For Accountants - how long did it take you to get a job?

TasBurrfoot · June 2013

Hello accountants,

A recruiter from UGL limited called me for a position of Financial Accountant (actually its Senior Financial Accountant). Afaik, this is direct employment, so might give you better chances. if you're interested PM me your resume, I can endorse it to him. Please tailor fit your CV according to the role.

Let me know if you need help. My background is Management accounting, so i guess they are flexible with the required skills and experience.

Good luck to everyone!

@Neng - sent PM maam!

Neng · June 2013

@vhoythoy - ive also done audit work but for a short time lang pero naka handle ako ng full client audit where i do all of the AFS stuff. With Managerial accounting its more of internal reporting, FS is there but notes and other info is more of the responsibility of Financial Accountant. Tailored reports based sa needs ng mga management, so it can include excel spreadsheets as well as powerpoint presentations. I also do budgets etc

Not sure ha, this is just my opinion, if you love IFRS/IAS and all those stuff, baka mas type mo ang audit. kasi pag mgt accounting, di na ganon tinatouch yan coz ang focus is business knowledge. Ang output ng audit is AFS, anjan ang sense of fulfillment when its released. kami naman, when our reports, and statistics are being presented together with AFS(pag annual meeting) sa board and stockholders. let me know if may gusto kapang malman

vhoythoy · June 2013

@neng external audit po ako dati but now is internal audit. More on business processes, assessing risk and testing controls.

staycool · June 2013

@Neng mam, im more sa government accounting pero parang financial accounting na po...with Accounts payables, etc...ask ko po jan po sa Australia, di po ba specified ang mga humahawak ng accounts?....like account payable accountant, AR Accountant, mga ganun po?... di ko po masyadong makita ang difference ng mgt. sa financial sa commercial accounting eh... i mean, in terms ng technicality na nila ha...

Tony12000 · June 2013

@Neng mam, im more sa government accounting pero parang financial accounting na po...with Accounts payables, etc...ask ko po jan po sa Australia, di po ba specified ang mga humahawak ng accounts?....like account payable accountant, AR Accountant, ..

staycool :

di ko pa yata narinig ang a/c payable accntn or AR acct ( ang tawag nila dito accounts clerk or snr ac clerks ),. usually in small to medium businesses isa lang ang financial account, he/she handles most of the work load , sya narin an gumagawa ng statutory accounts ( F/S ) BAS , FBT,( unless me tax accountant ) GL , Loans facilities , Guarantees , facility agrements ,forward cover contracts, thats why companies prefer if you are member of AICPA ( PICPA version) or ICAA kasi multi tasking ang trabaho , salary is commensurate namn , but dont expect to go home on time. its a full times job . mataas ang stress rate .

ang magement accountant ( cost accountant ang tawag sa atin )he/she handles P& L reporting , costing ( cost of production , sales & exp ), budgets din among others. mas mataas ang rank ng mgt ac kesa fin acct . then again depende sa company and lenght of experience.

staycool · June 2013

@Tony12000 san po makapamember ng AICPA and/or ICAA?..yan po ba ang CPA Australia?...
mas nakakapagod and stressful bale ang Financial accountnant as compared to mgt. accountant?...sa explanation nyo palang parang na-stress na po ako... hindi na tuloy po ako sure kung ano ang mailalagay ko sa field ko...medyo dapat kse specific ang paggiging accountant jan... dito kse sa atin specific ang handle ko sa budget and AP eh... dapat pala all around ka...(?)

vhoythoy · June 2013

^^ just to share my insights. For larger companies, ar/ap accounting is separated so may mga accounting staff tlaga na ang hawak lang is accts payable or accounts receivable kasi medyo madugo yun lalo na pag maraming vendors/ clients.

I think depends sa tao kung stressful ba financial accounting or management accounting. May personal opinion is in general mas stressful ang financial acctg kasi may reporting tlga sila monthly/ annually internally and outside. May tight deadlines plus liasing with auditors, regulators, etc. For me, job itself is not the source of stress as im used to it but rather having a difficult boss

Aicpa is organisation of accountants in america parang picpa natin sa pinas. So sa australia its either cpaa (cpa australia), icaa (ca australia) or icma (cma australia). Cma in philippines is based on cma australia whch caters those in management accounting professionals

Neng · June 2013

@Staycool tama si VhoyThoy and si Tony1200, Job titles depend on the size of the company, so you really have to focus on the responsibilities of the position of you're applying for. This is where tailor fitting your resume comes in. If the task is month end postings journalising and a few reports, they might call it as Financial Accountant or Assistant Accountant. If you've done similar roles, change your title to match whatever they call it, kung sa pinas tawag sayo is Asst Accountant then why not call yourself Financial Accountant kung pareho naman trabaho terminologies lang nagbago.

