Accounting Assistant

Job Description

Job Description

West Liberty University | West Liberty, West Virginia

Help keep the University moving forward—one accurate transaction at a time.

At West Liberty University, accounting is about more than processing numbers. It is about helping departments, faculty, staff, and vendors navigate financial processes accurately, efficiently, and responsibly.
We are seeking an Accounting Assistant who combines exceptional customer service with strong attention to detail, sound judgment, and the confidence to uphold established policies and procedures. This is an ideal opportunity for someone who genuinely enjoys helping people—but also understands that good service sometimes means explaining why a process must be followed.
The Accounting Assistant supports a variety of institutional accounting functions, including Accounts Payable, Travel, P-Card administration, vendor maintenance, and routine financial transactions. This position serves as a resource to departments across the University and plays an important role in ensuring transactions are properly documented, accurately coded, and compliant with University policies and procedures.

 
Why You Should Apply

If you are someone who enjoys solving problems, helping people, and making sure things are done correctly , this could be the position for you. You will have the opportunity to:

• Become an important resource to departments and employees across the University.
• Build expertise in higher education accounting and financial processes.
• Work with a variety of financial transactions, systems, vendors, and University departments.
• Develop strong knowledge of Accounts Payable, Travel, P-Card administration, and institutional financial procedures.
• Help employees understand financial requirements and find solutions when transactions don't go as planned.
• Join a team where accuracy, accountability, professionalism, and service all matter.

This position is particularly well suited to someone who can be helpful without being easily pressured . You should be comfortable explaining policies, asking questions, requesting missing documentation, and holding firm to established procedures—even when the person you're working with would prefer a different answer.

 
Who You Are

You are a customer-service-minded problem solver who pays attention to the details .
You know that providing excellent service doesn't always mean saying "yes." Sometimes, the best service is helping someone understand what is required, explaining why a policy exists, and working with them to find a compliant solution.
The ideal candidate is:

• Service-oriented. You enjoy working with people and approach questions and problems with patience and professionalism.
• Confident and consistent. You can communicate requirements clearly and professionally and are comfortable enforcing established policies and procedures.
• Detail-driven. You notice discrepancies, missing documentation, coding errors, and inconsistencies before they become bigger problems.
• A problem solver. When something doesn't look right, you investigate rather than simply passing it along.
• Diplomatic but firm. You can maintain positive relationships while still holding employees and departments accountable to established processes.
• Organized. You can manage multiple transactions, deadlines, questions, and priorities without losing track of the details.
• A clear communicator. You can explain financial requirements to people who may have little or no accounting background.
• A team player. You understand that accounting is a service function and that strong working relationships are essential to getting the job done.
• Trustworthy and discreet. You will regularly work with confidential financial and employee information.

What You'll Do

As an Accounting Assistant, you will provide day-to-day accounting and administrative support across several important University functions. 

Customer Service & Department Support

• Serve as a knowledgeable resource to faculty, staff, departments, vendors, and other University constituents regarding routine accounting questions and processes.
• Respond to questions and resolve routine issues while escalating more complex matters when appropriate.
• Explain University policies and financial procedures clearly and professionally.
• Research issues and work with departments to obtain missing information or resolve discrepancies.

Accounts Payable & Vendor Support

• Process, code, and enter invoices, receipts, check requests, and other Accounts Payable transactions.
• Review transactions for accuracy, appropriate documentation, and compliance with University policies and contractual requirements, when applicable.
• Work with regular vendors to place and verify orders and track invoices.
• Create new vendor accounts and process vendor updates within the institutional system.
• Research lost payments and other payment-related issues.

Travel & Expense Processing

• Audit, verify, and process travel expense reports.
• Review travel documentation for accuracy and compliance with institutional policies.
• Research discrepancies and work with departments to obtain the information necessary to process reimbursements accurately and efficiently.

P-Card Administration

• Review and process P-Card transactions based on departmental budgets, established policies, and P-Card limits.
• Research rejected or unusual charges, including those resulting from budget errors.
• Train P-Card holders and maintain required training documentation and compliance.

Financial Systems & Reporting

• Use the University's financial systems to process and post routine accounting transactions, including travel reimbursements, invoices, check requests, and P-Card charges.
• Maintain accurate records and documentation.
• Identify, research, and resolve inconsistencies in financial transactions.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Education & Experience Required:

• Associate degree, vocational/technical degree, or equivalent education in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field.
• 1–2 years of directly related work experience.

Preferred:

• 2–3 years of directly related accounting, finance, accounts payable, or administrative experience.
• Experience working with financial or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
• Experience in a higher education or similarly regulated environment.

Skills & Abilities The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Knowledge of basic accounting principles and practices.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy.
• The ability to identify, research, and resolve accounting discrepancies.
• The ability to interpret financial information and consistently apply established policies and procedures.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to explain financial information and institutional requirements to individuals without an accounting background.
• The ability to learn and effectively use Banner, Oasis, Microsoft Word, Excel, and other institutional systems.
• The ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• A professional, approachable demeanor and commitment to excellent customer service.
• The confidence to uphold institutional policies and procedures while maintaining positive working relationships.
• The ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with students, faculty, staff, vendors, and other University constituents.

The Bottom Line

We're looking for someone who can be both the friendly face of Accounting and the person who makes sure the rules are followed.

If you enjoy helping people, solving problems, catching the details others miss, and bringing consistency and accountability to financial processes, we would like to hear from you.

Additional Information: 

• West Liberty University offers generous benefits, including approximately 2 days of annual leave (vacation) per month and 12-13 paid holidays. Visit the WLU Benefit Page for more details: -resources/employee-benefits
• For the academic year employees, their dependents, and spouses are eligible for a 100% waiver for undergraduate tuition and only employees are eligible for 50% waiver for graduate tuition for certain programs. 
• Free use of the Wellness facilities and free admission into all WLU events with your employee Topper Card. 
• For more information about living in the Wheeling area please visit Wheeling: Live Here - Weelunk
• West Liberty University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes applications from all interested individuals. Individuals who need assistance in the application process may contact Human Resources at View email address on click.appcast.io.
• West Liberty University does not sponsor work visas. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.
• Successfully passing a background screening report is required for final employment.
• West Liberty University is a tobacco free campus.