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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Financial Technician Assistant

💰 $35,000 - $55,000

FinanceAccountingEntry-LevelBanking

🎯 Role Definition

The Financial Technician Assistant supports financial operations by executing day-to-day accounting tasks, maintaining accurate records, and assisting with month-end and year-end close activities. This role bridges transactional processing and financial reporting: it processes invoices and payments, reconciles accounts, posts journal entries, prepares routine reports, supports auditors, and contributes to process improvements. Ideal candidates are detail-oriented, comfortable with ERP and spreadsheet-based workflows, and capable of communicating with vendors, internal stakeholders, and external auditors.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Accounts Payable / Accounts Receivable Clerk
  • Finance Intern or Accounting Intern
  • Bookkeeping or Billing Specialist

Advancement To:

  • Financial Technician / Senior Financial Technician
  • Staff Accountant / Financial Analyst
  • Accounting Supervisor or AP/AR Supervisor

Lateral Moves:

  • Payroll Coordinator
  • Billing Coordinator
  • Vendor Management Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Process and code high volumes of vendor invoices and employee expense reports in the ERP system (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, QuickBooks), ensuring accuracy of GL coding, purchase order matching, and timely approvals to support on-time payments.
  • Reconcile bank accounts, credit card statements, and cash receipts daily or monthly; investigate and research discrepancies to ensure timely and accurate cash balances and bank reporting.
  • Prepare, review, and post routine journal entries including accruals, prepayments, intercompany entries and corrective entries as part of month-end close procedures under GAAP guidance.
  • Maintain accounts receivable aging schedules, prepare and issue customer invoices, follow up on overdue accounts, apply customer payments and credits, and support collections to improve DSO (days sales outstanding).
  • Perform month-end and quarter-end close support tasks: compile account reconciliations, prepare supporting schedules, identify variances, and provide documentation for management review and audit.
  • Execute accounts payable activities including invoice capture, three-way matching (purchase order, receiving, invoice), vendor statement reconciliations and preparation of payment runs (ACH, wire, check).
  • Support payroll processing activities by preparing payroll-related journal entries, reconciling payroll liabilities, and assisting payroll team with payroll tax remittances and reporting reconciliation.
  • Maintain fixed asset register: record asset additions and disposals, calculate depreciation entries, reconcile asset sub-ledger to the general ledger, and assist with physical asset inventories.
  • Assist in preparation of month-to-date and year-to-date financial reports and variance analyses for managers, highlighting trends, unusual items, and actionable recommendations.
  • Provide first-line support for internal and external audits by preparing schedules, delivering reconciliations, responding to auditor inquiries, and ensuring documentation meets internal control standards.
  • Process and reconcile intercompany transactions, maintain intercompany schedules, and collaborate with counterpart teams to resolve mismatches and maintain balanced intercompany positions.
  • Monitor and enforce internal controls and company policies for payments, approvals, segregation of duties, and record retention; recommend improvements to reduce risk and support SOX compliance where applicable.
  • Support tax and regulatory deliverables by compiling sales tax, VAT, or withholding tax support documents and coordinating information with tax specialists.
  • Maintain vendor master data and customer master files: set up new vendors/customers, update banking and contact details, and ensure appropriate documentation and approvals.
  • Prepare and execute daily cash management tasks: forecast cash requirements, assist with disbursement schedules, and communicate liquidity needs to treasury or finance managers.
  • Investigate and resolve billing disputes and vendor inquiries by researching transaction histories, collaborating with procurement, sales, or operations, and communicating outcomes professionally to stakeholders.
  • Maintain detailed and organized financial records and filing systems (electronic and physical), ensuring audit readiness and quick retrieval of source documentation.
  • Participate in continuous improvement initiatives: identify bottlenecks in invoice-to-pay and order-to-cash processes, propose automation or workflow changes (OCR, AP automation), and help implement solutions.
  • Generate standard and ad-hoc financial reports and dashboards using Excel, Power BI, or other reporting tools; ensure data integrity, clear labeling, and version control for management consumption.
  • Assist with billing operations and revenue recognition tasks: apply contract terms to invoicing, support month-end revenue cutoffs, and work with revenue accountants to ensure correct recognition.
  • Support credit administration activities by conducting credit checks on new customers, maintaining credit limit records, and escalating high-risk accounts to management.
  • Execute reconciliations of corporate credit cards and employee expense accounts, verifying receipts, expense policy compliance, and timely reimbursement processing.
  • Maintain and improve standard operating procedures (SOPs) and process documentation for routine financial transactions; train colleagues on updated procedures and system changes.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc financial data requests and exploratory data analysis to help business partners make informed budgetary and operational decisions.
  • Contribute to the organization's finance process improvement roadmap by testing new workflows, participating in pilot programs, and documenting issues and outcomes.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams (procurement, operations, sales, HR, IT) to translate business needs into accurate accounting entries, reporting requirements, and system configurations.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies when working on finance systems or automation projects; provide domain expertise and validate acceptance criteria for accounting deliverables.
  • Assist IT and finance system implementation teams with user acceptance testing, data migration validation, and post-go-live support to ensure accounting integrity in new ERP modules.
  • Provide training and day-to-day support for junior clerks and temporary staff during high-volume periods (month-end, tax season), ensuring consistent adherence to controls and procedures.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Solid knowledge of accounting fundamentals and principles (GAAP) applied to AP, AR, general ledger and reconciliations.
  • Hands-on experience with ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics or QuickBooks for transaction processing and reporting.
  • Advanced Excel skills: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, conditional formatting, basic macros to analyze and reconcile large datasets.
  • Bank reconciliation and cash handling skills including daily cash posting, funding, and variance identification.
  • Experience preparing and posting journal entries, accruals, prepayments, and month-end adjustments.
  • Familiarity with accounts payable flows (3-way matching, PO workflow, payment runs) and accounts receivable cycles (invoicing, collections, credit memos).
  • Knowledge of payroll accounting, payroll liabilities reconciliation and related journal entries (preferred or exposed).
  • Experience maintaining fixed asset registers and preparing depreciation schedules.
  • Competency using reporting and visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or advanced Excel reporting techniques.
  • Basic understanding of tax reporting elements (sales/VAT, withholding taxes) and supporting documentation requirements.
  • Ability to work with OCR/AP automation tools, invoice capture systems and electronic payment platforms (ACH, wire).
  • Comfortable preparing documentation and evidence for internal or external audits.

