How to Design a Compensation Package

Job description 

The job selected is one of an accountant. The key role of accountants revolves around preparing and evaluating different financial records. They ensure the accuracy of the records and timely and proper payment of taxes. Accountants also undertake financial activities’ reviews of enterprises to make sure that they run in an efficient manner. Additionally, accountants offer similar services to individuals by assisting them to develop actions plans that boost their financial well-being (Monster Worldwide, 2018) . While of the job, accountants perform the following key duties:

• Preparing liabilities, assets, and entries to capital accounts through assessing and compiling account information
• Recording financial transactions through documenting account information
• Endorsing financial operations by evaluating accounting options
• Summarizing present financial nature by gathering information, preparing profit and loss statement, balance sheet, as well as other reports
• Validating financial transactions by auditing financial transactions
• Sustaining accounting control by recommending and recommending procedures and policies
• Offering guidance to the clerical staff by answering questions and coordinating operations
• Reconciling any discrepancies in financial transactions by gathering and assessing account information
• Securing accounting information by implementing backups of databases
• Ensuring to follow internal reports to maintain the security of financial information
• Authenticating documentation to prepare payments while at the same time requesting disbursements (Monster Worldwide, 2018) 
• Answering questions related to accounting processes by investigating and interpreting accounting regulations and policy
• Complying with the local, state, and federal legal needs by learning about the new and prevailing legislation, enforcing requirements’ observance, and guiding the management on the required actions
• Preparing specific financial reports by gathering, assessing, and summarizing trends and information related to accounting
• Making sure that customers remain confident in line with safeguarding operations by making sure that accounting information remains confidential

In addition to the duties that accountants perform while on the job, it is crucial to understand the skills and qualifications needed form them. These comprise of having knowledge in corporate finance, accounting, reporting skills, deadline-oriented, attention to detail, SFAS rule, reporting results from research, time management, confidentiality, management of data entry, and general math skills.

Method of Job Evaluation 

Accountants are responsible for managing organizational accounts, making sure to comply with tax regulations, and assisting the senior management in financial analysis. They are not only responsible for undertaking bookkeeping, but also develop financial reports and statements. Since it is a requirement that accountants work with numbers, they need to have strong problem solving and analytical skills to allow them interpret and understand financial reports. As such, the accounting aptitude test would serve as the ideal method for the accounting job evaluation (InterviewMocha, 2019) . It aims at evaluating the accounting professionals skills based on the industry standards while it assists the hiring managers to assess the candidate’s experience in various skills to determine whether they have what it takes to perform accounting roles in an organization effectively and efficiently.

The accounting aptitude test revolves around vital skills. On numeric reasoning, it evaluates the capacity to analyze, interpret, and make logical conclusions. Regarding abstract reasoning, it assess capacity for thinking clearly to realize logical patterns, capability for learning new skills and address sophisticated problems, and capacity for strategizing. For verbal reasoning, it evaluates the capacity for understanding and reasoning with a written page’s concepts. Furthermore, concerning accounting fundamentals, it evaluates knowledge of overhead allocation, posting entries, LIFO, FIFO, stock valuation, cash flows, accounting principles, and adjustment entries (InterviewMocha, 2019) . In addition, it assesses verbal abilities, such as grammar, vocabulary, and experience in written English.

In addition to these areas, the accounting aptitude test evaluates logical reasoning in a detailed manner. It ensures that the hiring managers employ the best applicants having effective accounting skills. For the score, it reports a comprehensive analysis of each candidate while offering clear details concerning the ideal candidate for the accounting position. It allows the employer to recognize prospective accountants through assessing their job readiness and working skills. In this sense, tremendous focus is directed toward assessing applied skills’ knowledge acquired via actual work experience as opposed to theoretical knowledge. The test might comprise of MAQs (multiple answer questions), MCQs (multiple choice questions, descriptive, filling blanks, audio/video questions, white board questions, true or false questions, and job-based simulations (InterviewMocha, 2019) . These play a critical role in understanding an accounting position’s readiness by a prospective candidate.

