This page provides you an answer to the following questions:
- What is a junior accountant doing precisely?
- What do you earn as a novice accountant within a given firm?
- In which companies can you start working as an accountant?
- As a graduated accountant, how to find the employer best suiting you?
What does a junior accountant do?
As a junior accountant in an accounting firm, in most cases you will support a Senior File Manager and perform mainly operational tasks to start with. Think of inputting purchase and sales invoices, entering bank statements or doing cash transactions.
The interpretation of your role as a starting accountant obviously depends on the company chosen by you. Nevertheless, there are a number of tasks that will undoubtedly end up on your desk as a newly chartered accountancy specialist:
- As a junior accountant, you start most of the times in a supporting role for a more experienced file manager
- You partly accomplish therefore executive work – just like during your previous internship
- Generally speaking, you will also have to process some simple files, first under the guidance of a senior accountant.
The experience you gain during your internship and ITAA certification process represents the perfect stepping stone to a first job. Deploying yourself autonomously on challenging files as soon as possible is not only a good thing for you, but for your employer as well. So, rest assured, you will definitely get the necessary support and training to quickly grow into a role with greater responsibility. You are already a specialist, now take some time to gain experience.
The salary of a starting accountant
A Jobat study shows that as a freshly certified accountant in a starter function at an accounting firm, you may anticipate a gross monthly pay of 2,200 up to 2,500 euros. However, each company is obviously different in this respect.
Within some companies, you get some fringe benefits on top of your gross pay, such as:
- Luncheon vouchers
- A nett expense allowance
- A professional laptop and/or mobile phone
- A complementary group and hospitalization insurance
- A mobility related intervention, such as a company bike or car
Other employers stand out because of a flexible homework policy or a reputation that will prove very helpful later on. And do not forget that your salary pack does not show the full picture. What about for example vacation days, the work atmosphere or opportunities for training and internal development?
All of them are really elements you should best consider when deciding about your first job.
Where to start working as an accountant?
You can always start working on your own account. But maybe you’d rather first acquire some experience at an existing company. You then learn how to work in a team of experienced colleagues and get a taste of your future life as an accountant.
The content of your work and the further career path depend primarily on the type of firm you will start working for:
- Do you take on a job in a smaller company? Then you will probably manage and follow up quite soon entire files, with varied client contacts. This enables you to develop quickly in various respects.
- Or would you rather opt for specialisation in a sub area of the accounting world? In this case, you should better apply at a larger company in which you focus on a specific sector or subsector of the accountancy business.
What to watch out for when choosing an employer?
The right employer for a graduate accountant depends on many different factors:
- For example, a work environment encouraging you to learn - for example, through additional training or internal learning opportunities - is crucial for you to continue to grow as a specialist
- Also be sure to dig into the reputation of potential employers. Maybe you already know someone who is working at the company? Or check out reviews on Glassdoor. What is the atmosphere at the company and how do they treat their current employees?
- Don't forget the future oriented nature of the company in question either. Offices that focus on digitisation and a smart way of working offer you as an employee more opportunities to fully dedicate yourself to adding value and further educating yourself.
