andreavarga

I wonder if anyone could give me some advice? I am studying for my CIMA and I would like to emigrate to OZ when I finish my studies. As I have been a teacher for years I don’t think I can get a job in accounting here in the EU to have the required experience. (I will try though but haven’t managed so far) My practical experience includes bookkeeping for hubby on Sage for 2 years, filing VAT, tax return, working out prices/costs, etc.

My question is: Would an Australian employer find it a put off that I have limited experience in the field (even if I pass all the CIMA exams). And what about my age? I will be 35-36 by then.

Thanks a lot.

helloshivahere

there is a long way to pass through. When you will finish CIMA?when you are going to apply ? Will OZ allows immigration when u will become 34-35?
Whats is your age now?
Lots of questions poping in mind plz be specific you will get lot of info

RCoight

Being under 45 your age shouldn't be an issue for a visa, and in my experience I don't think it would necessarily make a difference for an employer.

Don't you need work experience to get CIMA in the first place? You will also need work experience for the visa (assuming here you are going for a skilled migration one).

I'm not sure what your age now has got to do with it.

SunshineGirl

I've had no issues with age and I'm over 45. But then I've had 25 years of experience which obviously helps.

The point about work experience for both CIMA membership and the visa is a good one though. Also once you do get CIMA you can apply for your CPA by mutual recognition (assuming they still have it in a few years' time) - all Australian employers will recognise that.

helloshivahere

I am also doing CIMA. In Oz whether UK,USA,India all qualifications more or less treated as same. We need to get local exp and ref and we can upgraded to CPA,ICAA and NIA then we can be in the track. By the way CIMA has an agreement with CPA and ICAA may be u can claim some benifit not fully u can refer CPA and ICAA website. But as far as VISA is concerned you need exp in nominated occupation 36 months out of 48 and 12 months before you apply check this all and all the best for cima too

andreavarga

I am 32 now and I find that here in the UK I cannot get even an entry level job because I have a different background (mainly teaching, assessing). I fear it could be the same in Australia. I don't see why though, I have all the necessary skills (organised, have worked in offices all my life, accounted for hubby, can use sage/quickbooks...)

I am allowed to pass all the CIMA exams without experience and CA would approve of it in OZ without CIMA membership. The problem is really getting that crucial work exp.

RCoight

I am very surprised to hear that in the UK you cannot get an entry-level job. Have you been applying for jobs direct or through agencies? Much as many people on this website don't like recruitment agents I find they can be useful for things like making sure your CV is presented right.

I appreciate the job market in the UK is not the greatest right now.

Bermudashorts

You can pass all the exams, but that won't make you CIMA qualified in the UK. You have to demonstrate the practical experience too. If passing the exams is enough for CA in Australia then I think it is very generous of them, in fact it sounds a bit odd?

Have you thought about emmigrating to Australia on the strength of your teaching credentials?

NikiL

I suspect there may be an element of confusion between passing the CIMA exams and becoming a CIMA member - passing the exams gives you the status of a passed finalist, not a full member. Its only when you have fulfilled the 3 years relevant experience that you can become a member, and my understanding is that this is when you can take the CPA reciprocal agreement membership out, not after the exams only.

andreavarga

http://www.nia.com.au/category.asp?c...923&page=#Ans4

The above link, question4, shows that NIA accepts people who have passed all the exams but are not members of the relevant professional body.

Besides, I don't really mind now whether I become a member or not. By passing the exams I will prove to myself that I can and that's what counts. They cannot take the knowledge away from me. Oh and passing the exams will allow me to do a second masters (I already hold one in applied linguistics) and that will definitely be recognised all over the world.

Just one more point, it is not a legal requirement in Australia to be a member of any professional body because it is a meritocracy and not a "confirm-ocracy". If anyone here finds that a strange oncept, I suggest they have been living in England too long.

NikiL

You originally stated CA not NIA which may be where an element of the confusion has arisen as they are different bodies with different requirements. There is no need to be quite so prickly by the way - I was merely trying to clarify the difference between passed finalist and full membership and as bermudashorts mentioned it is quite unusual for one professional body to accept the examinations only from another.

I don't recall anyone talking about a legal requirement for membership or lack thereof being a strange concept so that seems a rather bizarre thing to raise.

Bermudashorts

I don't understand your defensiveness, in fact I am now not even sure now I understand what you were asking in first place! Nobody said passing the exams will do nothing for your self esteem or discussed the merits of doing a masters. You seemed to be asking about CA and about applying for a visa as an accountant without work experience. That is all people have been trying to comment on. Chill

Tasel78

I have to agree on this matter. These days, anything beyond the age of 26 is OLD for an entry-level job in accounting. It was apparently different 15 years ago... when even university grades restrictions were more lenient. My ex-colleague who is about 15 years older than me did an ACA (ICAEW) through what later became PWC (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) after gaining a 2.2 at uni... now, he wouldn't even get a chance. You'd need a 2.1 to get into the very same organisation.

With each decade competition gets fiercer... many of the older generation, incl. my parents, do not understand that. The notion that children are almost guaranteed to live a better/wealthier life than the parents no longer apply.

andreavarga

Thank you. This is how I see it too. I think not being English also works against me, on top of being 33.

CharleneG

Just to give you a flavour of the current market over here in Australia...
I arrived 2 weeks ago in Melbourne as a CIMA qualified accountant with 12 years post qualification experience. My last job was as a Financial Controller for a large UK retailer.

All the recruitment consultants I have seen so far have told be the same story. Employers are only looking at the CV's of people who tick all of their requirements and in some cases this is quite long.

The consultants can sell UK experience, the CIMA to CPA recognition is going to make their life easier but you still have to beat everyone else in the job market to get the right job.