A professional who assists with the overall operations of an organization’s financial processes, such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll, is known as an accounting coordinator. He or she could work for an accounting firm that outsources accounting services to other companies, or he or she could work in the accounting department of a company in any industry.
The accounting coordinator is in charge of most of the accounting communications between an organization and its clients, suppliers, and lenders, and works under the direction of a supervisor such as an accounting manager or chief financial officer. He or she might communicate with suppliers and lenders about payables, clients about receivables, and employees about payroll. This job position does not typically make decisions about the timeline for collecting and making payments for an organization; that is typically the responsibility of the accounting manager and executives.
Accounting coordinators are frequently given bookkeeping duties and are expected to keep track of all receivables and payables. The coordinator will enter the information into whichever computer database the organization uses for accounting and file all hard copies after receiving or sending an invoice. He or she may be in charge of notifying the accounting manager when a payable is past due or tracking down a receivable. Accounting coordinators must also ensure the validity of a payable or receivable, which may include confirming with other members of the organization that an incoming invoice is for legitimate products or services rendered before it is deemed payable.
People in this position might work with an outsourced payroll company to coordinate direct deposit for employees, or they might print and distribute paychecks to employees. Although an accounting coordinator is not in charge of an organization’s financial projections or practices, he or she may have access to confidential information about the company’s financial situation. The accounting coordinator is in charge of gathering all pertinent paperwork to be filed with the government during tax season or audits, including copies of receipts, pay stubs, and any other material required by the organization to file taxes or provide during an audit.