Bursar jobs are primarily offered by schools, such as colleges and universities. Within these jobs, a person may work as an assistant or as part of a team within a bursar’s department. School bursar jobs require individuals to act as accountants, treasurers and auditors on behalf of the institution.
Individuals applying for bursar jobs in schools will be expected to collect tuition, book fees and other fee payments while updating student records. All transactions and receipts are usually presented to a board that oversees the institution’s financial matters. A person applying to provide accounting assistance to a school may be hired as an individual bursar, as an assistant bursar or as a team member consisting of a group of individuals who comprise a bursar’s department.
In bursar jobs where a person acts in a supervisorial capacity, duties will include overseeing other staff members in addition to the responsibility of making sure that the financial matters of the institution are properly handled. Duties included in such bursar jobs are likely to also entail reporting petty cash spending, managing refunds, monitoring credit card operations and monitoring bank reconciliations. Some bursar job descriptions may also require a bursar to oversee spending as it relates to the general building and grounds maintenance for the institution. As accounting questions or problems arise, a head bursar will also be expected to troubleshoot and act as a liaison between the customer and the institution, as necessary.
Assistant bursar jobs may include some of the same duties and responsibilities of a head bursar. This is particularly the case involving assistant bursar jobs for large institutions when it has been determined that a single bursar is not capable of handling a growing influx of accounting and other financial responsibilities alone. An assistant bursar may also be asked to help develop new policies and procedures as the institution grows or as new technologies are introduced.
Bursar jobs may also require a person to act as part of a team within an accounting department. As such, bursar duties will be distributed among key staff members. Working in this capacity, an individual bursar job description will likely vary, as each employee will be required to complete separate tasks to help the entire department operate more efficiently. An individual working in this type of bursar job can expect to be supported by a team and led by a head bursar and, likely, also led by one or more assistant bursars.