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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Financial Administrative Assistant

💰 $40,000 - $60,000

FinanceAdministrationAccounting

🎯 Role Definition

The Financial Administrative Assistant provides tactical financial and administrative support to accounting and finance teams. This role manages transactional finance functions (AP/AR), supports month-end close tasks, maintains accurate financial records, coordinates vendor and customer communications, and enforces internal controls. Ideal candidates are detail-oriented, proficient with accounting software and Excel, and comfortable working in fast-paced finance departments.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Accounts Payable Clerk
  • Office Administrator or Administrative Assistant with finance exposure
  • Junior Bookkeeper / Billing Clerk

Advancement To:

  • Senior Financial Administrative Assistant
  • Accounting Specialist / Staff Accountant
  • Accounts Payable/Receivable Supervisor
  • Finance Analyst or Financial Reporting Associate

Lateral Moves:

  • Payroll Specialist
  • Procurement / Purchasing Coordinator
  • Customer Billing & Collections Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage end-to-end accounts payable processes: receive, code, route, and process vendor invoices; verify approvals; match purchase orders and receiving documents; prepare and execute check, ACH, and wire payment runs on scheduled payment cycles.
  • Process accounts receivable tasks including generating client invoices, applying payments, posting receipts, monitoring aging receivables, coordinating collections calls and statements, and escalating overdue accounts to management.
  • Perform routine bank reconciliations for assigned bank and credit card accounts on a monthly basis; investigate and clear reconciling items; ensure timely posting of adjustments and maintain documentation for audit purposes.
  • Support monthly and quarterly month-end close activities: prepare and post recurring journal entries, reconcile sub-ledgers to the general ledger, assist with cut-off procedures, and provide schedules to accountants to meet close deadlines.
  • Prepare, code and process employee expense reports and corporate card reconciliations; verify receipts and policy compliance; submit employee reimbursements via payroll or AP run as required.
  • Maintain accurate vendor master data: set up new vendors in ERP, validate W-9 tax documentation, manage vendor contact information and payment terms, and resolve vendor inquiries about payment status.
  • Assist in preparing financial reports and ad-hoc summaries: compile transaction-level data, prepare variance explanations for budget vs. actual, and deliver clear, reconciled spreadsheets for finance leadership review.
  • Enter and maintain transactional data in enterprise systems (QuickBooks, NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, or other ERPs) with a focus on accuracy, completeness, and consistent use of accounting codes and cost centers.
  • Monitor and administer petty cash and change funds: reconcile balances, process replenishment requests, and maintain supporting receipts and logs for compliance and internal control.
  • Support procurement and purchasing workflows: create and track purchase orders, confirm receipt of goods/services, and close POs to maintain accurate commitments and prevent duplicate payments.
  • Execute daily/payment operations including ACH file preparation and transmission, check runs, and wire transfer coordination while following payment authorization matrices and fraud prevention protocols.
  • Maintain filing systems and electronic document retention for accounts payable and receivable, ensuring invoices, contracts, payment confirmations, and vendor communications are readily accessible for audit and operational needs.
  • Provide first-line support for internal and external audit requests: prepare schedules, gather backup documentation, answer auditor questions, and help implement audit recommendations related to transactional controls.
  • Assist with fixed asset tracking tasks: code asset purchases, update fixed asset schedules, collect serial numbers and supporting documentation, and prepare disposals or transfers when requested by accounting.
  • Support sales and billing teams by resolving invoice discrepancies, processing credit memos, and coordinating with customer service to expedite billing and payment resolution.
  • Participate in continuous process improvement initiatives: recommend automation opportunities in AP/AR workflows, streamline data entry procedures, and contribute to documented SOPs and training materials.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality of sensitive financial information and ensure adherence to corporate policies, SOX controls (when applicable), and company data privacy standards.
  • Process and file tax-related documents such as 1099s and related vendor tax reporting support, coordinating with tax and accounting teams to meet statutory deadlines.
  • Provide backup support for payroll preparation and payroll-related inquiries when necessary, including capturing timesheet exceptions and reconciling payroll-related accounts.
  • Coordinate with cross-functional teams (procurement, HR, operations) to ensure financial data alignment, resolve invoice disputes, and support month-end accruals and prepayments recording.
  • Track and report on departmental budgets and spend against budgeted amounts: prepare periodic budget variance schedules and flag overruns to managers.
  • Maintain and update spreadsheets, dashboards and financial trackers using advanced Excel functions (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH) to summarize KPIs and support management decisions.
  • Manage outbound and inbound vendor/customer communications related to billing, payments, PO confirmations and account inquiries in a professional and timely manner.
  • Ensure compliance with internal control policies and segregation of duties by documenting approvals, routing workflows, and providing transaction-level audit trails.

Secondary Functions

  • Document and maintain process SOPs for AP/AR, payment processing, and vendor onboarding to support scalability and new-hire training.
  • Cross-train with team members to provide coverage for payroll, billing, collections and basic general ledger tasks during absences or peak periods.
  • Assist finance leadership with ad-hoc reporting requests and special projects such as system implementations, process automation pilots, and vendor onboarding projects.
  • Coordinate travel and expense pre-approvals, process corporate travel reconciliations and liaise with travel vendors as required.
  • Support procurement team by compiling vendor performance data, invoice dispute analytics, and purchase order cycle time metrics.
  • Help maintain compliance-related documentation for internal reviews, SOX checklists, and external compliance audits.
  • Act as liaison between external vendors, banks, and internal stakeholders to escalate and resolve time-sensitive payment, refund or billing disputes.
  • Compile and deliver documentation packages for month-end accruals, including backup for recurring accruals and reversal schedules.
  • Provide basic data cleanup and migration support during ERP updates, including mapping legacy accounts to new chart of accounts and validating transaction integrity.
  • Assist HR with new-hire onboarding tasks related to finance such as setting up payroll codes, expense card requests, and initial system permissions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Accounts Payable (invoice processing, PO matching, payment runs) and Accounts Receivable (billing, cash application, collections).
  • Bank reconciliations and credit card reconciliation procedures.
  • General ledger posting and preparation of journal entries for routine adjustments and accruals.
  • Month-end close support and preparation of supporting schedules for accountants.
  • ERP and accounting systems experience (e.g., QuickBooks, NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics).
  • Advanced Excel proficiency: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, SUMIFS, conditional formatting and basic macros.
  • Payment platforms and banking operations (ACH, EFT, wire transfers, check processing) and vendor payment batch preparation.
  • Familiarity with tax documentation and reporting (e.g., W-9 collection, 1099 support).
  • Document management and electronic filing best practices (scanning, indexing, retention).
  • Basic fixed asset tracking and reconciliation skills.
  • Experience supporting internal and external audits, producing schedules and backup documentation.
  • Familiarity with procurement workflows: purchase orders, receiving, and PO-AP reconciliation.
  • Data entry accuracy and transactional data validation techniques.
  • Knowledge of internal controls and segregation of duties principles.

Soft Skills

  • Strong attention to detail and a commitment to accurate, timely financial record-keeping.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills for vendor, customer and cross-functional interactions.
  • Time management and ability to prioritize high-volume workload and competing deadlines.
  • Problem-solving mindset with ability to research discrepancies and propose corrective actions.
  • High level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential financial information.
  • Team-player attitude and collaboration skills; comfortable providing and receiving process feedback.
  • Adaptability and comfort with changing systems, process improvements and ERP upgrades.
  • Customer-service orientation with strong follow-up and escalation judgment.
  • Analytical thinking and ability to summarize transactional trends for managers.
  • Initiative to document and improve recurring processes and drive small automation efforts.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED with relevant bookkeeping/office experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration.
  • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field is a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Business Administration
  • Economics
  • Bookkeeping / Small Business Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 1–5 years of progressive experience in accounts payable, accounts receivable, bookkeeping, or financial administrative roles.

Preferred:

  • 2–4 years experience in a corporate finance, accounting department, or public accounting support role with exposure to ERP systems (NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP, Oracle) and month-end close processes.
  • Prior experience supporting audits, managing vendor relationships, and processing electronic payments.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in Excel and comfortable preparing reconciliations and financial summaries for management review.
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