Key Staff

The person we are going to focus on in the accounts area is Anne Rozario.

Anne is one of a team of 4 in the accounts department. Though each of them have specific responsibilities, there is quite a degree of overlap and co-operation. This makes the department very flexible as if one person has a quiet time for their particular role, they can help take the pressure off someone else.

Anne's key responsibilities are:

• Accounts
• Sales
• Cash

The accounts role means the handling of all the customer accounts. This means looking after the debt control necessary to ensure that all customers pay as quickly as possible. This is a vital role as much of the health of the cash flow of the business depends on the efficiency of the debt control.

The sales role is related to this and means raising invoices where necessary for sales. Many of these will be for small sales and sales of spare parts and here customers may be allowed credit if they are known to be reliable. For major purchases (a balloon!) a 30% deposit is expected and then payment before delivery. All of this has to be monitored carefully to ensure that debts are not able to accumulate and much of this is Anne's responsibility.

The cash role means looking after all the banking of cheques and cash and looking after the cash book. This is the record of all cash that comes in and out of the business. It needs to be regularly reconciled with the bank statements to ensure good quality cash control. Good cash control also means planning ahead - cash flow forecasting - to ensure an adequate supply of cash at all times. Cash shortages can prevent businesses from meeting their commitments and so an efficient accounts department is vital.