Organisation: West Arnhem Regional Council
Job Title: Accounts Payable Officer
Location: Darwin
As the Accounts Payable Officer and Receptionist within Hidden Valley Ford, I have an excellent,
hands-on knowledge of the accounts payable function within the organisation. I use my high level
financial administration skills and capability extensively in this role, where I am responsible for all
duties relating to accounts payable, including preparing and distributing invoices, maintaining
accounts payable data, general ledgers, vendor statements and expense reports. I reconcile and
monitor daily bank statements, operating controls and trading figures, manage orders and
receipts, and monitor payment submissions and processing. I provide assistance to clients,
vendors and a number of internal accounting and management stakeholders, and address any
issues, such as unpaid invoices. I have excellent financial acumen, accuracy and attention to detail,
and received a performance related pay rise during my last performance appraisal.
I have up to 150 vendors included in my monthly payment cycle and my role includes processing
and checking of invoices and statements that come into the organisation, matching of invoices to
purchase orders, having the appropriate Manager sign-off on invoices and ensure they are paid,
and sending the remittance advice within the appropriate time frame.
My high level of accuracy and attention to detail has paid off on numerous occasions where I have
detected errors that require amendment before an invoice can be paid. Just recently, I received a
statement and invoice from an auto-care company who provided some car window tinting for us.
When the statement came, I checked all of the entries and matched them to each purchase order,
both hard copy and on the system and I found that one of the line items on the statement had the
wrong company name attached. Everything else appeared correct however, this item didn’t seem
right. I called the company and upon checking they realised that the invoice had been attributed
to the wrong account and wasn’t supposed to be on our statement. They are now rectifying the
statement and will send out a new one, at which point, I can re-reconcile the paperwork and make
payment.
With the Accounts Payable function, there are many deadlines which I need to maintain an
awareness of, including payment terms and conditions of suppliers as well as the end of month
reconciliation which is also part of my role. I begin the end of month reconciliation about 2 weeks
before the end of the month to give me enough time to finish it in time. This role requires
matching payments and income to the bank statements for the different departments within
Hidden Valley Ford. This includes starting from A and working to Z ensuring all payments are
accounted for, correctly recorded and filed.
Competency in the use of information technology and MS Office applications especially Excel
As my attached resume indicates, I have undertaken training in most of the MS Office applications
available, including Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook. My skills in MS Word allow me to create
documents through word processing, including correspondence and reports. My use of Outlook
includes the email, calendar and scheduling functions within the program which I use for my own
use as well as booking meetings with others within the organisation. My use of Powerpoint was
demonstrated mostly during my role as Teacher’s Assistant, where I created numerous
presentations for students using this software application.
I use MS Excel everyday within my current role for a variety of purposes. Our financial
management accounting computerised system is ERA, from which I can export information into
Excel for manipulation into financial reports for my Managers. My experience in this extends to
exporting from ERA all of the trade debtors for the organisation and which ones are 30, 60 , 90 and
120+ days past their invoice due date. Every Friday and sometimes more frequently, I run this
report for my Manager and filter the report by headings, amounts, auto-summing totals and
present this information for review at senior management level. At one point, I was offered a
commission by my Manager to reduce the 90 and 120+ day clients down to a 15% share of the
overall money owing by trade debtors. I was able to use Excel to chart my progress and report
back to my Manager on how I was going in this regard.
My use of Excel extends to the use of a reconciliations page, which I populate with the end of
month reconciliation information and can work out outstanding balances, how much has been
paid, the balance owing, any comments on the account and a payable balance at the end. This
information is useful for an overall understanding of total amounts owing each month.
Using the ERA financial management software program is something that I do every day for both
my accounts payable function, and accounts receivable responsibilities. In addition, I used an array
of MS Office programs and functions through the course of completing my Certificate III in
Business Administration and Certificate IV in Business.
Organised approach to work, and demonstrated ability to prioritise and meet deadlines
I have used my high level ability to prioritise my workload, multi task and meet multiple deadlines
throughout my career. In my current role I am responsible for a broad range of operational and
financial administration. On the financial side as mentioned earlier, I have a range of daily and
weekly duties relating to accounts payable, including preparing and distributing invoices,
maintaining accounts payable data, general ledgers, vendor statements and expense reports
which all require outstanding organisational and time management skills. In addition, I must
ensure that all accounts are checked, processed and authorised ready for the end of the month,
and carry out general administration and reception duties.
I have maintained organisation within my busy role through breaking up my day into sections
which are more manageable. All of the banking duties I undertake, including counting all of the
cash on hand, collecting cash and cheques from the different departments, reconciling this for the
bank and completing a myriad of forms, has to be completed before 1.15 pm each and every day
to ensure it gets banked within that day. I am also required to reconcile the petty cash before this
time if it needs replenishment and organise a cheque which can be cashed.
