Career question

[Midnight_Prowl]

Just bit about myself.

I worked as financial accountant in financial service sector all my life.

However it was small organisation. Whenever I went for a job interview no one will hire me since I didn't hv ASX or large corp experience.
So this left me with 2 choice.
1. Keep continue to work as FA and get promoted to finance manager (6 figure salary)
2. Get less pay but work for big 4 banks.

I chose option 2, because I thrive in challenges.

However problem I am facing now, my contract will be finished in 6 months. And current company I am working don't hv too much job available in sydney as their HO is in Melbourne :fire:

Only option is I hv is in go to wealth, but due to my salary they will not hire me.

I hv vast amount of experience in statutory accounting, end of month reporting, excellent reconciliation skills, and profit & loss analysis with commentary. Oh also budgeting and forecasting experience.

I just cannot seem to land a perm job now.

I thought by hving large corp experience would help me to get a decent job, but nothing available.

Any real advice?

Wot make it worse is, in my previous job my CFO became CEO and that meant I would hv filled in his shoe as FM. But I would still prefer to work for large corporation.

This is serious question and don't hv too many friend to talk to so I came here to ask for a help, I know some of u hv very high education with gd job.

Feel free to PM me.

Thank u

[tpol]

Just find another contract and wait for an opportunity.

However, finding a job now is not how good you are but who you know so you have to network a bit more and find out who's hiring.

[loaded]

You should also connect to a couple recruiters that service those organizations. Banks do have hiring freezes from time to time and there's a focus on reducing costs...

[paulgallen]

I think its a case of job shortages right now. No one is changing jobs so the opportunity is low. You sound like you have very strong technical skill sets that is needed by every company. You might have missed just purely because the other candidates have more experience and more relevant industry experience. Its an employers market right now they can pick and choose the best fit candidate so they can hit the ground running day 1 with little handover or training. I've done your type of job before and I've gone into FA role with little or no handover. FA is a menial and thankless job. It is a role that is unseen and unheard by people outside finance. Only when shit happens you are allowed to talk

[sing400]

Without knowing your background etc, I would suggest that you get into the compliance field (tax/audit).
Lets face it, staying in accounting for your life is never going to make you wealthy and be able to live multi millions dollars house.

Having some technical expertise i.e. tax/audit, you may be able to get some 'cream' off the cake. Having only graduated a few years ago, i've gathered my insights and I will always say this to my fellow graduates; start off low and work hard, work your ass off in public accounting (accounting firms/professional practices/big4 accg firms) and when you've got the bargaining chips, you then go to private and work your way up towards the CFO position, and anything along the path would get you pretty decent salary.

CA with a few years at Big4 will see the big corps waving their hands at you offering 100~120k+ being 'big4 first/second mover'.
Or if public practice is your thing (less chilled than commercial), be good at it and move towards becoming a partner will see you 200k+.
Better yet, start your own practice and you may be able to see better earnings.

As others have pointed out, financial accounting is looked at when shit hits the fans.
Professional service is where you find wealth, I'm turning 25 and already past 6 figures with incentives and bonuses.

[Midnight_Prowl]

Without knowing your background etc, I would suggest that you get into the compliance field (tax/audit).
Lets face it, staying in accounting for your life is never going to make you wealthy and be able to live multi millions dollars house.

Having some technical expertise i.e. tax/audit, you may be able to get some 'cream' off the cake. Having only graduated a few years ago, i've gathered my insights and I will always say this to my fellow graduates; start off low and work hard, work your ass off in public accounting (accounting firms/professional practices/big4 accg firms) and when you've got the bargaining chips, you then go to private and work your way up towards the CFO position, and anything along the path would get you pretty decent salary.

CA with a few years at Big4 will see the big corps waving their hands at you offering 100~120k+ being 'big4 first/second mover'.
Or if public practice is your thing (less chilled than commercial), be good at it and move towards becoming a partner will see you 200k+.
Better yet, start your own practice and you may be able to see better earnings.

As others have pointed out, financial accounting is looked at when shit hits the fans.
Professional service is where you find wealth, I'm turning 25 and already past 6 figures with incentives and bonuses.

Wish I hv met u 10 yrs ago.

Took CPA instead of CA.

Thx for advice guys...I got 6 more month to contract left. See how i go.

Sing400 would I be too old start CA?

[sing400]

Wish I hv met u 10 yrs ago.

Took CPA instead of CA.

Thx for advice guys...I got 6 more month to contract left. See how i go.

Sing400 would I be too old start CA?


Nah don't start the CA if you have your CPA already. Depends on which paths you want to take, if you have 10 years in the industry then you are probably going to see a big dip in salary if you were to go to the compliance field, you might just get some premiums over a graduate salary given no compliance experience.
If your happy staying in the SMEs and ultimately managing the company as a whole then i'd say keep on pursuing this path.

