tiks10

Dear All

I have recently arrived in Brisbane and need some advise/guidance with regards to entry into the job market. I am FCCA and also hold a BSC Management with Mathematics (Kings College, University of London).I have worked in the accountancy industry since 1992 and have gained experience in both commerce (worked in large multi-nationals such as Sony,BBC,Enron & Aquila Energy) and in Public Practice( my last roles was as a senior manager in business services in a medium sized practice(8 years).

I have registered with all the usual recruitment consultants and have also made direct application with a few multi-nationals but have found that not having the Australian CPA/CA qualification is a deal breaker.

Is there anyone who is in a similiar position or has been in a similiar position who can give any tips/advise on any alternative routes into the job market?

It is really demoralising to find that after having worked in the industry at a senior manager level the market is so particular with respect to the academic qualification.

I look forward to any comments/feedback

JAJ

Have you thought about obtaining the Australian CPA? (more straightforward than CA).

tiks10

Thank you for your speedy response!

I am trying to get into the market without having to take the additional exams but may have to take the CPA option if all other options fail.Mind you it has only been two weeks since I started looking.

Please do let me know if there are any other options that I can look into?

thanks

stephen284362

Hi Tiks

I am moving to Sydney in July (10 weeks to go!! ) and I am also an FCCA (with 16 years public practice experience).
Having read these forums, I realised that my ACCA wouldn't get me as far as I had hoped in Australia, so I became ACA through the Pathways to Membership scheme with ICAEW.

I am hoping that by being both ACA and ACCA, this will help my job prospects in Sydney, although my agent at Michael Page is a bit too laid back for my tastes!

The Pathways scheme is probably the easiest way to get the CA qualification, so might be worth investigating?

Let me know how your job hunt goes, good luck and pass on any tips that might help a fellow ACCA!

Cheers

Stephen

tiks10

Hi Stephen

Thank you for your advise much appreciated. I will definately look into that option and will also advise you any tips that I pick up during my job search.

Good luck on your move and do keep in touch!

Bermudashorts

To be honest, I am surprised that you are having trouble as your background sounds interesting. I also started work in 1992 and am ACCA. I always said that I would not be taking any further exams as my work experience speaks for itself and I have never known an Australian in London having to take a UK qualification to get a job.

I still maintain that somebody with nearly 20 years accountancy experience should not have to take an Australian qualification, especially such a crap one as CPA. I wouldn't wipe my bottom on it quite frankly. I have already told my recruitment team that it will have to be a damn good CV to make me consider a CPA. Open book, multiple choice ... I am not going to demean myself by trying to get that qualification.

My ACCA was never questioned and never raised an eyebrow with agents or employers, the ones I dealt with were intelligent enough to know that a UK immigrant would not have an Australian qualification.

I found a role within a couple of weeks, I am 2IC to the CFO of one of Australia's largest employers. I have recently been headhunted for a CFO position in Melbourne (which I did not pursue). I have a large finance team and have already been involved in a reasonable amount of recruitment, I think that UK CVs are generally well received both in and outside finance.

So back to my original point, I am pretty stunned at your experience, maybe the CV needs a brush up or you are not getting to the right agent.

tiks10

Thank you "Bermudashorts" for your detailed and encouraging reply.I am in Brisbane and it has only been two weeks since I started looking for work and from what you have mentioned on your e-mail, I should give it more time as there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

Is there anyway I can send you my CV just for any points/areas that may need brushing up? I would really appreciate your feedback.

stephen284362

Hey Tiks

I am working on my resume/cv too, to try and bring it up to the Australian market standards.
I have found a couple of websites that may help:
http://www.hays.com.au/common/pages/career/resume.aspx
http://www.careerfaqs.com.au/resume-...esume-template
http://jobs.au.hudson.com/node.asp?kwd=auaf-cv

Hope this helps.

Stephen

P.S. Sorry if these links contravene any forum rules, not sure how strict you are with these things.

Bermudashorts

Have PMd you.

tiks10

Stephen & Bermudashorts

Thank you both for your help so far and will keep you both updated!

NikiL

The Brisbane market is still not particularly robust at the moment. Its picking up, but its nowhere near what it was a couple of years back - adverts currently run at about 60% of the peak in 2008. The likelihood is that this is what is impacting your search. 2 weeks isn't long, especially as we're coming up to Year End - a lot of companies have recruitment budgeted into next year from what I'm told.

Enjoy the break, it won't last forever!

tiks10

Hi NikiL

Thank you for your encouraging reply and it seems like you have a good working knowledge of the Brisbane employment market. Any more tips/guidance will be much appreciated.

JohnJ

Probably not directly relevant or helpful, but have been in Perth for six months now and things fell into place really easily. I got a 2 month contract after 3 weeks hunting, had the option to make that a permanent thing but declined as I had a 11 month contract in a more suitable sector and location already lined up.

Have found absolutely no issue with ACCA (am FCCA qualified since 2001) since I got here, I've also been doing CPA- see separate thread I started previously on here entitled 'Any ACCAs/ FCCAs who've registered with CPA)

Am actually sorry now that I started CPA as it turned out to be pointless- ACCA is a much more substantial qualification- but I'm awaiting one result next week and if I've passed that I've only the capstone left to finish.

So, to cut a long story short, ACCA is a credible qualification, just be prepared to sell and market it and you'll be fine.

Thanks

John

tiks10

Hi John

Thank you for your encouraging reply and after 4 weeks of job hunting it appears that the market has picked up in Brisbane and I am now getting called for interviews...so fingers crossed.

As an FCCA, how many conversion papers do you have to take to in order to gain the CPA qualifaction and how long does the whole process take?

Thanks for your post once again!

JohnJ

Good stuff, glad to hear things are picking up- I had to do six papers and have done five of them so far in a year- there's another thread on here I started on my experiences of ACCA conversion to CPA that has more info