While I have a daily, weekly and monthly routine which enables me to efficiently plan and
schedule my work to meet multiple deadlines, I remain flexible and responsive to emerging
priorities. In planning my day, I factor in time to cover reception duties, as providing prompt and
efficient customer service is a key priority, and I ensure that I have time to assist my colleagues
with enquires, such as IT issues or urgent finance queries.
My positions as a Childcare Assistant, Education Assistant, Aboriginal Education Officer, and
Special Needs Officer all required excellent abilities to prioritise a busy workload and respond to
emerging needs and issues. Infants and young children, particularly those with special needs,
respond well to a set daily routine, which helps them to feel comfortable and reassured in their
surroundings. As a Childcare or Special Needs Assistant I would work to a set timetable for events
such as meal and nap times, while responding flexibly to children’s individual needs for physical,
emotional and social support. These roles also involved varying degrees of administration, lesson
and activity planning, and liaison with families, carers, teachers and other stakeholders, which had
to be prioritised and factored into daily and weekly work plans.
Possess a strong commitment to customer service philosophy
Within the whole industry of used and new cars, the customer comes first. Whilst I do not
currently deal directly with external customers in my current role, except over the phone on
occasion, I view my customers as the internal people whom I provide a service too, as well as the
range of trade debtors who I currently deal with in my accounts receivable capacity.
Focussing on my internal customers, there are a range of positions which I provide services for in
different capacities throughout the organisation. These include the different departments like the
Service Department, the Parts Department, the General Sales Manager, the Used Car and New Car
Sales Managers, the Fleet Department as well as the Ford and Subaru parts of the organisation.
Within my role, I provide accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash processing and other
banking, reception and assistance in processing sales deals to each of these departments and
managers.
My high standard customer service philosophy represents itself through providing helpful,
innovative, efficient and effective service. On many occasions, one of the Managers has held onto
an invoice for payment until it’s past the Wednesday weekly cheque run. If this account is due
before the next cheque run, then this creates an issue for us in relation to suppliers possibly
putting a credit stop on our account. On one occasion, this issue meant that we couldn’t order any
tyres for the parts department due to an overdue amount. When this happened, I was informed
by the parts department and went out of my way to track down the invoice and statement from
the appropriate Manager. I called the supplier and asked whether we could have until the next
week to pay. Unfortunately, we could not wait, so I went through the process of finding the
invoice, having the appropriate manager sign off on the payment, filling out the required EFT
requisition form and facilitating a whole manual cheque run, just to get this order paid. I was
determined to ensure that I was not going to hold up the parts department and was able to get
this done to ensure they got their tyres.
Sound numeracy skills, attention to detail and accuracy
I ensure that I carry out all of these responsibilities with very high levels of accuracy and quality,
and within deadlines, by prioritising according to a number of factors, particularly due date, the
time required to gather necessary information from different parts of the business, the likely time
required to complete the task, and also considerations such as availability of senior managers to
authorise invoices and other approval processes.
My comprehensive numeracy skills along with meticulous attention to detail are the reasons why I
can facilitate my very busy role within Hidden Valley Ford. At one stage when I was promoted, I
was asked to train another person to take over the Accounts Payable role. I spent a considerable
amount of time training a new staff member, however a few weeks later it became apparent that
she didn’t have the attention to detail and accuracy for the role, so I was once again made
responsible for this function. My natural affinity with ensuring things are correct and accurate
resonate well with a role such as Accounts Payable, hence why I would like to secure this role and
be able to work in this capacity for the entire time.
At Hidden Valley Ford, there are a number of departments and Managers to whom I process their
purchase orders and expenses. These often require splitting of accounts between different charge
codes. For example, when the gas cylinders need replacing, there is a 20% charge to the New
Vehicles department, a 32% charge to the Suburu dealership, 5% to Fleet Vehicles and so on. Each
Manager has to sign off accordingly and only then can I enter this order into the accounting
system for actioning with the supplier.
My accuracy and attention to detail, along with my numeracy skills are mainly used to ensure
correctness whilst:
– Counting cash and cheques and reconciling for banking
– Creating reports around overdue debtors and other accounts-based reporting
– Reconciliation of petty cash, overdue accounts and percentages therein
– Processing accounts payable invoices and payments and aligning with both paper-based
and electronic files and accounting system
Strong interpersonal skills including high level written and oral communication
Throughout my career I have worked with a broad range of clients and stakeholders, in a variety of
situations. All of my roles have required excellent written and verbal skills to provide outstanding
service and support to diverse client and stakeholder groups. In my current position, I liaise daily
with colleagues and customers, using my high level oral communication skills to respond to
customer enquiries, provide advice to colleagues, resolve accounts queries, and present financial
information in a way that is easy to understand. In my previous childcare and teaching support
roles I liaised with students and their parents, including progress discussions with parents and
making suggestions on ways for them to support their child’s learning and development.
