Position description
Title:
Financial Officer (Accounts Payable)
Group:
Organisational Support
Location:
Wellington
Reports to:
Team Leader Financial Processing
Date:
August 2009
Position context
The creation of the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) on 1 August 2008 was part of a significant set of
transport sector-wide changes undertaken by the New Zealand government. The changes included a
new transport planning and funding process to streamline planning approvals and reduce activity
‘churn’, and the establishment of closer working relationships between transport sector agencies and
regional communities.
The NZTA has been established to:
deliver an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable land transport system;
assist New Zealand’s economic development in all its activities;
assist safety and personal security;
improve access and mobility;
protect and promote public health; and
ensure environmental sustainability.
The Organisational Support Group, one of six business groups within the NZTA, comprises a cluster of
five units responsible for the provision of professional, high quality, efficient and effective systems,
processes, support and services to the NZTA Board, management and other business groups. The
functional units in the group are:
Finance
Information Services
Legal Services
Corporate Support
Assurance and Risk
The group is also required to ensure the NZTA has corporate strategies, policies and frameworks to
support strategy and organisational performance.
1
Purpose of position
Financial Officers form part of the Financial Processing team who are responsible for carrying out a
range of duties including accounts processing services, management of the operational bank
accounts, Provide general ledger and month end reconciliation of accounts, maintenance of the fixed
assert registers, and management of bank accounts and investments.
Key accountabilities
Accounts Payable
Provides accurate and timely data entry of invoices
Reconciles supplier statement
Answers suppliers and internal enquiries
Prepares daily urgent payments
Collects stamps and sort the Finance daily mail
Daily filing
Sets up new vendors
Prepares and enters G/L journals
Processes all daily, weekly and monthly payments from the 00 bank account
Ensures payment deadlines are met
Investigates and resolves all payment problems
Check accounts payable data entry and post batches
Prepares the GST returns promptly and accurately
Maintains the fixed assets registers for the operations business
Backs up deskbank operations
Reconciles the operations bank account accurately and in a timely way
Reconciliation of operations and month end accounts and cash management suspense account
Checks cash management data entries
Manages Travelcard and Taxicard accounts
Works with the Team Leader Financial Processing to recommend and implement improvements
systems and processes.
2
GM approved <day/month/year>
Health and safety
Takes responsibility for own health and safety
Ensures own actions keep self and others safe
Identifies, reports and assists to eliminate hazards in own work place
Participates in local work place safety management practices
Self development
Takes responsibility for personal development and continually develops own professional
expertise.
Core behaviours
The NZTA is committed to an environment of trust and respect through open, honest communication.
All employees are encouraged to involve and support each other, and to be respectful of each other’s
views. Good employees behave with integrity and professionalism in everything they do and they seek
continuous improvement. Acknowledging achievement and contribution is key to creating and
sustaining this type of culture. The NZTA values sustainable and safe transport, and all employees are
encouraged to demonstrate this in their day-to-day activities. High priority is placed on ensuring
safety in the workplace and each of us is responsible for maintaining a safe and healthy working
environment for ourselves and others.
Dimensions
Financial: N/A
Staff: N/A
Key relationships
Internal
Financial processing team
Finance team
Cost centre managers
NZ Transport Agency managers and staff
External
Suppliers/creditors
3
GM approved <day/month/year>
Person specification
Education and training
An appropriate tertiary qualification, or study towards tertiary qualification is desirable.
Knowledge and experience
Working knowledge of accounting systems, especially accounts payable systems
Strong analytical and problem solving skills
Computer literacy, and experience with the MS Office range of applications (e.g Word, Excel)
Personal attributes
Accurate and detail oriented
Efficeint and well organises
Able to work independently
Actively looks for opportunity to improve service delivery and systems
Builds positive relationships using well developed interpersonal skills
Ability to prioritise and manage work flows
Has a positive approach to work and enjoysd a busy servie delivery role
Actively demonstrates, promotes and models desired organisational behaviours and values
Promotes a high quality climate of innovation, collaboration, change and adaptation in own area
Actively looks for opportunities to improve services and support organisational change
Takes accountability for the responsibilities of the position and own actions.
4
GM approved <day/month/year>
Core competencies1
Customer Focus
Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets
first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with
customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their
trust and respect.
Drive for Results
Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top
performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
Integrity and Trust
Is widely trusted; is seen as a direct, truthful individual; can present the unvarnished truth in an
appropriate and helpful manner; keeps confidences; admits mistakes; doesn't misrepresent
him/herself for personal gain.
Functional/Technical skills
Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level of accomplishment.
Managing Diversity
Manages all kinds and classes of people equitably; deals effectively with all races, nationalities,
cultures, disabilities, ages and both sexes; hires variety and diversity without regard to class; supports
equal and fair treatment and opportunity for all.
Peer Relationships
Can quickly find common ground and solve problems for the good of all; can represent his/her own
interests and yet be fair to other groups; can solve problems with peers with a minimum of noise; is
seen as a team player and is cooperative; easily gains trust and support of peers; encourages
collaboration; can be candid with peers.
Interpersonal Savvy
Relates well to all kinds of people—up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organisation;
builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact;
can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
Listening
Practices attentive and active listening; has the patience to hear people out; can accurately restate the
opinions of others even when he/she disagrees.
Copyright © 1992, 1996, 2001-2003 by Lominger Limited, Inc. A Korn/Ferry Company.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
This work is derived from the LEADERSHIP ARCHITECT® Competency Sort Cards developed and copyrighted by Robert W. Eichinger and Michael M.
Lombardo for Lominger Limited, Inc. Without the prior written permission of Lominger Limited, Inc., no part of this work may be used, reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, by or to any party outside of the NZ Transport Agency.
1
5
GM approved <day/month/year>
Role specific competencies2
Technical Learning
Picks up on technical things quickly; can learn new skills and knowledge; is good at learning new
industry, company, product, or technical knowledge—like Internet technology; does well in technical
courses and seminars.
Learning on the Fly
Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyses
both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find
solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying
structure of anything.
Copyright © 1992, 1996, 2001-2003 by Lominger Limited, Inc., A Korn/Ferry Company.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
This work is derived from the LEADERSHIP ARCHITECT® Competency Sort Cards developed and copyrighted by Robert W. Eichinger and Michael M.
Lombardo for Lominger Limited, Inc. Without the prior written permission of Lominge r Limited, Inc., no part of this work may be used, reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, by or to any party outside of the NZ Transport Agency.
2
6
GM approved <day/month/year>
