Accountant Starting the Process

[Gavilon18]

Hi all,

 

So right at the beginning of the journey and adventure, timescales for emigrating are mid 2016 – on the face of it loads of time :wink:. Possible destinations are Perth (due to knowing a few people in the area) or Brisbane-ish, dunno why but a gut feeling tells me that in the next couple of years Queensland will be a better bet for employment. I completely get that the market is tough out there, but I’ve navigated a dead South Wales market successfully and up for the challenge – plus things can change around in 18 months.

 

Kinda just wanted to say hi really, will be a fairly passive member for a while but I’m sure that once the process begins in earnest you’ll see more of me. I do however have a few questions that hopefully people can chime in with their opinions.

 

Should start by saying I’m an accountant, ACA qualified in 2006 with a full employment history since then – 1 year post qualification with PwC (auditor), 2 years with a local manufacturing firm in South Wales, 4 years with GE and now at Barclays (1 year and counting) (all as a financial controller). I would be looking at a 189 or 190 visa.

 

Sooo, skills assessment looks fairly straightforward and I can get to 8 years post qualification experience as of the end of September this year but question 1 – would auditing be a closely related experience for a general accountant? Question 2 also on employment history, I have listed my employers deliberately – a potential issue could be in getting the confirmation of employment from PwC, GE and Barclays. Their policy on references is that they will confirm dates and job title, but very little else – I’m sure others have worked for companies with similar policies so interested in how they found HR when requesting these - would a job description suffice?

 

Question 3: Due to the skills assessment I need to sit IELETs, do these have an expiry date like the medicals and PCC or could I sit these now? I guess the same question applies to the skills assessment (I'd be going via ICAA/ICAAN)?

 

Finally for now…. Looking at the points on offer I can get between 60 and 80 (depending on whether I include my current and PwC employment and IELETS score) and as of now I can see Accountancy on the skills list for Queensland. If I was to go for a sponsored visa in QLD do the points matter or is it a case of anyone meeting the minimum requirements are considered equally? In an ideal world I wouldn’t be asking for a reference from my current employers for the visas I would rather they didn’t know that I may be leaving (on a base level bonuses will be funding the move and first few months post landing so need to maintain an illusion of staying).

 

Actually I lied – one more! I have seen adverts for ‘Down Under Live’ in Birmingham in October, did anyone go to these events during their journey and are they worthwhile visiting?

 

Off to enjoy a cold Fosters now and fire up the BBQ, getting into the spirit early :cool:

 

Thanks for reading, look forward to pestering you all more down the line

 

Gav

[wrussell]

Take professional advice to ascertain whether you qualify and if you do, apply before the rug is pulled out from under you.

[VERYSTORMY]

I would contact wrussel in the above post (his contact details are in his signature at the bottom of his post. I would act sooner rather than later as accounting may not be available in the future for migration.

[Ozmaniac]

You only need 60 points for an invitation. Because the occupation of Accountant is now being pro-rated, it may take a bit longer to get an invite with 60 points rather than some higher number but one will come. HOWEVER, there's no guarantee that the occupation will remain on the SOL (it isn't on the Queensland list) - the fact that it's now prorated is not a good sign for its future prospects of staying on the SOL. You would be most unwise to put things off just because you don't want to move until 2016 - you should apply as soon as you can meet the requirements. You'll need to enter Australia within 12 months of your earliest medical or PCC date to activate your visa but you then have up to 5 years from the date of grant to make the final move - activation only requires you to stay for long enough to go through the immigration gates.

 

Work experience as an Auditor is not acceptable as work experience for an Accountant. In order to be considered 'closely related', experience must be in an occupation within the same ANZSCO Unit Group i.e. the first 4 digits of the code must be the same but Accountant is 221111 and External Auditor is 221213. The experience as a Financial Controller is also iffy - that code is 132211 but a good RMA will be able to advise on that point.

 

IELTS is valid for 3 years.

 

Oh, and very few Australians would dream of drinking Fosters! Don't believe everything you see in an advert.

[Pumpkin]

Work experience as an Auditor is not acceptable as work experience for an Accountant. In order to be considered 'closely related', experience must be in an occupation within the same ANZSCO Unit Group i.e. the first 4 digits of the code must be the same but Accountant is 221111 and External Auditor is 221213. The experience as a Financial Controller is also iffy - that code is 132211 but a good RMA will be able to advise on that point.

