Accounts Assistant Jobs

When you hear the word accountant the usual thing that comes to mind is a person holding a calculator, dealing with numbers and sitting in the office the whole day. However there are more to that job than that. An assistant accountant is also a bookkeeper that helps two important people: The Production Accountants and Key Assistant Accountants. Their tasks include managing the expenses and profits basically they control finances before, during and after feature film productions. Each assistant accountant has a distinct set of duties and responsibilities which are assigned by production accountants or the even key assistant accountant, with the guidance of the production accountants.

The assistant accountants are:

• based in the office and require working knowledge, accounting software, computer literacy and the ability to work with a team.

Other responsibilities and duties include:

• They are in charge of maintaining records of invoices and creditor’s payments
• They take care of preparing accounts payable, invoices and purchase orders
• They also take care of petty cash and payroll calculation
• They manage and keep record of all transactions, process cheques, maintaining filing and invoice monitoring systems
• They audit petty cash envelopes
• They carry out duties assigned by a production accountant, and;
• They sometimes even manage the day to day running of the accounts office when the Production Accountant and the Key Assistant Accountant are not around

On a larger scale of productions the production accountants may require more assistant accountant plus account trainees. Account trainees lean more to data entry, processing cheques and other accounting tasks. Each assistant accountant is responsible for different tasks and keeps track of specific information.

There are a lot of things that is required of an assistant accountant, the job may be pressuring and demanding at times, so stress is not always avoidable. There are some skills however, that if you possess or will develop will make the job more and easier. This is skills are:

• High organizational skills
• Respond well to stressful encounters and situations
• Perform gracefully under pressure
• Maintain effective working relationships
• Good communication
• Great situational management skills
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills and other IT skills needed for Data Entry
• General knowledge of production accounting software as well as other basic accounting software
• Must keep a healthy, positive and fun working environment

Most production companies require more specific accounting skills which includes the ability to:

• Record financial information
• Receive and process all invoices
• Expense forms
• Request for payments
• Accurately input and encode data
• Verify calculations and input coded in to the accounts management system to ensure information is sync.
• Direct debit mandates informed
• Reconcile and maintain information regarding Direct Debit Mandates
• Run a payroll
• Lined with the Inland Revenue
• Follows all Local and Government regulations
• Prepare insurance claims
• Ensure filing is done
• Quickly
• Accurately
• Prepare payments and collectibles daily
• Ensure that all posts are sent daily
• Make sure that the environment is kept safe

Assistant accountants are very important in the production staff so they should not be taken lightly. Their pay is also not taken lately because they are paid for a lofty £14,000 to £17,000 plus they get pensions and they also have 25 days holiday.

Aspiring Assistant Accountants either have to possess a BA in accountancy or at the least vocational qualifications in accounting (NVQs/ SVQs). If they do not have either they need to prove that they have extensive experience and demonstrate that they have enough skills or demonstrate something to match a college degree. Cashiers, bookkeepers, and financial administrators are good past job experiences for this job. It would also be best if the applicant has past film production experiences and have knowledge in software, like scheduling software and as well as film budgeting.

Career in film industry progresses based on experience however for those who are in the production accountancy business it depends on how many qualifications you have obtained, these includes relevant vocational courses. There are a lot of schools, including vocational schools that offer several vocational courses. Once you have the necessary certifications you can start looking for your dream job.

Assistant Accountants are in demand so finding a job will not be a problem. Find time to research on it and you will see how much it is truly worth. Good luck!