Department of Human Resources
OPSEU Job Description
Job Title:
Job Number:
NOC:
Band:
Department:
Supervisor Title:
Accounting Clerk
SO-231
1431
5
Financial Services
Senior Manager, Accounting Services
Last Reviewed:
June 18, 2015
Job Purpose
Provide support to Senior Manager, Accounting Services, by keying and interfacing monthly
journal entries, reconciling bank accounts, maintaining monthly statement mailing lists,
requesting certain printouts, processing and mailing monthly statements, answering
staff/faculty enquiries regarding monthly statements. Performs special tasks assigned by the
Senior Manager, Accounting Services. Act as a back-up to the Accounts Payable Advisor.
Key Activities
1. Keying monthly journal entries into the Datatel to update general ledger accounts.
2. Reconciles University bank accounts, excluding payroll. Reconciles suspense accounts to
zero balance. Investigating/documentation of reconciling items and follow-up to clear
items.
3. Interfaces monthly journal entries/online web payments to the General Ledger.
4. Processes wire transfer requests when required for payments when required to foreign
countries.
5. Updates Access account statement mailing list; prints and mails monthly external
account statements.
6. Prepares journal entries analyzing account problems to adjust/correct problems and
transfer accounts on a timely basis.
7. Acts as back-up to the Accounts Payable Advisor and Accounting Clerks as required
during peak cycles and staff holidays inputting accounts payable vouchers, processing
wire transfers for payments to vendors and processing cheque runs.
8. AP-Process void/stop payment cheque requests.
9. Responsible for creating and processing interface files for webpay and bank entries for
bank reconciliation purposes.
Analytical Reasoning
Job Number: SO-231
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Last updated: August 9, 2015
Indicate degree of complexity or difficulty of thinking and reasoning required by the job. Provide a
relevant work example that is typical of roles and responsibilities of the job (i.e. not an occasional duty).
Decision Making
Indicate the degree of freedom to exercise initiative or act independently in making day- to-day decisions.
Provide a relevant work example that is typical of roles and responsibilities of the job (i.e. not an
occasional duty).
Impact
Indicate the impact or consequence to the department or University of typical actions or decisions taken by
the job incumbent. Provide a relevant work example that is typical of roles and responsibilities of the job
(i.e. not an occasional duty).
Education
College Diploma (2 year) in Business, with course emphasis in Accounting.
Experience Required
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Two years of experience in a computerized accounting environment.
Ability to pay close attention to detail.
Excellent data entry skills.
Ability to work under pressure.
Ability to prioritize competing job requirements effectively, ensuring deadlines are met.
Working knowledge of sales tax and the University tax application tables relating to
purchasing and accounts payable activities.
Ability to exercise judgment and confidentiality to handle sensitive data.
Ability to work independently.
Effective communication skills.
Excellent math skills.
Responsibility for the Work of Others
Direct Responsibility
N/A
Indirect Responsibility
Students - journal entry keying (on very rare occasions casual employees), monthly account
statement processing (on very rare occasions fellow staff), stuffing cheques into envelopes for
mailing.
Communication
Internal:
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Faculty/Staff, queries on account statements
Faculty/Staff, queries regarding policies pertaining to expense reimbursement claims
Fellow Financial Services Co-workers (not supervisors), questions or answers on or
pertaining to Financial Services related queries, helping each other out when opinions or
information is required.
External:
 Auditors, queries on where to find information needed
 Vendors, inquiring on payment of invoices/payment terms
 Students, when inquiring about Trent, their accounts referring them to the right
department either within Financial Services or another department
 Bank, pertaining to bank statement enquiries
Motor/ Sensory Skills
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Fine Motor Skills - Data entry requires both speed and accuracy
Sensory skills - Ability to see clearly and also the ability to touch, needed in order to
perform keying of data
Effort
Mental:
 Sustained attention - Needed when working on bank reconciliation
 Sustained attention - Entering journal or inventory data or cheque requisitions or
matching status reports to detail reports when processing monthly account statements
Physical:
 Extended standing - Extended periods of time keying journal and inventory data entries
 Keyboarding - Extended periods of time keying journal and inventory data entries
 Extending, reaching, and sitting - Processing monthly account statements by having to
reach, staple, fold
Working Conditions
Physical:
 Constant sitting - Constant sitting while keying journal/inventory data entries/cheque
requisitions, which result in lower back pain, neck pain, eye strain, ankle pain and pain
in the posterior
 Repetitive action - Constant keying causes cramping and joint pain in wrists, fingers and
ankles
Psychological;
 Angry, disgruntled individuals - Requirement to respond to angry, disgruntled
faculty/staff/student for not producing an expected cheque either caused by time
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restraints or the lack of information needed to process cheque or simply because the
individual does not follow or know policy
Conflicting work priorities - Conflicting work priorities when month-end journal entries
and keying of invoices are required at the same time in order to meet the needs of
these two separately supervised duties
Repetitive data entry - Monotonous and repetitive work keying journal/or inventory
data, etc. causes boredom with job/sense of "getting nowhere"
Circumstances beyond control - Frustration caused by exceptions to policies I am
expected to abide by, i.e. when I tell a professor that he/she will have to follow the
guidelines of our policies and he/she calls my supervisor or someone above her and
gains an exception to the policy
Frustration - Frustration caused when told that student help or casual employee will
relieve my workload but then that person is assigned elsewhere. A feeling of always
being behind in my work and knowing my coworkers are in the same situation
Job Description Approved by Human Resources (as per Article 17.1):
Name (print):
Signature:
Date:
Signatures - indicating that the job description has been read and understood:
Incumbent
Name (print):
Signature:
Date:
Immediate Supervisor:
Name (print):
Signature:
Date:
Department Head/ Dean:
Name (print):
Signature:
Date:
Job Number: SO-231
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Last updated: August 9, 2015