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What Does a Financial Assistant Do?
A financial assistant is typically someone who works in a bank or an accounting department at a larger organization, and provides a combination of administrative assistance and finance help to his or her coworkers. A financial assistant will typically have more knowledge about finances and accounting principles than most administrative assistants, and may be responsible for running reports or checking data in addition to administrative tasks. Otherwise, this individual will also be responsible for tasks such as answering the phones, greeting clients, and scheduling meetings or appointments, among other typical office duties.
Many businesses will hire a financial assistant to work in their payroll or accounting departments. Larger organizations devoted to finance, such as bigger banks or accounting firms, will often hire financial assistants as well. These people have knowledge of finance, bookkeeping, and basic accounting practices in most cases, but are also willing and able to perform office administration duties. In this way, a good financial assistant can offer great benefit to the organization for which he or she works, and may learn enough to be able to be promoted into higher positions, such as loan officers in a bank, for example.
The specific job duties of a financial assistant may vary depending on the type of organization for which he or she is working. Usually, the financial aspects of the job are relatively basic. This individual might be responsible for running certain daily or weekly reports, entering data into the computer, or performing basic bookkeeping. He or she might also serve as a type of proofreader, checking others' work for errors before it leaves the department. If it is a payroll department, the assistant might be responsible for entering specific information regarding employee hours and benefits. Most organizations are willing to train this type of assistant, within reason, to perform these tasks, but will expect him or her to have some existing financial experience.
The other half of the job of a financial assistant is to provide administrative office support. This includes tasks such as answering the phones and greeting customers, clients, or other employees when they come into the office. It might also involve scheduling meetings for others, maintaining a filing system, and dealing with the mail when it is sent and received. These are just some of the most common administrative tasks; depending on the size of the office, these may be greater or lesser than described.
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![A financial assistant might be responsible for running daily or weekly reports.]()
By: DueyA financial assistant might be responsible for running daily or weekly reports. -
![A financial assistant may provide administrative office support.]()
By: michaeljungA financial assistant may provide administrative office support. -
![A financial assistant may be tasked with preparing and disseminating accounting reports.]()
By: Gianluca RasileA financial assistant may be tasked with preparing and disseminating accounting reports. -
![A financial assistant may be responsible for scheduling meetings for executives.]()
By: RidoA financial assistant may be responsible for scheduling meetings for executives.
Discussion Comments
How easy is the job if you have absolutey no background in the field but you get called for an interview at an entry level position?
I'm a financial assistant. I work under the financial manager. I basically perform the essential financial duties of the office. I manage the financial accounts, take care of necessary transactions and also make sure that all of our financial paperwork abides by regulations.
Our organization actually has its very own management system. I have to use it on a daily basis to enter data. Everything, every expense of the office has to be documented and accounted for. I sometimes also collect data and make a spreadsheet for the bosses to make sure that we're on track in terms of our budget. So it's just dealing with a lot of numbers.
@bear78-- If you can take care of the budget and accounting tasks, I think you would be qualified to be a financial assistant. But keep in mind that qualification and requirements of the job will vary a little from one employer to another. But the vacancy announcement should describe the educational and experience qualifications expected from applicants.
Even if you are a little under-qualified, I think it's okay to apply. For example, if the job asks for three years of experience and you have two, apply anyway. Some employers are willing to provide a little training to their employees if they feel that the person is a good fit and has the capacity to handle the duties. But it's best to be a close match to the described qualifications as possible.
How much experience do I need to be a financial assistant?
I have a few years experience doing administrative tasks at an organization, which also included some finance and budget related tasks. Our financial manager was gone for some time so I updated the budget, submitted invoices, that sort of thing. Can I work as a financial assistant with this experience or is it not enough?
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