30-60-90 day plan for accountants
On this page
- Write the account list before day one
- Days 1-30: Learn the books through real work
- Days 31-60: Own a full set of accounts
- Days 61-90: Run the accounts without being chased
- Reading the review notes
- What "on track" looks like
- A filled example
- Questions for the check-ins
- What the hiring manager owes the new accountant
- Common mistakes
- Adapting the plan
- Questions people ask
A new accountant is measured in a way most roles are not: every piece of their work is reviewed by someone else before it counts. That makes the ramp unusually easy to see. If the review notes on their reconciliations shrink from one close to the next, the plan is working. If the same kind of note keeps coming back, it is not. A useful 30-60-90 day plan for accountants is built on that review loop, organized around the specific accounts and tasks the new hire will own.
This plan is for the controller, accounting manager or senior accountant hiring a staff or senior accountant who prepares reconciliations, journal entries and schedules inside an existing close. If you are hiring the person who runs the close and the team, use the 30-60-90 day plan for finance managers instead. The general structure for any role is in the 30-60-90 day plan template for new hires.
Write the account list before day one
The most useful thing a hiring manager can prepare is a written list of what the new accountant will own by day 90: the balance sheet accounts they will reconcile, the recurring journal entries they will prepare, the subledgers they will tie out and the schedules they will maintain. Without that list, a new accountant spends their first months doing whatever is urgent that week and never becomes the clear owner of anything.
| Area | Example ownership by day 90 (example only) | Phase it is handed over |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Bank reconciliations for all operating accounts | First close, with review |
| Prepaids and accruals | Prepaid amortization schedule; recurring accruals | First and second close |
| Fixed assets | Additions, depreciation schedule and roll-forward | Second close |
| Payables and receivables | Subledger-to-ledger tie-outs and aging review | Second close |
| Intercompany or deferred revenue | Reconciliation and supporting schedule | Third close, if the role covers it |
Hand accounts over in order of risk. Cash and simple prepaids are a good first close because errors are easy to spot and the support is clear. Accounts that involve judgment, such as accruals estimated from incomplete information or revenue deferrals, come later.
Days 1-30: Learn the books through real work
Goals
- Get access to the general ledger, the reconciliation tool or shared workpapers, the AP and expense systems and read-only bank portals before the first close begins.
- Read the chart of accounts, the close checklist, and last month's reconciliations for every account on the ownership list.
- Read the prior year's audit or review adjustments and any management letter points that touch the new hire's accounts.
- Prepare the first set of handed-over reconciliations and recurring entries in the first close, with full review.
- Keep a running log of every review note received: what it was, which account, and whether it was a mechanical error or a judgment question.
- Sit with AP, payroll and whoever books revenue for an hour each to learn what flows into the accounts they will own.
Deliverables by day 30
- Reconciliations for the first set of accounts completed on the close calendar's deadline, with support attached and reviewed.
- A one-page note per owned account: what drives the balance, where the support comes from, and any reconciling items older than 60 days.
- The review-note log for the first close.
Days 31-60: Own a full set of accounts
Goals
- Take over the second batch of accounts in the second close, so the new hire owns most of the day-90 list.
- Investigate and clear, or escalate with a proposal, every reconciling item older than 60 days on the owned accounts.
- Prepare the flux explanations for owned accounts: why each balance moved by more than the team's threshold compared with last month.
- Hit the close calendar's deadline for every owned task without a reminder.
Deliverables by day 60
- Second-close reconciliations with fewer review notes than the first, and no repeat of a mechanical error already flagged.
- Aged reconciling items on owned accounts cleared or written up for a decision.
- Flux commentary that names a business cause, for example a prepaid software renewal or a delayed vendor invoice, rather than restating the number.
Days 61-90: Run the accounts without being chased
Goals
- Complete the third close's owned work with review notes limited to judgment questions.
- Prepare the audit or review requests (the "provided by client" list) for the owned accounts: roll-forwards, schedules, sample support.
- Document the procedure for each owned account so someone covering a vacation could follow it.
- Suggest one fix to an upstream cause of rework, such as a coding error in expense reports that creates monthly reclasses.
Deliverables by day 90
- A full set of owned accounts, reconciled on time for the third straight close.
- Written procedures for each owned account.
- Audit request items for owned accounts ready, or a dated list of what remains.
