Accounts Receivable Clerk

Penguin Random House UK; Frating; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 22,000; Part time

Job summary

Penguin Random House UK is seeking an Accounts Receivable Clerk to join the Bertelsmann Global Business Services (BGBS) team based in Frating, Essex, on a 25-hour per week part-time rota. The role supports invoicing, data maintenance and cash allocations to ensure accurate AR records.

The position involves handling customer inquiries, reconciling ledgers and contributing to internal audits, with interviews planned for the week commencing 19th October.

Qualifications

• Experience in Accounts Receivable and invoicing processes.
• Strong IT and Excel skills with attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.

Responsibilities

• Raising customer invoices based on accounting procedures for BGBS clients.
• Handling invoice inquiries and resolving discrepancies.
• Master data management for customer records in line with Bertelsmann policies.
• Allocation of cash receipts promptly to keep AR ledger accurate.
• Timely reconciliation of ledgers and follow-up on discrepancies.
• Apply group accounting policies and controls.
• Liaise with internal teams and Compliance Accountant on audits.
• Perform other departmental tasks within General Accounting as directed.

Skills

Accounts Receivable

Excel

Communication

IT skills

Tools

SAP

Job description

We have an exciting opportunity for an Accounts Receivable Clerk to join our Bertelsmann Global Business Services (BGBS) team based in Frating, Essex.

This is an excellent opportunity to develop your finance career within a collaborative and supportive environment, where your contributions will directly support the financial success of the business.

Bertelsmann Global Business Services Ltd (BGBS) is an accounting shared service centre established in 2018 to provide accounting functions for Bertelsmann group companies in the UK. Comprising of a team of over 50 and based at the Penguin Random House distribution centre on the outskirts of Colchester, the group companies served by BGBS include Penguin Random House, Dorling Kindersley, BMG, Arvato SCM and Little Tiger. The services provided by BGBS include Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Banking and General Accounting (general ledger, fixed assets, tax, financial reporting etc.).

This is a part-time opportunity at 25 hours per week. For those candidates shortlisted, we will be seeking to hold interviews week commencing 19th October.

Key responsibilities:

• Raising customer invoices based on accounting procedures on behalf of BGBS clients.
• Handling customer inquiries regarding invoices and resolving any discrepancies.
• Master data management – ensuring that all relevant information held for customers is up to date, in line with Bertelsmann policies.
• Allocation of cash receipts on a timely basis, ensuring that the accounts receivable ledger is accurate and up to date.
• Timely reconciliation of appropriate ledgers, following up on any discrepancies.
• Ensure the correct application of group accounting policies and controls.
• Liaise with internal teams and Compliance Accountant on any relevant internal audits.
• Deliver any other appropriate departmental tasks required within the General Accounting team under the direction of the [Senior] Financial Accountant.

What you’ll bring

• Relevant experience working in Accounts Receivable
• Strong IT and systems skills, including Excel.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, with the ability to influence a wide range of people.

Preferred criteria:

• Experience using SAP

Circa £20,000 (based on 25 hours per week) dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Use of AI tools

Here at Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. When you apply for a position, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. Throughout our recruitment process, please share your own thoughts, experiences, and skills. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team.

We celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives, so please be yourself! While we recognise AI tools can be helpful, we recommend using them thoughtfully to ensure your responses reflect you.

Disability Confident

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are listed as part of the ‘What you’ll bring’ section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview.

We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing [e-mail]. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable with, for us to support your request.

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. For this role we expect that you will work from our office in Frating, Essex, two days per week. There may also be occasional travel to London required.