The Duties of an Accounts Clerk

Accounts clerk duties

Working in the financial industry can be a tough and challenging field. However, it can also be an exciting field, with a lot of room for growth and personal gratification. One of the entry-level positions in the financial world is an accounts clerk. The most common place to find an entry-level accounts clerk position is at a bank or another similar financial institution. An accounts clerk is responsible for many things, and sometimes these responsibilities extend to areas you wouldn't associate with an accounts clerk.

Collect Information

Accounts clerks are required to meet with new customers and collect their information. This includes all the information needed to open a new account or to rent a safe-deposit box. Once the information has been collected, the accounts clerk will be in charge of entering it into the computer database and filing it appropriately.

Answer Customer Questions

An effective accounts clerk will need to be familiar with all the services available to customers and the application procedures associated with each. Such services include various accounts such as checking and savings, securities, bonds, and loans. Customers will have questions from time to time regarding these services, and an accounts clerk needs to have the necessary knowledge to answer them. Once the questions have been answered, if the customers decide to take advantage of one of the available services, the accounts clerk needs to know where to direct them.

Collect Outside Information

When dealing with loans and similar financial services, it is usually necessary for a credit report to be pulled on the applicant(s). An accounts clerk will need to know how to obtain these records from the reporting agencies. As discussed above, it is the accounts clerk's duty to collect all the necessary information from the customer to put together an accurate customer file. It is also necessary that an updated credit report is in the customer's file, and this is another of an accounts clerk's job duties.

Perform Teller Duties

An accounts clerk will also need to know how to perform the duties of a teller. These duties include assisting customers in making deposits and withdrawals from their accounts. However, it also extends into being able to accept and apply payments to loan accounts, selling money orders, cashier's checks, and traveler's checks, and cashing various checks. Tellers can also be responsible for assisting customers with finding inaccuracies or mistakes within their monthly statements.

References

• United States Department of Labor: Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks