Accounts Assistant in Berkhamsted - The Hospice of St Francis

Main Duties & Responsibilities

The function of the Accounts Assistant (Income) is to ensure all income is accurately recorded, reconciled and reported, including the creation of sales invoices and effective management of outstanding debts, supporting financial control and providing reliable data for decision-making.

• Process all income including fundraising, retail, grants and statutory funding
• Raise sales invoices promptly and accurately in line with agreed processes
• Maintain customer accounts and records
• Monitor outstanding debts and perform debt collection activities
• Ensure all income is correctly coded and allocated
• Cash counting and reconciliation
• Liaise with cash counting/banking volunteers and cash collection company
• Maintain floats and take responsibility for cash at major events
• Maintain card machines and allocate depending on business need
• Ensure cheques are recorded and banked in a timely manner
• Perform regular bank and system reconciliations
• Maintain income control accounts and audit trails
• Investigate and resolve discrepancies
• Maintain schedules for restricted and unrestricted funds (support level)
• Prepare monthly income summaries and reconciliation schedules
• Highlight variances, missing income or issues
• Assist the supervisor with monthly reporting of income streams
• Liaise with fundraising and retail teams to ensure accuracy of data
• Provide documentation for audit

Qualifications, Skills, Experience, Knowledge & Approach

• AATor qualified by experience
• Strong understanding of financial processes and controls
• Strong reconciliation and data handling skills
• High attention to detail
• Good excel skills
• Ability to manage high volumes of transactions
• Charity finance or multi-income stream experience (desirable)
• Developing technical accounting knowledge
• Understanding of charity finance (desirable)

Communication

• Liaise with fundraising and retail teams
• Communicate discrepancies and data issues clearly
• Maintain effective working relationships across departments

Decision Making

• Identification and resolution of discrepancies
• Prioritisation of income processing and reconciliation tasks
• Escalation of issues to Supervisor

Mental & Physical Consideration

• High level of concentration required
• Managing repetitive and detailed tasks

Working Conditions & Environment

• Office based
• Standard working hours
• Occasional travel to Shops/events
• Regular deadlines, particularly at month-end

Health & Safety

• Comply with all Hospice policies and procedures
• Ensure financial processes support organisational compliance
• Maintain secure handling of financial data

Safeguarding

Act in a manner at all times to safeguard the interests of individual patients/clients and their families and justify public trust and confidence in the Hospice of St Francis.

Please note; applicant shortlisting will take place as and when suitable individuals apply. As such, we would strongly encourage early applications. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should a suitable candidate be appointed. Interview arrangements will be communicated via email, so please check your email regularly. If you do not hear from us within 2 weeks of the closing date, unfortunately your application has been unsuccessful.

Please note, this role will involve a DBS check.