Join our rapidly growing firm
- Become part of our exceptional culture
- Sydney based ideally but open to other states
**About us**:
Wotton + Kearney (W+K) has one focus - we are known as one of the leading Australian law firms specialising in the insurance industry. Established in Sydney in 2002. We've grown from one office with six lawyers to more than 140 lawyers specialising in insurance across offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Wellington & Auckland. We are passionate about partnering with our industry clients to develop strategies to help mitigate insurance risk, manage claims, improve performance and create value for their businesses. Our specialist focus makes us the law firm of choice for some of the largest insurers, brokers, private companies and industry participants in Australia and across the world. Our commitment to this industry extends to overseas insurance markets including London, Europe and Asia Pacific. We are leaders in complex and high profile cases (national and international) and have strength in mining, energy & resources, financial services, property, construction and transport sectors.
**The role**:
Take responsibility for managing firm debts in accordance with policies and guidelines, including but not limited to ensuring timely payments, resolving account queries and daily receipting of bank rec. Work closely with the finance team to assist with various adhoc tasks.
**Key responsibilities include**:
- Credit control for at least 40-50% of firm's debtor ledger which currently consists of approximately 100 clients.
- Several of our international debtors involve collection via brokers, third-party administrators and collection agencies so in these instances, you may need to obtain appropriate approvals and collection references such as UCR, UMR or CORs from Insurers to enable same.
- Often our Insurer clients prefer we bill their Insured's directly to erode their deductibles, which means you may need to liaise with both Insurers and Insured's in these instances.
- We also have a process in place to obtain internal approvals and issue letter of demands to Insured's or individuals where necessary. You will be responsible for actioning this on debtors exceeding 90 days in age. If all attempts at collection have been actioned and the letter of demand does not result in payment, you will then be responsible for escalating to Insurer or submitting debtor to external debtor agency for assistance.
- In instances where a bill is disputed by a payor, you may need to assist with dispute resolution where possible by liaising with payor and Partner as appropriate and actioning provided instructions
- Some involvement with clients E-billing systems such as TyMetrix, Legal X and Bright flag etc. We have some clients that require us to upload bills to their systems for review and approval prior to payment being made. In these instances, you would need to check system to determine collection status or may need to liaise with our Operational Accounts Team to assist in moving debtor forward to approval.
- Assist in daily receipting of bank reconciliations for Office Accounts and ensuring all payments are allocated timely. In instances where there is uncertainty around allocation particulars, additional information will need to be sought and actioned within reasonable timeframes.
- Matter Credit Management which will involve but not limited to investigating and resolving unidentified payments and discrepancy issues.
- Various adhoc tasks within finance team (including; covering for specific team members absences)
**To be considered you will**:
- Have minimum of 2 years successful collection experience within a legal services firm
- Experience within Insurance industry will be highly regarded, but not compulsory
- Trust Account experience preferable, but not essential
- Strong understanding of debtor management
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Strong analytical skills - to analyse debtor information
- Ability to multitask, prioritise and work effectively
- Ability to anticipate work needs based on policies and procedures and follow through with minimum direction
- Ability to form effective relationships with clients and internally from a debtor management perspective
- Proactively suggesting and supporting improvements and efficiency
- High attention to detail
**Why work with us?**
- Leaders of the pack - Work with a firm that understands its purpose, has a singular focus on the insurance industry and is excited by the potential for growth in our market Be part of our story
- Our culture sets us apart - Diverse and collegiate, open, innovative, passionate about everything we do. We believe relationships are the cornerstone of our business
- We give back - Join us in CSR activities to support our charity partners, from building houses in Cambodia, participating in fun runs or baking cupcakes, there's a way for everyone to contribute
-