Q: How many of you are there in the accounts department?
There are four of us in the team – David Keene the Financial Director, Marnie Wennington, Simon Palmer and myself.
Q: What do you all do?
We each have our own specific areas of responsibility. Marnie looks after the Sales Ledger including credit control and ISO9000. Simon handles invoicing, some call-off orders and is currently on a three year training course for a professional accounting qualification. I take care of the Bought Ledger (paying our suppliers) payroll and HR admin. We also look after FSC Global, the export side of the business. We try to understand each others jobs so we can cover during holidays to ensure everything gets done. It also keeps things interesting.
Q: What about your own role?
I make sure we pay suppliers the right amount and on time. I work closely with our purchasing team so I get to hear of any problems early on, although we rarely have disputes. The purchasing people talk to the factories until the problems are resolved. We rely very heavily on our suppliers so it’s only right we pay them on time.
Q: What about the payroll and HR?
We employ about 35 people and I handle the monthly payroll and HR administration. Most of the time it’s pretty straightforward but occasionally it gets complicated by things like maternity pay where it seems entitlement is constantly changing. We use the government websites a lot.
Q: You said Marnie looks after the credit control and the ISO9000 – do they go well together?
In a word – yes. Most ISO9000 issues also impact on a customer’s account, so if Marnie is aware of them she can ensure the paperwork flows smoothly. Most returns are due to customers changing their requirements, but we also make mistakes – normally sales entry or picking errors although we work hard to keep these to a minimum. By monitoring these errors Marnie can provide detailed information on which areas we need to improve on.
Q: Is credit control becoming more difficult?
Yes, it is certainly becoming more time consuming with some customers. Fortunately we’ve got a core of customers who pay like clockwork. Some companies however both large and small, delay payment. Marnie’s job is to ensure we get paid as soon as possible while still leaving the customer happy. Putting people on stop, or court action, are things we do very reluctantly. Most problems stem from customers not taking calls or trying to fob us off. It rarely works!
Q: Tell me more about Simon’s training?
Simon joined us in January 2006 and enrolled in a three year AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) course starting that September. It covers a range of subjects including cash management, final accounts and taxation and is one day a week at West Herts College in Watford. Just before we went to print we were delighted to hear that he successfully passed his second years’ exams. One more year to go!
Q: Simon looks after the call-off orders? Surely that’s a sales job?
We’re all here to look after our customers and this is a great way of understanding how important the sales role can be. Some days Simon will receive instructions to dispatch cable and connectors to multiple destinations to arrive at specific times the following day. If for any reason that doesn’t happen our customer would have people waiting around and this would cause unnecessary inconvenience. Simon makes sure goods arrive when they want them to!
Q: FSC Global Ltd is the export side of the business, does this take up much time?
Increasingly so, it’s growing rapidly and will constitute over a quarter of the turnover of both companies. We supply cable all over the world so we are dealing in many currencies and with many Letters of Credit. The individual order size is considerably larger than in the UK so we have to be ultra careful that the paperwork is ‘spot on’ otherwise the shipment could be held in customs for weeks or even months.