One tip I can give you guys is to do some strategy and put yourself on the position of the recruiter. If you receive 100 applications for one role, pano ka pipili kung dalawa lang kailangan mo, lalo na pag may time constraint, most likely the first step is to filter based on jobtitles. Apps with diff job titles will most probably be chucked, next step, is to scan a bit of the tasks itself, so its also important to use their terminologies when you write your resume.

Dont worry too much, if you're confident with your skills and you have the experience, ika nga why not chocnut, dont get intimidated with the CA/CPA requirements, go parin ng go. Hayaan nyo na sila ang sumakit ang ulo sa resume niyo Lol.

Of course there is a difference between coming up with a tailored resume and a fake one. Mabubuking ka parin sa interview pag nandaya ka plus character reference. But the goal is to have your resume shortlisted for interview

Goodluck!

vhoythoy · June 2013

Yup, also depends din pla sa nature and industry ng company. Yung hausmate ko ditong accountant sa Singapore is working in a small logistics company but very stress everyday coz shes handling thousands of customers receivable accounts. Also doing the collections followup pati n pagpasa ng claims case sa small claims tribunal court here in Sg.

Goodluck and more power to all Accountants

Tony12000 · June 2013

" @Tony12000 san po makapamember ng AICPA and/or ICAA?..yan po ba ang CPA Australia?...mas nakakapagod and stressful bale ang Financial accountnant as compared to mgt. accountant?..".

staycool - if youre keen and youre a cpa in the phil , you can enquire to various universities in nsw ( if youre in nsw) uws, uts , unsw, macquarie uni.
you can take some bridging courses - ( take the business or commerce major in accouting ) if you passed the university assessment , you will at least study or take 6 subjects at uni . once you finished that , you can apply at cpaaustralia ( dati AICPA sya aust inst of cpa) you will again take at least 6 subjects and take individual exams for each subject ( sponsored by cpaa ) parang board exams sa atin . once you passed all the subjects then you will be given a licence to practice .

it is a lot stricter if you tried the icaa ( eto yung mga extrenal auditors like kpmg , pwcc , ) they have a different association than cpaa , you have to have a mentor ( usually finance manager or CFO - who has practiced as auditor in the past for at least 10 yrs yata) or unless you end up working in an audit firm as audit assistant ( undergrads usually ) before you can even join it . then dont forget after your licence you still have to continue studying ( CPE- continuing professional education) year to year to maintain you licence plus you have to maintain a required number of hours worked as an external auditor at any given year.

the way i understand it is that if they are looking for financial accountant it is expected that you are a member of either assoc , cpaa,icaa , cma , you will have a good chance of landing a job
i have never looked at classified ads for the last 15 yrs na yata .
pagkakaguluhan lang dyan eh sweldo plus other benefits like share/stocks participation , emoluments , exit strategies.

"dapat pala all around ka...(?)"

di naman paminsan minsan baka me magtimpla sa kape mo kasi wala ka ng time tumayo para magtimpla lol. at wala ka ring sekretarya . at ikaw ang mag bubukas at magsasara ng building sa gabi . hehhehe at mahirap mag holiday lalo na in between months.

but it will be an exciting and interesting challenge for you , sa atin very limited ang exposure sa business di katulad dito . sabi nga nila you have to plan , organise , lead and control .

TasBurrfoot · June 2013

Here is an insight my wife got from a career talk she attended last weekend; this is applicable if you get the chance to be invited for an interview by the hiring manager...

Apart from preparing really well daw (anticipate some questions and practice delivering the answers), try to prepare some handouts daw to give out sa hiring managers... The handouts should contain a summary of your qualifications and skills as well as an explanation of why you are the best fit for the job.

So far my wife got 2 final interviews this week and she was able to produce those handouts and initial reaction ng mga hiring manager was IMPRESSIVE - I hope that will translate to a job offer in the coming days though, ahahah!!

The key here is that you will standout for the right reason.

My wife made customized powerpoint presentation for the handouts; around 10 pages ang printout... Mejo mahal nga lang ang printing but then again, these are investments naman as how we see it. Hope it starts paying dividend soon!!

TasBurrfoot · June 2013

Fresh from the oven; wife just got offered a role - she will start on Tuesday or Wednesday...

Total time jobless in Australia; 2 months and 1 wk! God is good!!

vhoythoy · June 2013

Fresh from the oven; wife just got offered a role - she will start on Tuesday or Wednesday...

Total time jobless in Australia; 2 months and 1 wk! God is good!!

