viable budgets for educational trips and similar services offered to students and adding such trips and services to the appropriate ledgers and ParentPay.
• Providing accounting information to internal departments to assist in their collection of sums due from such trips and other services.
• Reconciling income and expenditure on a monthly accruals basis for each trip within the Trip Ledger and making the appropriate accounting entries.
• Preparing monthly reports for the Business Accountant on each trip highlighting any trips potentially incurring a deficit.
• Issuing sales invoices and processing to the appropriate Sales Ledger and Student Ledger accounts on a timely and accurate basis.
• Posting and allocating daily income receipts to College accounting systems and ParentPay;
• Monthly reconciliations of the sales control accounts including the reconciliation of the Student Debtors Ledger to ParentPay;
• Debt collection, maintaining contact with customers to ensure invoices are promptly paid and all queries are resolved promptly;
• Communicating with all overdue debtors both verbally and in writing on behalf of the Business Accountant and discussing with such customer’s potential discounts and repayment plans.
• Producing regular (at least monthly) debtor reports, highlighting any potential bad and doubtful debts.
• Administering the College bus service and issuing passes. Including resolving parent and carer queries via email and telephone.
• Administration of the cashless catering system including scanning students, thumbprints, assisting students and/or parents with queries regarding the cashless catering system, and managing account limits as agreed with the Finance Manager or Business Accountant.
• Implementing and ensuring adherence to the Trusts financial policies and procedures in all aspects of its income accounting including ensuring debts are only written-off having obtained the appropriate authority in advance from the College Business Accountant or Trust Board where applicable.
• Supporting the Business Accountant undertaking any legal action deemed necessary to collect unpaid debts.

Expenditure Accounting

Supporting other members of the Finance Team and the Business Accountant providing general administration duties and assisting with:

• Monitoring departmental budgets to ensure they are kept in line with budget.
• Processing and inputting to the accounting system- purchase orders and requisitions, goods received notes, purchase invoices and credit notes.
• The accounts payable process including sorting purchase invoices into appropriate payment dates and preparing resultant weekly BACS runs of appropriate authorised invoices for approval by the Business Accountant.
• Ensuring appropriate cheque payments are properly authorised and made.
• Routine data checking of supplier information including BACS details, addresses, and account numbers.
• Reviewing the appropriate nominal and cost centre coding of purchase orders and/or invoices prior to processing.
• Assist with the maintenance of “Parent Pay” systems;
• Supporting the administration of the Petty Cash account ensuring efficient handling, processing, balancing and accounting of petty cash.

• The banking process, counting and recording of cash and cheques e.g. school trips and college sales.

• Processing of staff expense claims (including casual and supply claim forms) checking that such claims are properly authorised prior to processing.
• Sourcing appropriate goods and suppliers.
• Processing purchase approved card purchases when required ensuring appropriate documentation is secured and completed for each transaction.
• Copying, filing, scanning, file attachment and processing of purchase ledger related documents.
• Sorting incoming mail.

Financial Reporting

• Assist in the production of accurate financial reports and records.
• Assist with the reconciliation of balance sheet accounts.
• Assist in the maintenance of financial systems.
• Assist in the preparation and production of accounts and reports.
• Assist in the internal analysis of financial activities.
• Assist in the work with internal and external audit as directed.

Further duties

• Provide appropriate support when required for non-financial staff on basic financial procedures;
• Provide appropriate support when required in sourcing specific bulk purchases such as diaries/planners;
• Provide cover in agreed activities in the absence of the Business Accountant.

Any other duties commensurate with the grade and responsibilities of the post.

If you would like further information on how to apply, please email admin@westst.org.uk.