Junior Payroll Accountant

Obrien Recruitment; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Obrien Recruitment is seeking a hands-on Junior Payroll Accountant for a busy Finance team in Cape Town's Waterfront. The role supports accurate payroll accounting, journals, reconciliations and statutory payments for weekly, monthly and fleet payrolls.

The ideal candidate has 2–4 years of payroll accounting experience, is comfortable with General Ledger entries and payroll controls, and works well within a team. This is a mid-level, operational role with no leadership responsibilities.

Qualifications

• BCom in Finance / Accounting, or currently studying towards a relevant finance qualification.
• Approximately 2-4 years' relevant payroll accounting, payroll finance or payroll reconciliation experience.
• Hands-on experience preparing payroll journals and General Ledger entries.
• Practical experience with payroll and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Working knowledge of PAYE, UIF and SDL.
• Exposure to EMP201 and EMP501 reconciliations.
• Ability to work within payroll deadlines and handle confidential information.

Responsibilities

• Prepare payroll journals for weekly, monthly and fleet payrolls.
• Process payroll-related General Ledger entries.
• Check salaries, wages, bonuses and deductions for accuracy.
• Ensure payroll transactions are reflected in the General Ledger.
• Identify and assist with correcting payroll posting discrepancies.
• Maintain supporting documentation for payroll journals and adjustments.
• Prepare payroll reconciliations and supporting documents for audit purposes.
• Assist with payroll-related audit queries.
• Reconciling PAYE, UIF and SDL amounts.

Skills

Numerical ability

Attention to detail

Teamwork and communication

Confidentiality

Education

BCom in Finance / Accounting

Currently studying towards a finance qualification

Tools

Sage 300 / Sage 300 People

Job description

Location: Waterfront, Cape Town
Department: Finance
Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Overview

A well-established organisation is seeking a hands-on Junior Payroll Accountant to support the accurate accounting, reconciliation and financial control of weekly, monthly and fleet payrolls.
This is a mid-level, operational role suited to someone with approximately 2-4 years' relevant payroll accounting experience who is comfortable working with payroll journals, General Ledger reconciliations, statutory payments and payroll-related financial controls.
The role is not a payroll management position and does not require team leadership. The successful candidate will work closely with the Payroll and Finance teams to ensure payroll transactions are accurately recorded, reconciled and supported.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Accounting & Journals

• Prepare payroll journals for weekly, monthly and fleet payrolls.
• Process payroll-related General Ledger entries.
• Check salaries, wages, bonuses and deductions for accuracy.
• Ensure payroll transactions are correctly reflected in the General Ledger.
• Identify and assist with correcting payroll posting discrepancies.
• Maintain appropriate supporting documentation for payroll journals and adjustments.

Payroll & General Ledger Reconciliations

• Prepare regular payroll-related General Ledger reconciliations.
• Reconcile payroll control and balance sheet accounts.
• Investigate reconciling items and follow up on outstanding differences.Assist with resolving payroll accounting discrepancies.
• Ensure payroll accounts remain accurately reconciled and supported.

Statutory Payroll Administration

• Assist with the preparation and reconciliation of EMP201 submissions.
• Support the EMP501 reconciliation process.
• Reconcile PAYE, UIF and SDL amounts.
• Assist with payroll tax and statutory payment reconciliations.
• Ensure payroll information is accurately maintained for statutory reporting purposes.

Third-Party Payments & Benefits

• Prepare and reconcile payroll-related third-party payments.
• Reconcile medical aid contributions.
• Reconcile pension and provident fund contributions.
• Reconcile garnishee and other payroll deductions.
• Follow up on discrepancies relating to third-party payments.
• Ensure payments agree to payroll records and supporting schedules.

Payroll Variance Analysis

• Review payroll reports and identify unusual movements or discrepancies.
• Compare current payroll information to previous periods where required.
• Investigate payroll variances and obtain supporting information.Escalate unresolved or material discrepancies to the relevant manager.

Audit & Finance Support

• Prepare payroll reconciliations and supporting documents for audit purposes.
• Assist with payroll-related audit queries.
• Maintain accurate payroll accounting records and supporting documentation.
• Assist with correcting identified payroll accounting errors.
• Support the Payroll and Finance teams with ad hoc payroll accounting requirements.
• BCom in Finance / Accounting, or currently studying towards a relevant finance qualification.
• Approximately 2-4 years' relevant payroll accounting, payroll finance or payroll reconciliation experience.
• Hands-on experience preparing payroll journals and General Ledger entries.
• Practical experience with payroll and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Working knowledge of PAYE, UIF and SDL.
• Exposure to EMP201 and EMP501 reconciliations.
• Experience reconciling payroll-related third-party payments.
• Good numerical ability and attention to detail.
• Able to investigate and resolve discrepancies.
• Comfortable working with confidential payroll and employee information.
• Able to work accurately within payroll and month-end deadlines.

Advantageous

• Experience using Sage 300 / Sage 300 People.
• Previous experience working within a finance or payroll accounting team.
• Exposure to weekly and monthly payroll environments.
• Payroll accounting.
• Payroll reconciliations.
• General Ledger reconciliations.
• Payroll journals.
• Statutory payroll knowledge.
• Third-party payment reconciliations.
• Advanced Excel.
• Numerical accuracy.
• Problem solving.
• Deadline management.
• Confidentiality.
• Teamwork and communication.

Ideal Candidate Profile

This position would suit someone who has already gained practical payroll and finance experience and is now looking to build further experience within a structured payroll accounting environment.
Candidates may currently be working as a:

• Payroll Accountant
• Junior Payroll Accountant
• Payroll Finance Clerk
• Payroll Administrator with strong finance and reconciliation exposure
• Payroll Reconciliation Clerk

The position is hands-on and operational rather than managerial, and would be best suited to someone with 2-4 years' relevant experience who is still developing their payroll accounting career.