Organisation: Australian Office of Financial Management
Job Title: Administrative Support Officer
Location: ACT
Knowledge of corporate processes and accounts processing (study or experience in general
office administration will be considered relevant)
My practical experience in accounts processing roles is underpinned by a strong theoretical
knowledge gained through my tertiary study. I hold a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and
Finance) and as a result am well-versed in accounting practice and am able to apply my study to
the accounting roles I undertake. My degree qualification has given me a broad understanding of
corporate processes and accounts processing.
Having worked in two different accounts roles, I possess a sound knowledge of accounts
processing along with experience in general office administration duties. In my role as Accounts
Payable Officer within the Shared Services (Finance) department of the ACT Government, I
undertook duties including invoice processing and coding, processing of payments by electronic
funds transfer, cheque and cash, and monthly reconciliation of accounts. These processes were
undertaken using Oracle accounting software. Through this role I also furthered my knowledge of
accounts receivable processes, through liaising with colleagues in that department to obtain
information when required for my work.
Originally engaged on a three month contract at Administrative Officer (AO) 2 level, I performed
my duties so successfully that I was re-engaged at AO3 level for subsequent three- and six-month
contracts. In this role I gained a reputation for speed and accuracy in my accounts processing work
and, as a result of my competency, was on occasion asked to provide training to new team
members despite being relatively new to the role myself. In this position I was regularly required
to liaise with suppliers to answer queries and discuss payment of their invoices, which I was able
to do in a polite and professional manner.
My position with the ACT Government built on the prior accounts processing abilities which I had
gained through my employment as an Accounts Clerk and Office Administrator for a mental health
clinic. In this position I received and verified invoices and requisitions, prepared manual cheques
as required and maintained listings of accounts payable, as well as performing general office
administration duties. These previous accounts roles, like my current role as a Customer Service
Officer within a bank, have required great accuracy and attention to detail.
Ability to work in a team and manage relationships with a service orientation
In my position as Accounts Payable Officer within the ACT Government’s Shared Services, I worked
as a member of a team of eight to ten staff within a larger Accounts Payable staff group of up to
50 people. Working as a member of these immediate and broader teams, I would maintain
awareness of the workloads of others and always offer assistance if I saw someone struggling with
a high workload or unfamiliar task.
As Accounts Payable Officer I was required to deal with suppliers on a daily basis. Following up on
enquiries from suppliers, I would provide information on the status of their invoice in the
processing timeline and advise on when they could expect to receive payment. In order to provide
this information, I would often need to liaise with other members of the Accounts Payable team in
order to obtain accurate information to provide to the suppliers. I endeavoured at all times to
provide professional and polite service to the suppliers with whom I had contact. These same
standards of service were applied when I received a request for information from a fellow
employee, and I would do everything in my power to provide accurate and timely information to
allow that person to effectively perform their role.
Currently working for Westpac Bank, I act as a Customer Service Officer providing a concierge
service to customers with initial enquiries. I provide what information I can to customers and then,
where appropriate, refer them to banking specialists within the branch team. For example where a
customer has an enquiry about current home loan rates, I use my training and knowledge to
provide them with the information they require. In the case of a customer wishing to apply for
home finance, I would make them an appointment with the home loan lending manager, in
accordance with bank procedures. I aim to always provide excellent service and complete
satisfaction to the customers I serve; to this end if I find that my branch’s home lending manager is
not available for an appointment at a time that is convenient to the customer I will call other
nearby branches to secure a more convenient appointment with a manager at another branch.
Ability to manage own performance in the context of work priorities and deadlines
Working as the Accounts Clerk and Office Administrator in a mental health clinic, I was required to
perform an extremely wide range of tasks in a busy environment. As well as undertaking accounts
processing, I was required to book patient appointments, create and maintain patient records,
coordinate doctor’s schedules including meetings and conferences and perform general office
duties such as photocopying, faxing and typing. In this position every day was different and new
priorities were constantly emerging. I was able to effectively perform my role through planning my
workload then constantly reassessing throughout the day and adjusting my plan if more urgent
matters came up which needed to take precedence over my planned activities. Naturally in a
healthcare environment such as this, immediate patient needs and the requests of the doctors
were prioritised above more routine office tasks.
Possessing previous work experience as a Human Resources Consultant specialising in
recruitment, I am capable of managing large workloads in a deadline-driven environment. In this
role I undertook recruitment of candidates in accordance with client specifications and would
need to juggle the recruitment of numerous roles simultaneously, while ensuring that each client
received a high standard of service and level of attention to their recruitment needs. I was able to
do this through careful management of my diary, by scheduling candidate calls, face-to-face
interviews and administrative tasks such as completing documentation and compiling reports with
the appropriate amount of time devoted to each. Morning team meetings would review the
priorities for the day, and I would ensure that I adjusted my schedule to accommodate that day’s
most pressing priorities.
Working as an Accounts Payable Officer in the ACT Government, the weeks leading to end of
financial year were naturally very busy for my team. The strict deadline to have all accounts
processing completed meant that there was a high degree of pressure to work quickly. In this
environment I was able to maintain focus and accuracy through working efficiently without losing
my attention to detail, which was important as any errors that required fixing would have resulted
in more time being lost. Despite an environment of high stress and pressure from line managers, I
was able to maintain a calm demeanour and work effectively in order to help my team meet this
strict deadline.
Ability to plan and organise for results
One of my duties in my current role as Customer Service Officer at Westpac Bank is to process the
bank cheques issued on a daily basis under home finance arrangements to allow settlement on
properties. Settlements are conducted daily at 2pm, meaning that I am required to have the bank
cheques ready by 1pm. This is a strict deadline that cannot be missed without severe
consequences for the bank and our clients, so I must plan my activities to ensure that the required
result is delivered. This task is complicated by the fact that I only receive the day’s settlement list
at 10am, meaning that I am left with a very short timeframe to resolve any issues before the
cheques are drawn. It is therefore essential that I plan and organise my time meticulously to be
able to deliver the necessary result of having the bank cheques ready by 1pm.
Working within the ACT Government, as an Accounts Payable Officer it was indicated that I should
aim to be processing approximately 60 to 70 invoices per day. Knowing that I was capable of
delivering performance at a higher speed than this without compromising accuracy, I instead
worked to my own target of processing 80 to 100 invoices per day. With scheduled team meetings
in the morning and a requirement that the time after 3pm was devoted to validation of
transactions to allow payment the next day, I planned my time between these commitments to
enable me to successfully deliver the outcome I was aiming form.
In the recruitment environment of my Human Resources Consultant role, we were allocated
targets to meet in terms of the percentage of client vacancies we were able to fill. I therefore
needed to plan and organise both my overall activities and my daily calendar to allow me to meet
this outcome. Through effective planning, I was able to consistently meet my targets and on two
occasions was awarded inventive payments as a result of exceeding my recruitment targets. I was
also recognised on two occasions with the ‘star of the month’ award for my excellent performance
in this role.
