Be a Great Junior Accountant : Want to stand out as a junior accountant? Do the basics brilliantly, explain numbers simply, and make month-end easier for you

1) What Employers Really Want

• Accuracy: clean data, neat files, no “mystery” amounts.

• On-time delivery: close/VAT deadlines met without drama.

• Plain English: explain a number and what to do about it.

• Trust: handle payroll and invoices with care.

• Improvement: one small process better each month.

Pro Tip: When you present a number, add one action:

“DSO is up 7 days—suggest an early-pay discount for top 20 customers.”

2) Core Skills (in plain words)

• AP/AR: pay suppliers on time; follow up customers who owe money.

• Bank & GL recons: match statements to the system; clear items quickly.

• Payroll basics: correct journals, confidentiality, simple checks.

• Fixed assets: tag items, run depreciation, keep a clean audit trail.

• Tax/VAT: keep proofs; reconcile VAT to the GL every cycle.

• Reporting pack: monthly P&L, Balance Sheet, cash summary + 3 bullet notes.

Example variance note:

“Fuel costs +R18k vs budget due to price spike; expect normalizing next month.”

3) Tools You’ll Actually Use

• Excel/Sheets: SUMIF, XLOOKUP, Pivot Table.

• Accounting systems: Sage / Xero / Pastel (post, reconcile, report).

• Task board: Trello or Planner to track close tasks and owners.

• Light automation: bank feeds, recurring journals, invoice capture.

Pro Tip: Clean master data beats fancy macros—fix names, codes, VAT rates first.

4) Habits That Make You Shine

• 15-minute tidy before you log off—clear uncleared items, file docs.

• Template everything: journals, close checklist, audit PBC list.

• One close calendar: owners, due dates, links to evidence.

• Ask “So what?” on every report: what should the team do now?

  
  

5) Interview Lines You Can Use

• “I reconciled 6 bank accounts daily and reduced >30-day items from 18 to 2.”

• “I set up a simple AR follow-up plan and dropped late payments by 20%.”

• 30-60-90 plan: learn systems → fix one bottleneck → share a mini dashboard.

Template (Tell me about yourself):

“I’ve assisted AP/AR and bank recons, currently supporting month-end and VAT. I enjoy turning messy data into clean reports, and I’m excited to help your team close faster and improve cash flow.”

6) Build a Mini Portfolio (5 links, max)

• Month-End Close checklist (with owners & dates)

• Example bank recon (dummy data)

• AR follow-up email/script + small results note

• 12-week cash-flow forecast (simple)

• Audit PBC index (what to prepare)

Quick Checklist

•  AP/AR under control

•  Daily bank recons

•  Close calendar live

•  Templates saved (journals, PBC, checklists)

•  5 interview stories ready

•  Portfolio link shared

  
  

Final Word: Great accountants don’t just balance numbers—they help the business make smarter decisions. Start small. Be consistent. You’ve got this.