In my work in Wyndham District High School, and as a Youth Officer, I used both my verbal and
written skills to prepare lesson plans, teach children with different learning styles and abilities, and
engage young adults in group and community activities. I developed lesson plans, presentations
for school assemblies and meetings, posters and other learning and promotional materials. I also
used my written communication skills to prepare funding proposals and grant applications as part
of setting up the Young Mothers Group and Young Girls Groups which I initiated. These grant
applications required high level written communication skills, addressing the current situation, the
perceived need for the new groups and services, what the intended outcomes were, and how the
group would achieve the outcomes. I also presented this information orally at meetings with
funding providers. My success with these written and oral submissions is demonstrated through
the allocation of funding to support my proposals.
I have experience in drafting general correspondence, reports, minutes, agendas and other
meeting documentation, for both internal and external distribution. I have attended and minuted
grants meetings, loan meetings, a range of parent/teacher meetings, and meetings of educational
professionals and support staff, demonstrating my ability to develop and maintain the knowledge
required to draft correspondence, briefings and other documentation across a range of topics.
In my current role I communicate daily with the Managers of the sales and service departments,
gathering daily trading data, which I then collate and distribute to local management and to Head
Office. I have developed good relationships with the Managers by being respectful of their
knowledge and skills, and also of their time, understanding that my request for data is only one of
many demands on their time. I have also developed a great working relationship with my
Manager, who is very responsive when I ask for help or advice, and gives me excellent feedback on
my work and progress.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively as an individual or member of a team and relate
effectively with staff on all levels
My career to date has included working in a number of different industries and in organisations of
very varied sizes, from small not for profits to large federal government departments and
commercial franchises. In all cases, I have demonstrated my ability to work as a proactive,
productive and collaborative team member. My roles have required high levels of accuracy and
attention to detail, providing excellent service and support to managers, colleagues and
customers, and developing and maintaining effective and cooperative working relationships with a
range of stakeholders.
In my current role, I mainly work independently to deliver a range of reception, general
administration, and accounts payable duties. I have sole responsibly for invoices and accounts
payable, bank reconciliation, and all related daily and weekly financial reporting, however I rely on
getting information from Sales and Service Managers in order to perform my duties. I recognise
that the best way to ensure that the Managers provide me with the data that I need is to work
with them and ensure that we are all cooperating in order to meet organisational goals. To do this,
I have built and maintained good relationships with the Sales Managers and their teams, ensuring
that I am responsive to their requests for assistance, for example with IT issues, and that I support
them with an efficient and customer focused reception service.
In return, I clearly explain the exact data that I need for reporting, when I need it by and what the
information is used for. Where I don’t receive the managers input on time, I follow up with a
friendly reminder and, where necessary, I will assist them with collating their data or help them
with other urgent issues so they can then get to my request. By taking this collaborative and
cooperative approach, everyone gets their work done, there is good team spirit and we also
develop awareness of each other’s jobs, skills and abilities. I liaise daily with team members across
the organisation, passing on messages, and responding to queries and requests for assistance. For
example, I work very well with the Accounts Receivable Officer, and sought her advice and help
when I was new to my role. I then gradually began to help out with her role, for example,
responding to queries on her behalf and assisting her during busy periods. Consequently, I have
learned additional skills and was able to cover her role when she was recently on leave.
My work history includes roles in the education, government, not for profit and private sectors,
giving me extensive experience in communicating with a diverse range of colleagues and
customers, including senior management, staff, clients, parents and families. I have the capacity to
communicate effectively with people with a range of experiences and perspectives in the
workplace and to deal with diversity, and have particular skills, knowledge and training associated
with Indigenous Australian Culture. I have successfully built and maintained relationships
throughout my career, and can communicate respectfully with stakeholders at all levels, with a
focus on providing excellent customer service.
Basic understanding of workplace health and safety in the workplace
There are a number of considerations in my current workplace where workplace health and safety
need to be understood and abided by. One such example is when I need to attend the workshop
and servicing department, I am not allowed past a certain point whilst wearing heeled shoes. I
wear these shoes due to my appearance to the customer whilst in the office however, it is
dangerous out in the workshop. Another consideration is being aware of the tendency for vehicles
in the showroom being moved around and leaving water on the floor, as well as ensuring all cords
and falls hazards are taped or sign posted so customers and employees can be aware of the
danger.
My role includes attending to any health and safety issues if they require tradespeople to come
into the workshop or offices. On one occasion the air conditioning service within the service
department was broken and dripped water where customers would normally stand. A wet floor
within the service department area is a hazard and could mean someone might slip over. I sign-
posted the area and ensured that I organised a tradesman to come and fix the unit, and let the
service department know exactly when they would be on site. I made sure that they were coming
at a time when there were less customers, like the end of the day.
Overall, I am aware of the importance of workplace health and safety and how it potentially
impacts customers and staff and am able to follow guidelines in this regard.
