A Day in the Life of.......The Accounts and Purchasing Manager

Day-to-day the accounts department is basically split into two sides: one that spends and one that collects. There is a third section that reviews and plans but this is on a longer term basis.

This morning we received an order for a balloon complete with the required 30 % deposit check. This will please the boss as it helps to ensure that our working capital remains healthy. My next job is to chase up some of our current debtors - we work on a credit limit of one month from the date of the invoice, thereafter interest is charged. One of the most interesting changes recently has been the introduction of the Euro. Many of our suppliers are European and, initially, the fall in its value made raw materials such as fabric, basket and burner parts shoot up in price. It is my job to keep a watchful eye on the statements and advise the owner as appropriate.

As we are coming to the end of the month, balance and profit and loss sheets have to be prepared. This can be quite a task as many of our sales and purchases are in other currencies and so have to be converted to pounds sterling. It is so important to have this information to hand for comparison and examination.

My last job of the day is to organise the paying of wages and salaries, this is all done directly to employee bank accounts and is a lot more straightforward than the old system of pay packets!

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