 

IELTS is valid for 3 years.

 

.

 

It is perfectly normal for accountants to conduct audits and work in financial control. I cannot see that there would be any problem with this whatsoever and indeed both activities are referred to in this description.

 

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Product+Lookup/1220.0~First+Edition,+Revision+1~Chapter~UNIT+GROUP+2211+Accountants

 

Still there is no need to max out on points claimed and I would not lodge with 80 anyway.

[Ozmaniac]

It is perfectly normal for accountants to conduct audits and work in financial control. I cannot see that there would be any problem with this whatsoever and indeed both activities are referred to in this description.

 

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Product+Lookup/1220.0~First+Edition,+Revision+1~Chapter~UNIT+GROUP+2211+Accountants

 

Still there is no need to max out on points claimed and I would not lodge with 80 anyway.

 

I'm aware that accountants can conduct audits when not employed as auditors but if the OP was working as an Auditor for PwC which is a major multinational accounting firm , I'm pretty sure his occupation would have come under External Auditor which isn't in the same Unit Group as Accountants. For the other jobs, if he was employed as a Financial Controller, it's again quite possible that his experience wouldn't be claimable if he nominates Accountant as his occupation. I was simply trying to point out that it's possible that he may have problems claiming work experience points. He really should consult a good RMA for guidance on the work experience question.

[wrussell]

I'm aware that accountants can conduct audits when not employed as auditors but if the OP was working as an Auditor for PwC which is a major multinational accounting firm , I'm pretty sure his occupation would have come under External Auditor which isn't in the same Unit Group as Accountants. For the other jobs, if he was employed as a Financial Controller, it's again quite possible that his experience wouldn't be claimable if he nominates Accountant as his occupation. I was simply trying to point out that it's possible that he may have problems claiming work experience points. He really should consult a good RMA for guidance on the work experience question.

 

Probably stuffed for work experience if nomination accountant and internal auditor, but in my experience external auditor is ok, notwithstanding what some assessing authorities assert. There is almost always an elegant solution to this issue.

[Pumpkin]

I'm aware that accountants can conduct audits when not employed as auditors but if the OP was working as an Auditor for PwC which is a major multinational accounting firm , I'm pretty sure his occupation would have come under External Auditor which isn't in the same Unit Group as Accountants. For the other jobs, if he was employed as a Financial Controller, it's again quite possible that his experience wouldn't be claimable if he nominates Accountant as his occupation. I was simply trying to point out that it's possible that he may have problems claiming work experience points. He really should consult a good RMA for guidance on the work experience question.

 

And I am pointing out that audit and financial control are perfectly normal things for an accountant to do. Auditors are accountants. Financial controllers are accountants. Both activities are included in the description. It is absurd to suggest that a qualified accountant working for one of the worlds largest accounting firms, conducting one of their core services will have trouble claiming work experience points as an accountant. The only reason I wouldn't bother going back that far is that 80 points is not necessary.

Edited August 23, 2014 by Pumpkin

[Gavilon18]

Thanks everyone for the replies, I'm a little stuck for applying before next year with some personal things going on so will have to keep my fingers crossed that we get another 12 months on the SOL, happy to spend a few hundred on IELETS and skills assessment but can't start the formal application process just yet.

 

Interesting comments on the experience validity, have seen the description of finance manager vs. accountant and agree that my job title suggests the former - indeed if the type of job you could go for was dependent on this then I would be going for the finance manager (albeit not on the SOL currently), however my job descriptions that I will be using as the basis of my skills assessment are bang on for accountant (excluding the auditing which it seems like I don't need to bother with regardless of how close or not it is). I've taken on board the RMA point for this, having first thought that the skills verification would be the simple bit!

 

Oh and Ozmaniac, next you'll be telling me that I've been wasting my team researching Australia through watching Home and Away or Neighbours - they must surely be representative of the Aussie way of life??!!

 

Thanks again for everyone replying, I'll be back once the application starts next year.

[wrussell]

From what has been posted it looks as if the OP intends to proceed with a strategy that is less than optimal.