First entry

Dear readers,

My name is Felix Granderath, am 18 years old and began my two-year training at igus® on August 1, 2007. Previously I attended the secondary school and later took my vocational diploma at the higher business school. In this blog I'd like to report on my impressions, experiences and encounters during my training as industrial clerk at the company igus®.

My training in the accounts payable department started on August 1. In the accounts payable department, all incoming invoices received from several suppliers are checked for their factual and calculational accuracy and subsequently paid. The object is to pay every invoice, whether it is for cables, work clothes, screws, stationery or foodstuff for the canteen, within the cash discount period. Therefore all incoming invoices arriving at the mail room are immediately forwarded to the accounts payable department.

My job is to first of all check invoices for their factual and calculational accuracy. After I had had some practice in that, I have assigned and entered invoices to the accounts. By assigning is meant the provision of an account number to a receipt, for example an incoming invoice. By means of the account number, the costs of projects and orders can be precisely allocated, for example, to compare scheduled costs with actual costs.

After two months in the accounts payables, I switched to the accounts receivable for a month. Here I learned the other side of accounting. The accounts receivable department is concerned with the recording and administration of the bills receivable (outstanding accounts) from the customers. Among other things, I have entered incoming payments in the books. Moreover I could also gather my initial experiences in interacting with customers.

Twice a week I visit the vocational college of the Rhein-Sieg county in Siegburg. At the vocational college, I am in a class with 18 other apprentices, all of whom are undergoing a two-year training. A good mood prevails in the relatively small class. The work tempo is high as the training has been cut short from three to two years.

After a thorough knowledge of the finance and accounting, I'll be employed next in the purchase department. In the coming weeks I'll be back, reporting on my experiences.