But if you were thinking of relocating overseas, particularly to asian countries, big corp experience is what counts.
Yes you will see a dip in salary without the experience, but if you are confident that you can climb the corporate ladder and don't have much commitment on at the moment, then go for it.

Im too in this dilemma, I am wanting to go back to where I was born within the next 10 years, but staying in the small public practice servicing SMEs isn't going to help me land a decent job overseas.
But then the bonus structure I have at the moment is basically uncapped, money is all on the table, you just haver to work hard to get it. I had an offer from the pwc which was rather decent for under 25 with less than 3 yrs experience, still it didn't compare to what I'm receiving a month now, but i know some time down the track, sooner or later i will have to take the hit.

[sing400]

Also if you want to pursuit the management accounting/managemnt path, then perhaps get work to pay for your masters, an MBA would compliment your experience well, and will be looked at favourably.

[birch]

Having worked with a number of senior finance people in my career (engineering / utility management / gov't) I find the MBA path adds the most value if you're seeking career diversification or a transition to a different industry. The networking, HR and Operational skills gained are hugely beneficial and as the coursework is very dynamic you are most likely to benefit (from a career move perspective) while you're in the latter years of studying or soon after you finish... - which seems like ideal timing for you - especially if your current employer can kick the tin for the first subjects or something... Stick to the major schools though - their branding / also attracts better lecturers (as well has higher prices, I'm afraid), imho...

[AHLUNGOR]

Having worked with a number of senior finance people in my career (engineering / utility management / gov't) I find the MPA path adds the most value if you're seeking career diversification or a transition to a different industry. The networking, HR and Operational skills gained are hugely beneficial and as the coursework is very dynamic you are most likely to benefit (from a career move perspective) while you in the latter years of studying or soon after you finish... - which seems like ideal timing for you - especially if your current employer can kick the tin for the first subjects or something... Stick to the major schools though - their branding / also attracts better lecturers (as well has higher prices, I'm afraid), imho...

You mean the "MBA" ?

[birch]

Yep! Indeed I do. Thanks for picking up the typo AH.

[sing400]

Having worked with a number of senior finance people in my career (engineering / utility management / gov't) I find the MBA path adds the most value if you're seeking career diversification or a transition to a different industry. The networking, HR and Operational skills gained are hugely beneficial and as the coursework is very dynamic you are most likely to benefit (from a career move perspective) while you're in the latter years of studying or soon after you finish... - which seems like ideal timing for you - especially if your current employer can kick the tin for the first subjects or something... Stick to the major schools though - their branding / also attracts better lecturers (as well has higher prices, I'm afraid), imho...

Yes cost can be very high, its around $60-70k at the major schools.
But do get work to pay for it, or just get a new job thats willing to invest into the development of its people.

[Midnight_Prowl]

Thx heaps guys, being a,contractor don't think they will pay for my course. Better save for $60K :startle:

[tpol]

You could become a duck.

$200 an hour tax free.

[AHLUNGOR]

You could become a duck.


$200 an hour tax free.

On a more serious note, if I am what I am but Not married ! I'll keep my day job and form a partnership with one of my mamasan friend and invest in a good RnT shop !!

Alice, Ada, Nicole and the two Vicky's can all be good business partners !!

[imaragingbull]

Nana??

What would a 50:50 JV cost for a city shop?

Best of luck to the OP, do what you enjoy and are passionate about and success will follow

[AHLUNGOR]

Nana??

What would a 50:50 JV cost for a city shop?

Best of luck to the OP, do what you enjoy and are passionate about and success will follow



Yeap, Nana sounds like a very good operator too but I only just barely know her! same can be said to Ivy (of the Diva franchise), but then again, they are already very successful shop owners in their own right, why would they share their pot of gold with little me ?? :cool2:

[sing400]

Actually whilst we are here, i would like to get some of the more experienced brothers thoughts in working overseas.
I am foreseeing a change in circumstances possibly in the next 5 years or so that i might need to relocate back to Hong Kong where i was born.

In terms of career path or even starting my own practice, i am full of confidence in Australia. Knowing what I have and don't have, what the market wants, what i need to get to where i wanna be.
So its safe to say that i know what I'm doing here in Australia.

Although i had my primary study in Hong Kong, and speak, write and read fluent Chinese (Cantonese). I have trouble understanding the market in HK.
Yes i know accountants worth a lot less in HK than in Aust as the market is flooded, and 'professional services' in accounting aren't a big thing in Hk than in AU.

Lets just say my goal is to worth $100k HKD/month by the time I go back. What do i need to do?

The path I'm currently considering is, move to the Big4 as this opens a lot more doors, although I will need to take a substantial hair cut of my current pay.
Stay for 2~3 years, move to commercial big corps. I know the big corps like MQ bank waves their hands to big4 1st/2nd movers.
Then move up the rank and work along the path to be a CFO ultimately. Then i guess if i follow this path, the roles/skills/exp i pick up along the way may earn me a pretty penny if i head back HK.

Im just throwing this out there to see if I'm on the right track?!