Compensation Package and Rationale 

The average salary that the accountant would receive based on the prevailing market standards is approximately $62,410, although this varies based on experience level, size of company, and industry. An accounting profession presents individuals with numerous career opportunities and respect from their colleagues while at the same time earning among the highest wages. Nonetheless, it is crucial to note that various things influence an accountant’s overall payroll hence the challenge of talking of the overall countrywide average without considering statistics and numbers. Some of the forces worth assessing comprise of experienced, inexperienced, or entry-level CPAs. In this case, the accountant will be experienced while having worked in the position for over three years to earn the proposed salary. Additionally, the company size is big while working in a metropolitan area (AIS, 2019) . As such, the accountant’s pay package will be around the $62,410 range , which is among the highest in the sector while at the same time outdoing other industries. 

Measuring Performance 

When measuring something, numbers are usually involved whereas measuring human performance requires combining hard numbers with soft instinctive insights. When evaluating the performance of an accountant, graphic rating scales are among the ones to utilize. These utilize sequential numbers including 1 to 10 or 1 to 5 thereby assisting in rating the relative performance of the employee in the profession. The scale facilitate in rating behavioral elements, including participation in the decision making process or understanding of the tasks that need undertaking. They can also facilitate in noting an employee’s frequency in portraying a certain behavior or undertaking a certain task, including never, occasionally, frequently, or always (The Hartford, 2019) . These scales can apply to diverse business needs. 

An additional means of measuring performance of the accounting professional entails the 360-degree feedback. The system usually considers the opinions, feedback, and assessments of the performance of an employee’s from a circle of individuals within a company in which they operate. It can comprise of supervisors, and co-workers among others. While assessing the input from the numerous sources, it is probable to take not of the negative and positive trends and similarities. This way, it is possible to recognize extra areas requiring additional support and assessments. Furthermore, self-evaluation facilitates in measuring performance. This approach requires asking the employees to assess their individual performance. During certain instances, the workforce might criticize their performance more than the employer does. Utilizing forms requiring essay-type answers, multiple-choice answers, or a mixture of the two might work. Comparing the objective appraisal of the employer with the self-assessments can contribute to realizing the discrepancies and similarities while at the same time offering a broadened understanding of employee performance (The Hartford, 2019) . Various conversations might emerge that could foster employee development. 

Moreover, the MBO (management by objectives) measures performance by permitting the managers and the employees to establish objectives together. The two can determine the objectives of an individual together, ways of aligning with goals of company, and means of evaluating and measuring performance. MBO allows the workforce to gain real understanding of expectations in while with encouraging them to take part in the process hence increasing motivation and bettering communication. When measuring performance, it is crucial to emphasize on checklists (The Hartford, 2019) . For instance, utilizing a basic “yes-no” checklist would be a fast and simple means of recognizing the workforces having weaknesses in particular deficiency areas and the ones requiring addition knowledge and training. 

Proposal Appropriate for Market Presently 

The proposal for the competitive compensation package for an accounting position is ideal for the market at this time. Accountants play a significant role in the business world while the duties that they undertake are usually forgotten or not adequately understood. Accountants come in diverse types, including chief financial officers, internal auditors, and independent contractors while the major similarity among them is that they serve as professionals working in enterprises. Professional accountants also pursue numerous other roles, such as in non-profit sectors, public sectors, academic, professional bodies, and regulatory bodies (IFAC, 2019) . The experience that these individuals have is crucial to the growing business needs. 

Accountants play a critical role in enterprises by making sure to emphasize on financial reporting quality. They usually find themselves with the task protecting financial reporting’s integrity. While the management is accountable for the financial information that an organization produces, professional accountants safeguard reporting’s quality as source since this serves as the area that produces the figures and numbers. In the same manner as their counterparts in auditing or taxation, accountants contribute toward a society’s overall progress and stability. Failure by the public to understand the different responsibilities and roles of distinct accounting professionals, the perception of their value by the public might be misinformed (IFAC, 2019) . In this sense, it is crucial to note of the important role that the accounting profession plays in the business sector and in the community as well. 

