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gmilo posted:Accounting is probably one of your best bets for getting a job. Everyone needs an accountant and there is usually always turnover. You can't even compare the lovely law school job prospects to accounting. As much as I wish I could confirm this, I can't really say I've had such luck. All local and national positions I've applied for tended to require 2-3 years experience (Not preferred, required. They won't accept anyone roughly under the age of 25) for entry-level positions. And when I say entry level, I mean junior accountants/assistant accountants or positions in Acc R/P, payroll, so forth. And no, a Bachelor in business with an accountancy major doesn't count. I asked. Then again, it's New Zealand. I'm thinking I should just go to Australia or something, but the number of figurative corporations spreading their legs open for me is far far less than I was told in my early years. It could also have something to do with my papers. I've got 600-level (Second year) Management accounting and Accounting informations systems (i.e. 'Let's all pretend we're not goldbricking as the lecturer drones on about MYOB) under my belt but no 700-level equivalants. International accounting (Consolidation between parent and subsidiaries), Auditing and Conceptual issues (Thank you kindly, Sarbanes-Oxley act!) were all taken because I had hoped to grab a few language papers as electives and grab a BA on my way out. None of these seem very practical, looking back. I thought I could use NZ's status as a trading nation to piggyback a Chinese or American company and leave this smoldering cesspit with international-themed academica. But no such luck if I'm going for a domestic market. Really, what I'm trying to say is that the whole thing about a saturating market is that by the time you've actually got your creds, it could be over or so bursting with white-collar hopefuls that your only option is to scream at yourself and catch the nearest flight. PLAN. CAREFULLY.
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Feb 8, 2012 08:40
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I don't suppose anyone has a spare plane ticket, then? Or, more appropriately, any particular overseas recruitment agencies that could pull in excess trained staff from across the waves? Seriously, given the differences in gap, there must be a couple, right? WarpedNaba fucked around with this message at 04:17 on Feb 9, 2012 |
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Feb 9, 2012 04:13
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 Urgh, I just had an interesting experience. So around about early august or late july I happened to send about 120 applications in the space of a week. And, for once, one of the interviews that followed got me into a Payroll administration/Tax advocacy job for a very big company. I won't name the company, but it was a recruitment agency for a ton of raw labour - Road builders, unskilled construction, that sort of thing. About 4,000 labourers nationwide. Quite a task for a guy with only a 6-month internship under his belt, but I reasoned that while it asked for 5 years experience with Payroll and another 3 with a particular type of software, they were offering an annual salary that only a graduate would accept. So I figured there must've been some issue with HR or something due to the conflicting messages (We want a qualified and exceptional expert! We'll pay peanuts!) and that I'd get taken on and given some training. Fair's fair, and this is my first actual job after 8 months of fruitless searching. Who was I to turn my nose at it? I wasn't into that place for half an hour before I realised something stank. It wasn't so much the conditions as the people issue - My training consisted of half a day of working with the previous holder of the position before she shot off, never to be seen again. This was a very large system, quite complex, and mistakes were made. I pretty much had to keep pestering for instructions because the old payroll system was so cantankerous that any wrong step could require another three hours of backing up. That pretty much set the tone until December. The bi-monthly tax deductions weren't so bad, but the insane number of branches, coupled with communication issues and the crotchety system meant that around a week had to be devoted to getting them submitted on time, which didn't please the SMT. I still wasn't being trained, but the supervisors didn't seem to be pleased that I had to keep asking questions to do the new parts of my position when they cropped up. This isn't to say I'm not also at fault, I've got an issue with attention to detail. But I doubt it was just me - There was a goddamned exodus from that company, extremely poor morale. I didn't work in the right department to know what it was, but poor communication and branch staff not knowing the payroll system was some of the parts I picked up. Eventually, I was asked to resign come Christmas, which I pretty much saw coming. The main reason was 'You don't have enough experience to operate effectively in your position. We're a recruitment business, payroll is essentially all we are, and your position is critical (It actually was, looking back). Too critical to have a graduate in it.' They apparently saw my CV and explained that based on that, I had a year of payroll experience (Whatever happened to those five years you wanted?). I pointed out that I had a year of accounting experience, and that payroll had been a small part in my internship. So that was that, it had all been a misunderstanding. So I learned three things the last few months: Some payroll stuff - I must admit, it's fleshed out my CV some. Only the dishonest graduates are ever going to be employed. If I'd just said I had double my actual experience beforehand, I'd have gotten into work, gained actual experience and continued to be employed. What a way to uphold the integrity of my profession! And of course, should I be challenged on it, I'd just say it was a mistake on behalf of the employers. No gross misconduct on my record. Beautiful. And finally, last week, I saw the exact same position being advertised for. In the same place. Five years experience, barebones salary. I am beginning to have extreme doubts as to whether this profession is right for me.
