Finance Assistant – Job Description

  
Finance Assistant – Job Description

Learn more about becoming a Finance Assistant in the UK.

Main Duties

A finance assistant will normally work for the accounting department of a company doing administration work. They may be answering the phone and email, meeting clients and doing some bookkeeping. The may need to open and respond to mail, type reports and they may check the work of colleagues too. Being an assistant, they will have to respond to the needs of their team and help out wherever required.

The may be responsible for making appointments and communicating between departments. They may have to do filing and record keeping as well as other typing duties. They may need to reconcile accounts, process invoices and payments and deal with petty cash. They may even have to write business plans and analyse accounts type data producing reports on their findings. They will work as part of a team.

Work is normally office based and so smart business dress would normally be expected, especially if the role involved meeting clients. Work would normally be 9-5, Monday to Friday although there may be a need for overtime at the end of the financial year. There may be part-time or shared roles in some companies.

Expected Salary

The average salary is £19,000 but it would start lower especially for those who have less qualifications. Location and industry would be an influence on salary too.

Pros

Easy working hours and reasonable pay.
Opportunity to move through the company using the administration skills gained.
Could be the opportunity for in house training towards accounting certificates.

Cons

Could be high pressured at end of financial year.
Have to ensure that calculations are completely accurate

Qualifications Required

Qualifications required depends on the amount of responsibility the position expected. A degree may not be necessary, but work in an accounts role might be.
A graduate role would expect applicants to not only have a degree but to have further ACCA certification or equivalent to work in this field. Even non graduate applicant may be expected to have an ACCA qualification or at least to be working towards one.
A masters in accounting, finance, economics, maths or statistics would help.

Required Skills
Ability to work independently and as part of a teamHead for figuresGood organisational skillsGood at prioritising and sticking to deadlinesGood communication skillsIT skills specifically ledgers, spread sheets and journalsAccounting skills