Accountant- Accounts Receivable

TOwn the school’s fee billing and collections cycle, from enrolment to the point each year’s fees are banked, refunded or formally written off. Tuition is the school’s main income, so invoice accuracy and collection speed decide whether salaries, suppliers and capital plans are funded on time. This is a parent-facing finance role: the work is technical and many of the conversations are sensitive.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Raise accurate tuition invoices each term in line with the approved fee schedule and the regulator’s fee framework [KHDA / ADEK / SPEA / local equivalent], plus registration, deposit, re-enrolment and ancillary charges (transport, uniforms, meals, trips, exams, activities).
• Apply discounts, scholarships, staff-child and sibling concessions only against signed authorisation; invoice corporate sponsors who pay fees on behalf of families.
• Reconcile the student roll to the billing ledger every month with Admissions and the Registrar, adjusting for joiners, leavers and mid-term changes.
• Record and allocate all receipts (transfer, online gateway, card, cheque, cash) on the day received; manage post-dated cheques and follow up returned cheques immediately.
• Reconcile bank accounts and gateway settlements to the receivables ledger and clear unallocated receipts weekly.
• Run the collections cycle under the school’s fee policy: reminders, statements, overdue notices, phone follow-up and payment plans within delegated limits. Escalate persistent non-payment to the Finance Manager and Principal with a full contact history.
• Handle fee conversations discreetly, keeping a family’s financial position separate from the child’s experience at school.
• Calculate refunds and withdrawal charges under the fee policy; prepare credit notes and write-off proposals for approval. The postholder prepares these and does not approve them.
• Produce the aged receivables report, collection analysis by year group and a high-risk account list; support month-end close, deferred income, bad-debt provision, [VAT / local tax] returns and audit schedules.
• Follow segregation-of-duties rules for cash, receipting and master-data changes, and keep all family financial information strictly confidential.
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or commerce; 3 years in accounts receivable or credit control with a high volume of individual customer accounts.
• Sound grasp of receivables accounting: deferred income, revenue recognition, provisions, reconciliations and month-end close.
• Confident with an ERP or finance system and advanced Excel.
• Clear written and spoken English, with the composure to hold a difficult conversation about money and leave the relationship intact.
• High accuracy, integrity and discretion, and the confidence to refuse an unauthorised discount or adjustment, whoever asks for it.
• Desirable: experience in a school or other family-facing, fee-based service; a school billing system such as [iSAMS / Engage / PowerSchool];