Soft Skills

  • Strong attention to detail and accuracy with the ability to spot errors and reconcile complex variances.
  • Effective verbal and written communication skills for interacting with vendors, internal stakeholders, and auditors.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to meet recurring deadlines in month-end and daily transactional cycles.
  • Problem solving and investigative mindset when researching reconciling items and discrepancies.
  • Team-oriented with a collaborative approach to cross-functional issue resolution and process improvement.
  • High level of integrity, confidentiality, and professionalism when handling sensitive financial information.
  • Adaptability and willingness to learn new systems, tools, and process changes during finance transformation projects.
  • Customer-service orientation for both internal business partners and external vendors/customers.
  • Proactive mindset with the ability to identify process bottlenecks and propose practical, data-driven improvements.
  • Strong organizational skills to manage electronic and physical documentation for audit readiness.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED with bookkeeping experience; or
  • Associate degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or related discipline.
  • Relevant certifications a plus: AAT, Certified Bookkeeper, or progress toward CPA (not required).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Business Administration
  • Economics
  • Information Systems (with accounting emphasis)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 1–4 years of progressive experience in accounting, bookkeeping, accounts payable/receivable or finance operations.

Preferred:

  • 2+ years working in a corporate finance environment with ERP exposure (SAP, NetSuite, Oracle, QuickBooks).
  • Demonstrated experience supporting month-end close, reconciliations, and audit preparation.
  • Prior experience with financial process automation tools, Excel-based reporting, and customer/vendor communications.
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