Junior accountant pathway tracker
Replace everything in [square brackets].
What's in the workbook
Four sheets after the read me: the pathway, skills by month on the sign-off ladder, the monthly measures, and a summary.
| Sheet | What it does |
|---|---|
| Read me | What the workbook is for, how to use it, and where it came from. |
| Pathway | The 12-month pathway from the playbook in four rotations, with a lead for each. Adjust the work types to your client base. |
| Skills by month | Each skill against each month, with the sign-off rung the junior reached that month. The latest rung shows on the right. Nobody moves up on time served, only on evidence. |
| Monthly measures | The four capability measures from the playbook, recorded each month. They double as evidence for professional body experience records. |
| Summary | How many skills sit at each rung right now, worked out from Skills by month. |
Shaded cells are yours to fill in. Everything else calculates from them. Nothing is filled in for you: no benchmark, rate, salary or fee is typed in as a default, so every result is built from your own numbers.
Sheet 1: Pathway
The 12-month pathway from the playbook in four rotations, with a lead for each. Adjust the work types to your client base.
| Months | Rotation | By hand, on purpose | Reviewing AI | Sign-off rung | Measured by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Bookkeeping and reconciliations | Two bank recs, two GST or sales tax recs | Reviews AI coding suggestions against source | 1, moving to 2 | Review points per job; first planted-error check |
| 4 to 6 | Compliance and returns | Two simple returns from source documents | Reviews AI-drafted workpapers and logs every correction | 2, moving to 3 | Planted-error catch rate; error log quality |
| 7 to 9 | Advisory and meeting preparation | One set of year-end adjustments on paper | Checks AI-drafted meeting packs and client summaries | 3, moving to 4 | Explain test on one advisory file |
| 10 to 12 | Client communication and first review | One refresher of each earlier hand task | First reviewer on a peer's AI-assisted job | 4, moving to 5 | Review points they raise on others' work |
| Every month | All rotations | Weekly 30-minute explain-your-working session | One planted-error check, error log reviewed | Blank | The Monthly measures sheet |
| Column | Type | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Months | Set for you | The three-month block. |
| Rotation | Set for you | The kind of work. |
| By hand, on purpose | You fill in | The hand-work that teaches what correct looks like. The numbers are a starting point; change them. |
| Reviewing AI | You fill in | How reviewing AI output becomes the training. |
| Sign-off rung | You fill in | Where the junior should be by the end of the block, on evidence. |
| Measured by | You fill in | The evidence for moving up a rung. |
| Lead | You fill in | The senior who leads the rotation. |
| Notes | You fill in | What changed, and why. |
Sheet 2: Skills by month
Each skill against each month, with the sign-off rung the junior reached that month. The latest rung shows on the right. Nobody moves up on time served, only on evidence.
| Column | Type | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Skill or work type | You fill in | The work types on the ladder. Edit them, and use the three empty rows for your own. |
| Area | You fill in | Which rotation it belongs to. |
| Month 1 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | The rung reached that month, from the sign-off ladder. |
| Month 2 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Month 3 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Month 4 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Month 5 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Month 6 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Month 7 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Month 8 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Month 9 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Month 10 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Month 11 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Month 12 | Pick from a list: Not started, 1 Prepare, 2 Prepare and self-review, 3 Review AI drafts, 4 Approve low-risk outputs, 5 First reviewer | As above. |
| Latest rung | Calculated | The most recent month with a rung filled in. |
| Rung number | Calculated | The latest rung as a number, 0 to 5, for the summary. |
- Latest rung: The most recent month with a rung filled in.
- Rung number: The latest rung as a number, 0 to 5, for the summary.
Sheet 3: Monthly measures
The four capability measures from the playbook, recorded each month. They double as evidence for professional body experience records.
| Column | Type | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Month | Set for you | Month of the pathway. |
| Rotation | Set for you | From the Pathway sheet. |
| Review points per job | You fill in | Average review points raised on their work. You want it trending down. |
| Planted errors set | You fill in | Deliberate errors a senior planted in an AI draft this month. |
| Planted errors caught | You fill in | How many the junior found. |
| Catch rate | Calculated | Caught / set. |
| Explain test | Pick from a list: Passed, Not yet, Not run | Could they defend a position without notes? |
| Explain sessions held | You fill in | The weekly 30-minute sessions that actually happened. |
| New kinds of AI mistake logged | You fill in | Error log quality: new kinds, not the same ones again. |
| Notes | You fill in | One thing learned. |
- Catch rate: Caught / set.
- Bottom rows (Year so far): totals and averages across the rows you have filled in.
Sheet 4: Summary
How many skills sit at each rung right now, worked out from Skills by month.
| Column | Type | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Rung | Set for you | The sign-off ladder. |
| Skills at this rung now | Calculated | Counts the Latest rung column. |
- Skills at this rung now: Counts the Latest rung column.
- Bottom rows (Average rung across skills; Skills at rung 4 or above): totals and averages across the rows you have filled in.
The sign-off ladder
| Rung | What the junior may do |
|---|---|
| 1 Prepare | Drafts work, by hand or with AI. Everything is reviewed. |
| 2 Prepare and self-review | Submits work with their own review notes and error log attached. |
| 3 Review AI drafts | First check on AI-drafted low-risk work, such as reconciliations and document requests, before a senior’s final look. |
| 4 Approve low-risk outputs | Sends routine, non-advice client communication and approves agreed low-risk work types on their own. |
| 5 First reviewer | Reviews another person’s work, with a senior signing off. |
Tax advice and lodgement stay with whoever is accountable for them, whatever rung the junior is on.
Before you rely on it
The hand-work numbers in the pathway are a starting point, not a researched standard. The measures are what tell you whether they are enough. Professional bodies set their own experience requirements, so check the junior’s own body before you rely on these records as evidence.
This workbook is a starting point, not financial, tax, employment or legal advice. It only knows the numbers you give it, so check them against your own records and take advice on anything you are unsure of.