UTS POSITION DESCRIPTION

UTS:HUMAN RESOURCES
POSITION TITLE Bank Reconciliation Accountant
UNIT/FACULTY Financial Services Unit
POSITION PURPOSE

The Bank Reconciliation Accountant is responsible for managing all non-student receipts and ensuring all payments are identified correctly and allocated promptly.

DIMENSIONS
Number of Invoices raised annually / 9,000
Value of Invoices raised annually / $67 million
Number of Bank Statement lines reconciled annually / 30,000
Number of Receipts raised annually / 19,000
Number of active debtors / 3,000

The Financial Services Unit (FSU) provides accounting and financial services to all University Faculties and Divisions.

RELATIONSHIPS

Supervision

The Bank Reconciliation Accountant reports directly to the Accounts Receivable Supervisor.

No positions report to the Bank Reconciliation Accountant.

Collaboration and Communication

 Internal

Internally, the incumbent liaises with the Accounts Receivable Officer, the Accounts Receivable Supervisor and Accounting Operations Manager. There is regular contact with Faculties for both data collection purposes and to provide advice and support.

 External

Externally, the incumbent is responsible for contacting banks on a regular basis for information relating to receipts. There is also a need to contact debtors on occasion to discuss details of receipts and payment methods.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES
  1. Management of the non-student receipt process to ensure that the General Ledger accurately reflects the most up-to-date position, including:

a)  Processing of receipts in Oracle General Ledger on day received, including cash, EFTPOS and cheques, ensuring revenue is allocated to individual Faculties the day following receipt of the funds

b)  Daily banking of cash and cheques to ensure no monies kept in FSU overnight

c)  Processing of EFTPOS and Credit Card transactions:

  1. Twice weekly and monthly where appropriate
  2. Same day if urgent
  3. Follow up any declined transactions
  4. Create journals to ensure correct revenue treatment and allocation for Faculties without credit card facilities

d)  Correct identification and treatment of invoice related payments, raising a receipt against the debtor and applying it to the correct invoice on day received

e)  Correct identification and treatment of non-invoice related payments, creating a journal entry or raising a miscellaneous receipt in cash management as appropriate, on day received

f)  Reconciling receipts in the accounts receivable sub ledger and cash management so that all revenue is transferred via journals to the correct general ledger accounts

g)  Processing debtor refunds within 5 working days, ensuring revenue is reversed correctly in the general ledger.

  1. Completing full reconciliation of the previous day’s banking by the end of the next working day, including:

a)  Creating a journal entry in cash management and reconciling the bank deposit to the accounts receivable sub ledger

b)  Investigating differences with the bank and resolving

c)  Making appropriate adjustments in the accounts receivable sub ledger and cash management via journal

a)  Reconciliation of all credit card transactions on more than 60 pan-University terminals with the bank on a daily basis

d)  Liaison with the other Bank Reconciliation Officer on a daily basis to discuss the daily receipts in the bank statement and give advice on action required for different receipts.

  1. Identifying and processing unidentified payments received in the mail, including:

a)  Investigation of unidentified cheque payments on day received, using the information available to determine the best course of action

b)  Liasing with the Faculty who originated the transaction or the debtor to resolve unidentified payment.

  1. Provision of advice and support to Faculties on non-student debt issues, including:

a)  Resolving queries received over the phone / email / post within 48 hours

b)  Updating Faculties on new processes in relation to receipting

c)  Provision of one-to-one training when required.

  1. Reconciliation of the dishonoured cheque account and the unidentified receipts account, ensuring:

a)  Reconciliation completed every week

b)  Monthly reconciliation completed and passed to management by Day 10

c)  Monthly provision of details of quantum and nature of each dishonour to the Financial Accountant and Accounting Operations Manager to agreed timescale

d)  Each entry cleared within a month of the initial date of dishonour.

  1. Contribute to the continuous review and improvement of financial services undertaken by FSU to achieve better use of resources, including:

a)  Defining and understanding trends of receipts to help the University better manage its cashflow and financial position

b)  Identify and implement changes that allow further automation / improvement of systems, including reconciliation, receipt and debt management processes.

  1. Take responsibility for own personal and professional development, including:

a)  Identifying own training needs

b)  Keeping abreast of University and financial issues

c)  Sharing knowledge with colleagues.

ENVIRONMENT AND POSITION CHALLENGES

It is imperative that UTS sustains a sophisticated approach to financial management and business decision-making at a time of reduced government funding and increased commercial competition.

As the Bank Reconciliation Accountant is responsible for the receipting of all non-student debt, the incumbent has a significant effect on the financial position of individual Faculties throughout the University.

The position has great responsibility and works to strict time constraints, handling cash and processing hundreds of thousands of dollars on a daily basis in line with strict UTS guidelines, as well as being the point of contact for pan-University advice and support.

AUTHORITY TO ACT

The Bank Reconciliation Accountant acts independently on regular tasks and is bound by University policies and procedures and established guidelines within FSU. The Accounts Receivable Officer is the University expert and one-stop point of contact for advice and support on non-student receipts matters.

Safety & Wellbeing responsibilities

All staff must:

§  Take reasonable care of, and cooperate with actions taken to protect, the health and safety of both themselves and others

§  report all accidents, incidents and hazards to their supervisor as soon as is practicable

Supervisors and managers of staff and facilities must do whatever is reasonably practical to ensure that both the workplace and the work itself are safe, in consultation with staff affected.

ORGANISATION CHART

Please see attached.

July 2006 4