Congrats!

staycool · June 2013

thanks po sa lahat ng information... i bet may mga work na po kayo sa australia as an accountant (?) ... i still have a long long way since i was just granted my visa yesterday... i am planning to try to apply on job sites muna and hoping na maka-land ng job offers before i go to Oz... would that be possible?...
and pwede din po ba akong magpa-member sa CPA Australia as CPA Associate even if i am still here in the Phils??

staycool · June 2013

@psychoboy , you said "My wife made customized powerpoint presentation for the handouts; around 10 pages ang printout" ... does that mean gumawa talaga sya ng printout 10 pages (??) ano po mga nilagay nya dun?... and it helped?... impressive daw po ba?... any suggestions how we can prepare such??

TasBurrfoot · June 2013

thanks po sa lahat ng information... i bet may mga work na po kayo sa australia as an accountant (?) ... i still have a long long way since i was just granted my visa yesterday... i am planning to try to apply on job sites muna and hoping na maka-land ng job offers before i go to Oz... would that be possible?...
and pwede din po ba akong magpa-member sa CPA Australia as CPA Associate even if i am still here in the Phils??

@staycool - yes you can be a member of CPA Australia as long as you have been assessed positively in your membership assessment; I think you were the one who asked this in a separate thread...

staycool · June 2013

@psychoboy yes po.. and you answered na iba ang assessment for visa application from membership, ayt?... kse po nung nakausap ko po ang isa kong friend, who is now a member of CPA Australia as an Associate member, she told me that I can email CPA Australia and explain daw my status na binigyan na po ako ng "assessment" almost 4 years ago...kse baka daw po pwedeng i-forego ang assessment and be an Assoc. member nalang agad

RodGanteJr · June 2013

Hi Accountants!

Maybe this would help.

As at 6:30 pm today (GMT +8), on Seek

There are 9,473 jobs for Accountants all over Australia (http://www.seek.com.au/JobSearch?DateRange=31&SearchFrom=quick&Keywords=accountant&nation=3000)

1.) 3,166 jobs in Sydney
2.) 2,029 jobs in Melbourne
3.) 1,527 jobs in Brisbane
4.) 1,317 jobs in Perth
5.) 285 jobs in Adelaide
6.) 169 jobs in Canberra
7.) Other cities/states

I know that you guys have already checked the jobs on Seek. I just want to enlighten you. There are jobs for Accountants and there is a job that is set for you. Maybe you just have to apply for more jobs - sabi nga nila, there is one in a million.

God bless

TasBurrfoot · June 2013

Fresh from the oven; wife just got offered a role - she will start on Tuesday or Wednesday...

Total time jobless in Australia; 2 months and 1 wk! God is good!!
Congrats!

Thanks Sir @vhoythoy...

mark_y · June 2013

@psychoboy Congratulations....

lock_code2004 · June 2013

@psychoboy - ayos.. congrats mr and mrs psychoboy..

TasBurrfoot · June 2013

@psychoboy - ayos.. congrats mr and mrs psychoboy..

Thank you boss @lock_code2004

li_i_ren · June 2013

Congrats psychoboy!!!! To u and specially to ur wife:)

The foot is in the door na.... Aja!

God bless;)

Neng · June 2013

@psychoboy congratulations to your wife

staycool · June 2013

thanks @RodGanteJr for the enlightenment...will start putting my CV on sites... and praying and hoping that i can land one good one...heheh

TasBurrfoot · June 2013

Congrats psychoboy!!!! To u and specially to ur wife:)

The foot is in the door na.... Aja!

God bless;)

@li_i_ren FIGHTING!!

@psychoboy congratulations to your wife

Thanks @Neng!

staycool · June 2013

.

rolf021 · June 2013

@psychoboy - congrats po and to your wife!:) Another success story! If okay lang to ask, may I know iyung work na nakuha ni misis and if it is a direct application or via agency? Para lang po may basis kung ano mga possible jobs na pwede applyan. thanks!

TasBurrfoot · June 2013

@psychoboy - congrats po and to your wife!:) Another success story! If okay lang to ask, may I know iyung work na nakuha ni misis and if it is a direct application or via agency? Para lang po may basis kung ano mga possible jobs na pwede applyan. thanks!

@rolf021 - It is in the finance firm for a huge engineering firm here in Australia; via once of the big recruitment agency sya and it is a contract for around 3 months (which may or may not be extended.

success story?! di pa cguro but it is a good start...

rolf021 · June 2013

@Neng - tanong lang po. I thik po kasi may work experience in the Philippines is more inclined to management accounting than financial accounting. I am then thinking which is better to have accreditation - CPAA or CMA? Any idea po? Salamat po!

@psychoboy - yep!it is a good start nga po. thanks again for sharing!