Reading the review notes
Review notes are the most honest data a hiring manager has on a new accountant, but only if they are sorted. Count them per close and split them into three kinds:
| Type of note | Example | What a trend tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical | Wrong period, support missing, reconciliation does not tie to the trial balance | Should fall sharply after the first close; repeats point to carelessness or an unclear procedure |
| Knowledge | Did not know a vendor is prepaid annually; used the wrong account for a recurring charge | Normal in month one; should fall as the new hire learns the business |
| Judgment | Is this accrual estimate reasonable? Should this item be written off? | Will never reach zero and should not; these are the conversations you want |
A new accountant whose notes shift from mechanical to judgment over three closes is ramping well, even if the total count is not yet low. One whose mechanical notes repeat after being pointed out needs a direct conversation at the 30-day check-in, not at day 90.
What "on track" looks like
| Checkpoint | On track | Worth a direct conversation |
|---|---|---|
| Day 30 | First accounts reconciled on time; can explain what drives each balance; review-note log kept | Missed close deadlines; reconciliations that do not tie; no idea where support comes from |
| Day 60 | Most of the account list owned; fewer notes; aged items being cleared | Same mechanical notes as the first close; aged items left untouched |
| Day 90 | Third clean close; procedures written; audit requests prepared without being asked | Still waiting to be told what to do each close; procedures not started |
A filled example
Accountant: Priya Nandakumar (invented), staff accountant at a 250-person software company, reporting to the accounting manager. Day-90 ownership list: cash, prepaids, fixed assets, accrued expenses and the AP tie-out.
Day 30: Reconciled the four bank accounts and the prepaid schedule in the first close. Received eleven review notes, seven mechanical (mostly support not attached). Found three uncleared bank items from four months earlier and traced two to duplicate vendor payments.
Day 60: Took over fixed assets and the AP tie-out. Review notes fell to five, two mechanical. Recovered one duplicate payment from the vendor and escalated the other with a proposed write-off.
Day 90: Took over accrued expenses. Review notes fell to three, all judgment questions about accrual estimates. Wrote procedures for every owned account and prepared the fixed-asset roll-forward the auditors had asked for late in the prior year.
Questions for the check-ins
- Which of your accounts would you least like the auditor to pick, and why?
- Which review note surprised you most this close?
- Where does your work wait on someone else, and who?
- What do you reconcile by hand that the system could do?
What the hiring manager owes the new accountant
- The written ownership list, shared in week one, with the order accounts will be handed over.
- Last month's reconciliations and the procedure notes, even if rough.
- Review turned around inside the close, not after it. A reviewer who returns notes a week later cannot expect the next close to improve.
- Clear thresholds: the flux percentage or dollar amount that needs an explanation, and the age at which a reconciling item must be escalated.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Result | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Handing over every account in the first close | Rushed work, many notes, a discouraged new hire | Hand over in three batches by risk |
| Using the new hire as a general helper | No clear ownership by day 90 | A written account list, protected from ad hoc requests during close |
| Reviewing without explaining | The same notes come back every month | Walk through the first close's notes in person |
| Ignoring inherited stale items | The new accountant owns old problems with no history | Make clearing aged items an explicit day-60 goal |
Adapting the plan
- Senior accountants: add judgment-heavy accounts earlier, a day-60 goal to review a junior's work, and a day-90 goal to own one technical area such as leases or revenue recognition schedules.
- Small companies and bookkeeping-heavy roles: the role may cover AP, payroll entries and bank feeds as well as reconciliations. The bookkeeper screening questions cover what to test before hire.
- Tax-focused accountants: the cycle is the filing calendar rather than the monthly close; build the phases around the next estimated payment or return deadline. See the tax accountant screening questions.
If the seat is still open, the staff accountant phone screen questions test for the reconciliation habits this plan depends on, and the controller screening questions help when the person reviewing the work is also new.
Questions people ask
How many accounts should a new accountant own by day 90?
Enough to cover a real slice of the balance sheet, typically the reconciliations and journal entries the previous person in the seat owned. Start with two or three lower-risk accounts in the first close and add the rest over the next two closes, so the reviewer can see each new account done once with support before it is handed over fully.
What is the best single measure of a new accountant's progress?
The number and type of review notes on their work, tracked close by close. A healthy ramp shows fewer notes each month and a shift from basic errors, such as a wrong period or a missing support document, toward judgment questions the reviewer would ask anyone.
Should a new accountant post journal entries in the first month?
Yes, but prepared and reviewed rather than posted unchecked. Preparing real entries with support attached teaches the chart of accounts and the systems faster than watching, and the review step protects the books while the new hire learns where the judgment calls are.
How is this different from a plan for a finance manager?
A finance manager's plan is about running the close and the team. An accountant's plan is about owning a defined set of accounts and tasks inside someone else's close, getting them right the first time, and becoming the person who can answer questions about those accounts without looking things up.