Proficient accounting professionals serve as invaluable organizational assets. They deploy a logical mind based on their understanding of the financials of their company. Utilizing the skills they possess and their comprehension of a firm and the atmosphere that it operates leads professional accountants to raise challenging questions. The training that they have in accounting allows them to follow an objective and pragmatic approach in addressing problems (IFAC, 2019) . They are valuable management assets, especially for SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) because they mostly serve as the only professionally qualified staff members. 

For the accountancy professionals they help with corporate strategy, assistance, and advice or reducing costs, mitigating risks, and boosting the bottom-line. They represent the interests of organizational owners, particularly a public company’s shareholders. The roles that they play comprise of administrating the company by approving yearly budgets while accounting for the performance of the company. They also contribute toward selection of chief executives in line with determining the compensation that the management receives. When serving as chief financial officers, accountants have deep understanding of the different issues influencing the financial health of a company. They develop strategic organizational direction while at the same time assessing, developing, and communicating information relating to finances. When operating as internal auditors, they offer independent assistance to organizational management on the risks facing governance, management, and internal control processes in line with advising on the areas that need enhancing. For the public sector, accountants working with the government contribute to shaping fiscal policies, which have wide-reaching influence to many lives (IFAC, 2019) . In this vein, it is evident that accountants play tremendous roles in businesses, organizations, and the community thereby leading the profession to be appropriate for the market at this time. 

Compensation Strategy 

An ideal means of developing a compensation plan for accountants revolves around understanding what an accountant’s performance can control while matching it with the values of the accountant. Accountants are capable of controlling timelines and accuracy of reporting. Comprehending the things that motivate them serves as the most challenging task since individuals have differing priorities and interests. Using feedback from undisclosed surveys would be an ideal starting point to tailor the compensation plan. Here, when developing the compensation plan for an accountant, it is crucial to emphasize on certain forces. Firstly, the compensation needs to focus on the areas that an accountant is capable of controlling including timeliness and accuracy of reports. The criteria followed in this case should be possible to measure, such as performance measure revolving around the reporting that an accountant completes within a certain duration. The compensation should not target qualitative areas that pose challenges when measuring them, such as team building (O'Flynn, 2019) . They need to focus on professional milestones, including passing a CPA exam during a given duration. 

Regarding the compensation level, it should change with the progress of the accounting career. The compensation for a new accountant needs to focus on mastering basic skills, such as reconciling accounts, assisting with book closure when the year ends, and finalizing inventory updates on a monthly basis. Accountants having higher educational levels and skills should receive compensation that matches their overall departmental responsibility including overseeing accuracy of results when compared to findings by independent auditors. From, here, it is essential to emphasize on tailoring the compensation. Even while accountants usually share basic skills, the personalities that drive them differ. Differing compensation packages should be considered to trigger persons with differing goals. An ideal approach should focus on having human resources undertake undisclosed surveys to identify the compensation packages driving accounting processionals. For instance, certain accountants might need high salaries whereas others direct emphasis toward flexible scheduling. Understanding the effective compensation as opposed to supposing that all persons would react in a similar manner to compensation package would serve as an ideal means of motivating the staff members (O'Flynn, 2019) . In this perspective, following this compensation strategy would play a critical role in identifying the ideal package that would meet the needs of an accountant adequately. 

References 

AIS. (2019). Average certified public accountant (CPA) salary range and compensation. Retrieved from https://www.ais-cpa.com/average-cpa-salary-and-compensation/

IFAC. (2019). Roles and importance of professional accountants in business. Retrieved from https://www.ifac.org/news-events/2013-10/roles-and-importance-professional-accountants-business

InterviewMocha. (2019). Accounting aptitude test. Retrieved from https://www.interviewmocha.com/tests/accountant-aptitude-test-assessment

Monster Worldwide. (2018). Accountant job description sample. Retrieved from https://hiring.monster.com/employer-resources/job-description-templates/accountant-job-description-sample/

O'Flynn, K. (2019). How to come up with an incentive plan for an accountant. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/come-up-incentive-plan-accountant-32264.html

The Hartford. (2019). Defining, measuring, and improving employee performance. Retrieved from https://www.thehartford.com/business-playbook/in-depth/measuring-evaluating-employee-performance-data