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What Juniors Aren’t Telling You: The Hidden Cost of Inconsistency

Opinion Piece

What Juniors Aren’t Telling You: The Hidden Cost of Inconsistency

When junior accountants start their careers, they expect to feel challenged. They expect to learn. But what they don’t expect—and what they rarely feel comfortable saying—is just how disorienting inconsistency can be across different teams and managers.

One week they’re preparing a GST reconciliation in one format, the next week it’s entirely different. One manager wants paragraphs of explanation, the next just wants a number. And review points? They might come in emails, sticky notes, Teams messages, Word docs—or all of the above.

These aren’t growing pains. They’re avoidable obstacles. And the solution is standardisation.

 

The Juggle Juniors Are Managing

Let’s take a moment to walk in their shoes. Junior accountants are navigating:

  • New workplace dynamics

  • Gaps between theory and practice

  • A wide range of industries

  • Real-world tax and compliance

Now add to that: “And each manager you work with likes things done differently.”

It’s overwhelming – because the rules keep changing.

Hannah Olsson
Chartered Accountant




What Juniors Are (Quietly) Asking For

They’re not asking for shortcuts or for the bar to be lowered. They’re asking for clarity. For consistency. For a chance to get it right the first time. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

1. Consistency in communication

Some review points come as sticky notes. Others appear via Teams. Some juniors get an email summary, others have to interpret vague Excel comments. It’s not that any one method is wrong—it’s that having ten different methods is. One channel. One source of truth.

2. Consistency in expectations

Right now, a workpaper can be considered “outstanding” by one manager and “incomplete” by another. The level of detail expected, the documentation standards, even the format of calculations—it all shifts depending on who’s reviewing.

Standardisation gives juniors clear targets. It builds confidence. And it means managers can give feedback on the quality of work – not just the format.




The Cost of Inconsistency

It’s not just juniors who pay the price. The whole firm feels it:

  • Low morale: Juniors lose confidence when what was “good” yesterday is “not enough” today.

  • Slower training: Teaching five methods to reconcile a GST account takes longer than teaching one.

  • More confusion: Different review styles and feedback loops create mental load.

  • Higher risk of errors: Review points sent by email or chat are easily missed or misfiled.

  • Wasted time: Switching between formats, expectations, and communication methods slows prep and review.

  • Poor job pickup: If a job changes hands mid-way, chaos follows.




This Isn’t About Blame

Every manager has their way of working. And usually, that’s based on how they were trained.

This isn’t a criticism—it’s an opportunity. An opportunity to collaborate, document the best of what’s working, and build a shared standard that lifts everyone.

Standardisation doesn’t mean stripping away judgement or personality. It means giving your team a solid foundation so they can focus on doing great work—not decoding what “great” means this week.




Firms are hiring, training, and retaining in a tougher market than ever. You don’t want your juniors to burn out or disengage because they couldn’t figure out what was expected of them. You want them growing in confidence, building momentum, and becoming the future leaders of your firm.

And that starts with giving them one thing: standardisation.

 

Ready to Standardise Without Slowing Down?

Cimplico Workpapers helps firms introduce consistency in a way that’s simple, practical, and easy to roll out:

  • Internal Comments keep every review point and job status in one place. No more scattered emails or chat threads. You’ll always know what’s been raised, what’s outstanding, and what’s done—with a complete history to back it up.

  • Firm-wide Checklists and Procedures create a shared standard for workpapers. They’re easy to build, apply automatically, and can’t be forgotten. Every junior knows what’s expected. Every manager knows what’s been covered.

Standardisation isn’t just about neatness. It’s about clarity, trust, and better outcomes – for your juniors, your clients, and your firm.

If your juniors could redesign your systems, this is what they’d ask for. 

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