Accounts assistants provide administrative support to accountants, undertaking clerical tasks such as typing, filing, making phone calls, handling mail and basic bookkeeping. Working directly for an accountant, accounting manager or finance manager (or a small team of them), accounts assistants help to maintain the office and keep it running smoothly. As well as helping the manager, accounts assistants also deal with customers and external agencies. Other duties and responsibilities of the job include: Working with spreadsheets, sales and purchase ledgers and journals. Preparing statutory accounts. Calculating and checking to make sure payments, amounts and records are correct. Sorting out incoming and outgoing daily post and answering any queries. Managing petty cash transactions. Controlling credit and chasing debt. Reconciling finance accounts and direct debits.