Accounts Officer

Role Description

At Mary Begg, the Accounts Officer is based at a MBHS facility but works closely with the Finance team at Head Office to complete patient and/or third party billing, manage petty cash, banking, stock count and review pricing of medicines and consumables.

He/she conducts herself/himself in a professional manner and always demonstrates good customer service towards all our clients, visitors, health professionals and MBHS employees.

Educational Requirements

• Full Grade Twelve (12) School Certificate or its equivalent
• Must have a diploma in accounts/ business administration or country equivalent.
• Must be registered with the Zambian Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA) and maintain appropriate license (where applicable).
• Strong organisational and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and prioritise tasks effectively.
• Must be computer literate with excellent Microsoft excel and word acumen
• Excellent team working skills
• Detail oriented
• Strong customer service skills

Key Accountabilities

• Ensure that MBCC standard operating policies and procedures are followed with regards to the finance department.
• Always adhere to the MBCC Code of Conduct and provide high quality, professional and friendly service at all times.
• Must maintain good knowledge and understanding of financial regulations and laws in Zambia and maintain proper and efficient billing operations at all times.  Implement any changes rolled out by the ZRA or other Government institutions with approval from the Chief Accountant.
• Address any discrepancies/queries/issues related to the patient billing each month with relevant staff and raise concerns to the Chief Accountant immediately for further action or follow-up.
• Unconditional acceptance of the Mary Begg confidentiality agreement regarding patient information, staff information and all matters relating to Mary Begg business. Failure to comply will result in disciplinary action and/or dismissal from post.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure all patient billing at clinic /hospital level is conducted accurately, competently and within the set timelines.
• Review the accuracy of billing inputs done by the receptionist before the review done by the HO finance team.
• Attend and respond to billing queries raised by the HO finance in a timely manner.
• Expeditious attend and respond to queries from medical aid companies and contractors
• Conduct checks on the billing done by billing officers and share the results of such checks with the Revenue Controller on a monthly basis.
• Ensure cash receipts from Private clients is properly secured in the safe and deposited into the MBCC bank account accordingly
• Ensure all patient accounts receivables are processed on time, accurate and proper records are maintained and filed.
• Ensure all patient billing at the clinic/hospital is accurate and coincides with the items on the charge sheets for inpatient and outpatient billing.  Any discrepancies are addressed with the appropriate medical/ nursing staff and rectified immediately.
• Ensure Private clients are billed and payment for all services received and receipted
• Ensure that all admitted private patients have deposited approved upfront payment .
• Inform front office staff of procedures to be followed when dealing with private clients
• Process all dental and physio bills. Clarify with the inpatient nursing/ medical staff if items are unclear on the patient charge sheets.
• File all patient charge sheets and maintain proper accounting for audit purposes.
• Assist with training any front office staff on the patient billing process and computer software systems to promote accurate and timely billing.
• Managing all petty cash at the clinic and complete the petty cash register and request for petty cash reimbursement
• Send a daily cash register by weekly to the Clinic/Hospital Manager and Revenue controller.
• Cooperate with internal audit in the course of their audit duties
• Process all third-party contractors billing.  Maintain proper records of all billing charge sheets.
• Be on hand to give support to front office staff after hours, public holidays and weekends.
• Support and participate fully in monthly ,quarterly and yearly end stock counts.
• Submit all completed invoices, receipts and  petty cash books to head office as instructed.
• All patient billing information must be backed up on the appropriate systems for accounting and record keeping purposes.
• Maintain work operations by following policies and procedures as directed by the Company.
• Report promptly any incident or adverse event relating to staff, patients’ or visitors to the Chief Accountant or Hospital Manager.
• Carry out any other assignment or duties given by the Chief Accountant or Clinic/ Hospital Manager.

Customer Service

1. Be polite and respectful to clients and staff at all times.
2. Complete the Customer Care training.
3. Report any evidence of poor customer service (i.e. bullying, rude behaviour, yelling etc.) to the Clinic Manager or HR Manager.
4. Ensure all incident and adverse event reporting is carried out according to the clinic’s standard operating procedure

Professional

• Must have previous experience supervising staff or working in the front office at a clinic/hospital.
• Demonstrates safety awareness for self and others.
• Demonstrates effective teamwork with other members of the healthcare team.
• Communicate with clients and staff in a clear and professional manner. Demonstrate ability to manage difficult clients in a professional manner.
• Proficient in MS Office (Word, Outlook and Excel).
• Knowledge of the Med-e-mass system.

General

• Proficient in written and spoken English.
• Always adhere to the MBHS uniform policy and code of conduct.
• Must complete MBHS staff induction/orientation programme.
• Must be honest, trustworthy and act with integrity at all times.

Quality Management

• Proficient in managing infection control procedures.
• Conduct internal audit and spot checks to assess how long patients/clients are waiting at the clinic for doctor’s appointments or diagnostic tests and assess ways to create a more efficient OPD and triage service.