Accountant - Finance and Payroll

Candidate Requirements

Essential experience

The successful applicant must have:

- At least three years of practical bookkeeping, accounts or invoicing experience.
- Strong hands-on experience using Xero.
- Experience preparing payroll from approved timesheets.
- Experience creating invoices and managing accounts receivable.
- Experience following up overdue accounts and resolving payment discrepancies.
- Experience entering supplier bills and preparing accounts payable.
- Experience completing bank and credit-card reconciliations.
- Strong Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel skills.
- Strong written and spoken English.
- Experience working independently in a remote position.
- High-level accuracy and attention to detail.
- The ability to manage competing priorities and firm deadlines.

Strongly preferred systems experience

Applicants with experience in the following systems will be strongly preferred:

- Deputy, including timesheets, approvals, payroll exports and employee records.
- Google Drive, including folder structures, file naming, document organisation, access permissions and confidential file management.
- Google Sheets, including formulas, filters, sorting, trackers and shared documents.
- Gmail, Google Calendar and other Google Workspace applications.
- NDIS claiming and invoicing portals.
- Process Street or another workflow and procedure-management system.
- Client-management or CRM systems.

Highly desirable industry experience

It is highly desirable that the applicant has:

- Australian bookkeeping and payroll experience.
- Experience with the SCHADS Award.
- Experience checking penalties, allowances, kilometres, expenses and minimum engagements.
- NDIS invoicing and rejected-claim management experience.
- Experience in disability, community services, healthcare or out-of-home care.
- Experience processing high volumes of invoices and payroll transactions.
- A bookkeeping, accounting or finance qualification.
- Experience working directly with an Australian accountant or BAS agent.

Personal qualities

We are looking for someone who is:

- Trustworthy and discreet.
- Exceptionally accurate.
- Proactive and organised.
- Calm under pressure.
- Reliable and consistent.
- Comfortable working independently.
- Accountable for completing work on time.
- Confident asking questions when information is unclear.
- Comfortable respectfully questioning figures or instructions that appear incorrect.
- Able to identify risks before they affect payroll, invoicing or cash flow.
- Willing to follow every task through to completion.
- Interested in becoming a reliable, long-term member of the Ngadhi team.

The successful person must not simply wait to be given each task. They must maintain their own worklist, follow up missing information, monitor deadlines and alert management immediately when something may affect payroll, invoicing or payment collection.

Communication requirements

The applicant must be able to:

- Communicate clearly and professionally in English.
- Write professional emails to staff, caseworkers, clients and organisations.
- Follow up missing information confidently and respectfully.
- Provide clear written updates without needing to be repeatedly asked.
- Participate in video meetings and screen-sharing training.
- Escalate risks and discrepancies immediately.
- Provide concise weekly reports outlining completed work, outstanding work and decisions required.

Confidentiality and data security

Because Ngadhi works with vulnerable children, families and people with disability, the applicant must:

- Treat all client, employee and financial information as strictly confidential.
- Work from a private and secure home workspace.
- Use two-factor authentication on all Ngadhi systems.
- Follow Ngadhi’s privacy, security and record-management procedures.
- Never share passwords or system access.
- Never provide Ngadhi information to an unauthorised person.
- Never download or store Ngadhi information on an unauthorised personal device.
- Follow Google Drive access and file-permission requirements.
- Report any suspected privacy or security incident immediately.
- Sign confidentiality and data-security agreements before receiving access.

Remote-work requirements

The applicant must have:

- A reliable computer suitable for Xero, Deputy and Google Workspace.
- Reliable high-speed internet.
- Backup internet access in case of an outage.
- A private, quiet and secure workspace.
- A functioning headset, camera and microphone.
- The ability to work agreed hours that overlap with NSW business hours.
- The ability to respond promptly during agreed working hours.
- Reliable electricity or an appropriate backup plan.

Accuracy and work standards

The applicant will be expected to:

- Check their work before submitting it.
- Follow approved procedures, checklists and delegation limits.
- Keep Xero and financial registers accurate and current.
- Maintain an organised Google Drive structure.
- Follow approved document-naming conventions.
- Avoid creating duplicate files or multiple versions of the same record.
- Document processes so another authorised team member can provide coverage.
- Maintain clear notes showing actions taken and follow-up required.
- Meet payroll, invoicing and reporting deadlines.
- Take responsibility for correcting their own errors promptly.

Recruitment checks

The preferred candidate must be willing to complete:

- Identity verification.
- Qualification checks.
- Employment-reference checks.
- Xero and bookkeeping knowledge testing.
- A practical accounts and invoicing assessment.
- Confidentiality and data-security agreements.
- Any additional background checks considered appropriate for access to Ngadhi’s systems and information.

Practical assessment

Shortlisted applicants may be asked to:

1. Prepare a sample quote using an approved rate card.
2. Review a Deputy timesheet and identify errors.
3. Prepare a sample Xero invoice.
4. Reconcile sample bank transactions.
5. Review a rejected NDIS claim and explain the required action.
6. Organise sample documents correctly in Google Drive.
7. Prepare a short debtor and outstanding-invoice report.

Applicants with demonstrated experience using Xero, Deputy and Google Drive will be strongly preferred.