stevegallagher

I'd be interested to see the outcome of that. For each role I included the original email I sent to the company asking for the CPA requirements as per their website, a pre-populated table detailing the answer to each of the requirements, the email response from each company and their reference. Even where I have included the email from the company in question stating that they are unable to provide certain details that I am asking for, for example where they do not have on their system if it is a full time or part time job it has still been rejected by CPA. In addition to this a copy of my CV was included. I am at the point where there is literally nothing else I am able to do.

Quick update on this I finally got a positive CPA skills assessment in November, unfortunately this did not come with a validated work history but I've decided to just take the skills assessment and not worry about the work history for now. How are you getting on Morana? Did you have a successful move?

Hi Abz, I've given up on CPA but not the move! As far as I can see providing we still have enough points then it shouldn't impact too much - if it does I can always revisit it in the future. To any other accountants reading this though - I'm not being negative about CPA the majority of the issues I encountered stemmed from having 10 jobs to get references for in the North of England, South of England, South Australia and Victoria including one company who has since gone out of business.

A number of things ranging from "not a suitable level" for a senior management accounting role up to job title or weekly hours not provided - they were provided I just had issues with companies I had worked for refusing to provide anything other than their standard references. I found the whole thing such a frustration I've decided to forget about the additional experience points! The mad thing is I could get CPA membership as I'm an ACMA so I must have adequate experience by that logic alone.

Thanks I know I'm not the only one I just wanted a whinge! Anyway third package over to CPA fingers crossed this time! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

Argh! Second email from CPA saying they still aren't happy with documents despite the fact a friend who was over from Australia and who is a CPA member certifying every single one of my documents! This is taking forever!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

I've lived in both a lot of the comments about wages and hours is company specific and not directly country related... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

A tip I read for the speaking was to try and relate the topic you're asked to talk about to something real rather than make something completely up on the fly and that way when you're asked questions they should be easier to answer. At least that's what I found! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

Just wondering if anybody had emails saying their pack was received before payment was taken? If not how long did you have to wait? Thanks!

It's not too bad although I did get nervous about it. When I booked I used the official site to learn about the test format and what to expect then its the usual time management as per all exams. Good luck!

No unfortunately not they were based in Adelaide and Melbourne. Some of the company's may be national but the one in Adelaide wasn't I don't think. In terms of recruiters it was Hays and a few of the big boys and the smaller niche/boutique companies as they like to call themselves. I can't remember the names but I'll take a look and forward them to you.

Re-read the thread but couldn't see it, where are you planning on working when you get there?

Sorry for the late reply. No I don't think there is anyway of getting round that one but that's not a bad thing look at it as an opportunity to get double the experience!

Second that, don't restrict yourself by only going down one avenue pursue as many as you can. Never used linked in before but I'm on it now so thanks do that tip!

Sure you can I'll send them through when I get on the laptop this weekend. Just to confirm they are accountancy recruiters, that is what you're looking for right? Local experience is always useful but skills are transferable it helped that I had worked with overseas offices in the past. Personally I think its hard to generalise it all depends on you as a person and your CV, never had issues securing work during the recession then I'm sure you'll be fine, struggle to get a finance job in your own country then that's not likely to change by moving overseas.

To put your mind at rest I'm a CIMA qualified accountant and had no problems securing work in Adelaide and Melbourne on a WHV especially with the alliance with CPA. We also did the 2 summers route, highly recommended!!

I posted mine 6 weeks ago and they've just taken the payment yesterday so fingers crossed it won't be much longer! I worked in Melbourne last year and salaries very much dependant on experience but most I saw were in the $80-120k bracket. If you want any recruiters details then feel free to PM me.

Hi guys, does anybody know what this show is called? I heard that big Phil was doing another down under show and I've been searching for it on the Sky planner but not seen anything yet.

Thanks! I'm going to send off the application tonight! I don't know if it's just me or the way things are now but what an effort trying to get references. I just got the last one I needed today but it was another "We are unable to confirm any other information other than start and end dates and the job title", useful! I think I will have to try and find contracts and send them as well or even perhaps a copy of my CV. Hopefully it won't come to having to do volunteer work! I think for a finance role you will be fine but my partner really struggled to find work in South Australia (she has one of those types of jobs!) and we then ended up moving state so she could secure something. Just as a thought, it might be worthwhile directly contacting any large global companies with offices in Brisbane that also have offices in the UK or Europe. Virgin/Subway/Axxa Insurance spring to mind... plus your usual KPMG, E&Y and the banks and perhaps there are a few others! There might be an opportunity to use your European experience to your advantage there. The only other thing I can think of is there is a lot of talk about Australian CVs being different to UK ones, I didn't change mine as it is quite long anyway (4-5 pages - borderline too long for the UK market I know!) although I did make geographical locations a bit clearer and amended any UK specific terms e.g. replaced VAT with sales tax. You must be getting excited now especially with this superb British summer we are all having!!

Thanks they are starting to roll in now so I'm just filling out the CPA form and getting ready to send it once the last one I need gets to me. Did you send syllabus information too? I was assuming because they have an alliance with CIMA that you wouldn't need this. I agree it is very difficult to gauge the market from here. I think if when you get there you approach it positively and keep at it then you will certainly be able to get something even if you start on a contract to get that all important Australian experience. I was a little worried about this when I first landed but there really wasn't anything to be worried about... I hope that's still the case!!

Depending on what you are looking for as to whether this would be of interest but we got a round the world style ticket which was London to Hong Kong to Thailand to Australia to New Zealand to Australia to Japan to London for £1120. We then had to pay a little more to change the flights as you can't book flights too far into the future but we thought that was pretty good value as it worked out at approximately £160/flight.

Hi Morana, I'm still waiting on a load of references back for the CPA assessment. It's taking a long time and I've actually managed to get references back from Australia before the UK ones. I suppose the issue I have is that I'm now in my tenth role in finance so I've probably got a few more to chase than most! I've decided that as soon as I have back 36 months worth then I will get the assessment off rather than wait on the rest but it's starting to feel like things have stalled a bit! How are things with you? Have you started planning the big move yet? Kind Regards, Steve

Hi Georgie, Myself and my fiancé went to Australia on a WHV and both worked in the roles that we do in the UK. I got a Senior accounting position and my partner works in Environmental Health and also managed to secure a contract. The only downside to the WHV is that you can only work for the same employer for up to 6 months at a time however this also gave us a great opportunity to travel around and to see friends. We started in Sydney, bought a van and drove up into Queensland and then back down to Adelaide where I worked for a couple of months before travelling to Melbourne where my partner had secured a role. We also managed to get some really good flights so had spells in Hong Kong, Thailand, New Zealand and Japan. I can't comment on the work required to gain a second year WHV but if there is anything I can help with feel free to ask! Kind Regards, Steve

Hi SAPConsultant, I am using CPA for assessing my accountancy qualifications http://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/cpa-site/hs.xsl/become-how-migration.html. Morana also used CPA so between us we might be able to help with any queries you may have. Kind Regards, Steve

That's a great help, thanks for that! Lots of people to contact then as I've done a lot of contracting the last couple of years!!