Examples of Accounts Receivable Accomplishments for a Job

When approaching the interview process, it is important to know your strengths and how to communicate these strengths to interviewers. If you are looking for a career in accounts receivable, or A/R, there are specific qualities that a hiring manager is concerned with. By emphasizing these qualities, you may have a much better chance at landing the job you want.

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Increase Collection Speed

One of the most persuasive qualities of an A/R applicant is the ability to increase collection speed. Also known as reducing time in the A/R cycle, a competent A/R manager will be able to speed up collection. As A/R amounts to granting credit to customers, usually without interest, slow A/R is effectively financing customers at the expense of the company. In addition, if A/R remains uncollected for an extended period of time, with all else remaining the same, customer A/R balances will increase, leaving the company with greater exposure if a customer cannot pay.

Reduce Bad Debt

An effective A/R manager will be able to reduce bad debt. Bad debt occurs when a customer is granted credit, but then does not pay his account. A/R managers can reduce bad debt in multiple ways. First, if the A/R manager is responsible for making credit decisions, then prudence must be exercised to ensure that credit is granted only to customers that are solvent. The A/R manager should not cave to pressure to grant credit from sales staff that may be more focused on sales figures than the company's overall health. Second, successful A/R managers periodically review customer files to ensure that credit granted is still reasonable based upon the customer's history with the company. Last, A/R managers who are the most coveted are able to quickly react when a customer starts showing signs of potential insolvency, by increasing communication with the customer and aggressively pursuing collection. This helps to ensure that the company actually gets paid if the customer goes out of business.

Develop Team Members

A/R managers are not only judged on their ability to manage A/R. Effective accounting personnel are able to manage people as well. If an applicant has the proven ability to develop employees, this can set her apart from other employees. If this is the case, it is important for the applicant to not sell herself short. By explaining during the interview how the applicant is able to get work done through other people, the applicant can demonstrate how valuable she is to the company. For an A/R manager, this could include tasks such as reviewing credit applications prepared by other employees or performance evaluations of collections staff. A key to a successful interview is the applicant showing that she has the skills to perform technical A/R tasks, like collection, but also has the ability to teach these methods to others.

Retain Customers

A successful A/R manager is able to both retain great customers and provide guidance to management on the customers that the business can afford to lose. The A/R manager has a distinct perspective on the business, as he is interacting with customers that want to buy the company's product, but are in need of financing. By identifying customers that require a disproportionate amount of the company's resources, but do not buy in sufficient quantity to warrant this attention, A/R managers can make a great contribution to the company's profitability.