An accounts assistant and an accountant are not interchangeable job titles. If your office needs invoices entered, supporting documents organised and outstanding items followed up, an assistant may be the right brief. If you need independent financial reporting or specialist advice, define that separately and have a qualified finance lead assess the requirement.
Start by listing the work that is waiting at the end of each week. “Manage accounts” hides too much: customer invoicing, purchase records, bank matching, supplier queries and management reports require different levels of judgement. This guide gives employers a small fictional exercise for a junior accounts role, rather than a professional certification test.
Choose the responsibilities before choosing the title
For each task, write who prepares it, who checks it and who approves it. An assistant can prepare a payment list without being authorised to release funds. A person who enters invoices does not necessarily need access to every bank account or employee salary record.
| Task | Preparation responsibility | Decision retained by management |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase invoices | Enter the supplied details and flag missing evidence | Approve the purchase and resolve disputes |
| Customer receipts | Match payments to the ledger | Approve credits or write-offs |
| Supplier payment list | Assemble due items and attachments | Authorise and release payment |
| Reconciliation | Identify unmatched entries | Decide the accounting treatment |
| Month-end file | Organise records and open questions | Review and sign off reports |
Discuss this matrix with your current accountant before recruiting. If nobody can review the work, hiring a junior employee does not solve the supervision gap. Staffly can discuss accounts and finance recruitment, while your finance lead remains responsible for assessing technical suitability.
A fictional exercise you can reuse
Give the candidate an opening supplier balance of PKR 12,000, one new invoice for PKR 8,000 and a bank payment of PKR 10,000. Include a second copy of the same invoice number and a separate undated document. Ask for a simple ledger, the expected closing balance and a list of questions before anything is posted.
The expected balance for the confirmed items is PKR 10,000: 12,000 plus 8,000 minus 10,000. The duplicate should not be counted twice. The undated item needs clarification rather than an invented date. These are illustrative numbers, not Staffly fees, salary guidance or client records.
Allow the candidate to explain an assumption. The exercise is more informative when you can see how they respond to incomplete evidence than when it becomes a race to finish a spreadsheet. Decide in advance whether a calculator, spreadsheet formulas and reference notes are allowed, and apply the same rule to everyone.
Score the evidence, not confidence alone
Use four assessment areas: numerical accuracy, document matching, clarity of questions and record presentation. A suggested scale is zero for not demonstrated, one for partly demonstrated and two for demonstrated with a clear explanation. The score is a discussion aid, not an automatic hiring decision.
Record concrete observations. Did the candidate identify the repeated invoice? Did they distinguish a bank payment from a purchase? Could another colleague understand the file without a long explanation? Did they flag uncertainty instead of forcing the numbers to balance?
Ask a follow-up question: “A supplier says the payment has not arrived, but the bank record shows a debit. What would you check and who would you contact?” A useful answer follows the evidence and escalation route. It should not involve sending bank credentials, changing the ledger without support or promising a resolution the employee cannot authorise.
Test only the software you actually use
A candidate who knows one package may still need onboarding to your chart of accounts, naming conventions and approval process. State the essential software in the vacancy brief and distinguish required experience from training you can provide.
Use a demonstration company or blank workbook during assessment. Do not grant access to your live banking portal, tax account, customer database or payroll merely to test familiarity. After hiring, provide only the permissions required for the role and have management arrange access through the normal company process.
Plan the first two weeks
Begin with a small reviewed batch rather than an entire backlog. Ask the employee to keep an exceptions list: missing invoice number, unclear supplier name, unmatched payment or approval not received. A manager should review it at an agreed time so questions do not accumulate until month end.
During the second week, compare the work against the agreed duties. If the backlog contains technical issues outside the assistant's role, escalate them. Do not judge the new employee against responsibilities that were never included in the brief. Confirm who provides cover when the reviewer is absent.
Prepare your recruitment enquiry
Include business location, work hours, salary budget, transaction types, approximate workload, software, reporting line and whether qualifications are essential. Describe the output you need each week and who will review it. For sensitive business records, share examples with names and identifiers removed.
Staffly's corporate staffing service is direct recruitment and placement. Your business remains responsible for employment, payroll, approvals and supervision. Confirm pricing, candidate checks and replacement conditions before hiring.
Call 0334 1041114 during Monday–Saturday, 9 AM–6 PM Pakistan time to discuss a brief. This page is for employers; candidates can register through Staffly Jobs.