Job Responsibilities
I am responsible for keeping the general ledger in order. I also
supervise the people in the other departements (Human resources,
Accounts payable/receivable, Cashbook) I do the books to balance
sheet and am also reponsible for doing all the balance sheet
recons for loan accounts, provision accounts and control
accounts. I also have to do financial reports for the directors
for monthly management meetings. I am very busy for the first
week of the month, then things quiet down and I get to do my
recons.
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Job Requirements
I have done no formal education courses or done any studying for
the position of accountant. I started of 11 years ago as an
accounts clerk and have worked my way up. Most people in my
position have done tertiary education - Accounts 1 and 2, MBA's
or CA's. These courses are quite hard but worth having behind
your name. Some companies want papers... other are happy with
experience.
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Uppers
If you enjoy accounting and figures you will enjoy the job. Trying to keep the
books in balance and in order is always a challenge - especially when you have
other people in different departments responsible for information coming into the
ledger. When there are problems or something does not balance, the most rewarding
and satisfying feeling is sorting out a query or a problem!
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Downers
The work can become boring and mundane. It is basically the same
thing every month. Month ends and year ends. If your books are
not up to scratch, being audited is always a nightmare.
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Lifestyle
You generally work normal office hours. Should there be a problem, some overtime
may be necessary. Depending on the size of your business and the work load, month
ends and year ends could be hectic and require overtime. Where I work, we do not
have overtime - my books are well managed and there is never a problem requiring
me to stay after hours. I work from 8am to 16h45 - Monday to Friday. We have
uniforms and the company also gives us a uniform allowance which is nice. Being
dressed in uniform also portrays a professional outlook for the company.
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Compensation
My base salary is R8710 I also receive a travel allowance of
R3230. My medical aid is fully paid for by the company which is
R2090/month. We receive two bonus'. One is an anniversary bonus
which is 2 weeks pay on the month in which you were employed and
then we have what is called an Attendance Bonus which is 2 weeks
pay - paid in December on the condition that you did not take any
sick leave during the year. I have a pension fund which I belong
to, I contribute 7.5% of my salary and my employer contributes
10%. I also have a medical insurance policy paid by the company
which is R375/month. For Durban (which is by the coast) I am paid
very well. This year we also received an extra 2 weeks pay as a
production bonus because the company did well.
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Advice to Jobseekers
You need to be figure orientated. You should also enjoy working
with figures. You need to be self disciplined and be able to work
unsupervised. You also need to be able to think analytically and
methodically. You need to be a people person if you have staff
members working under you. Set yourself goals and achieve them.
If you are not qualified, try to get your employer to pay for
your studies and gain the qualifications as I mentioned earlier -
some employers want the paperwork others want the experience.
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