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Jan 24, 2013 03:40
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Harry posted:Eh, attention to detail is a little overrated. It depends what you really mean when you say you lack it. Honestly, you probably weren't ready for the job and the company will chew up and spit out another payroll person in a couple of months. Essentially means that I did a lot of manual entries due to things like the branches forgetting the tax code, or having to sort out dividends for a co-owner in an acquired subsidiary. So that's a lot of numbers, and a lot of very quick typing. So every now and again (Perhaps one out of twenty?) I'll find that a 7 was supposed to be a 1 or so forth. Small fonts, poor handwriting and an incredible amount of values, even double-checking won't show them up from time to time, and the pace of the business meant that double-checking was the best I could do. As for the chewing, apparently I was the fourth payroll guy that year. At least I lasted longer than the other guys.
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Jan 24, 2013 04:31
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From what I figure, a generalised grounding tends to suit better for placement in an ATO than hitting up AR/AP/Credit Control etc. Especially if you angle for an Accounts Assistant role, since from what I've heard that can easily transfer to a junior executive role in the right company.
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Jan 24, 2013 22:49
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I have my suspicions, Chup, that this is actually a recession thing rather than an accountancy thing. Poor workplace management and - as has been stated so many times before - worthless communication tend to kill businesses better than any economy. And let me guess, they aren't willing to take suggestions because what do you know, am I right?
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Feb 4, 2013 21:57
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I wore mine because the SMT was too cheap to cough up for some air conditioning.
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Feb 5, 2013 05:19
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Get out of there, dude. Bad job market or no, it ain't worth risking your health over.
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Feb 5, 2013 22:16
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Depends on your grades and connections.
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Feb 12, 2013 20:44
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Because if you don't know how to use a comma, you're probably better off with a degree in Communications.
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Feb 17, 2013 01:34
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Lemmi Caution posted:So they didn't learn their lesson, or they consider a little embezzlement from time to time worth it to only have to pay one accountant. Sounds like you'll need to inform them as to why 'Seperation of Duties' is more than a cool name for a band.
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May 23, 2013 08:31
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Goddamnit One issue with Forensic accountancy is that you'll get calls at stupid times by the local Police Force to give testimony on Fraud cases at the stupidest dates. Had to release five statements to the courts today. Bloody headache is what it is.
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May 29, 2013 02:20
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Hoops posted:You're in forensics? I'm starting in September. I'm in the UK so they hire straight out of university with any degree and train you for three years (I'm about to finish my masters in applied maths, I haven't taken a single accounting class ever). How long does it take to work up to the level of litigation support? Depends on the field, the country and the cases. Anywhere from four months to two years, from what I've heard.
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May 29, 2013 03:15
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Hoops posted:Fair enough. I see myself moving more towards investigations but going to courthouse to testify in criminal proceedings is about as sexy as you're gonna get from accounting. Not as sexy as working for the National Office of the ICA and doing some clandestine poo poo on behalf of them and the National Tax Authority. That's right, baby. You too can bend the failings of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and its mainfests on Corporate governance policy to your whim. Provided you're approved, though, otherwise it doesn't matter how many execs you finger for criminal negligence/mismanagement. On the other hand, Espionage Accountancy is a drat cool career title.
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May 29, 2013 03:29
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