According to the Australian Government’s Job Outlook platform, accountants, accounting clerks, auditors and bookkeepers have a stable to strong future growth in Australia. This can be predominantly attributed to the specially developed skills and knowledge required to become a qualified accountant or bookkeeper and the shortage of qualified professionals in the industry.
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Education requirements
Many in the accounting industry have to go through years of training to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to be effective in their roles. Many of our students who are learning to become a bookkeeper with edna.edu.au have also mentioned how much they are learning about the industry and how they foresee being in the industry is going to help them go places with their future careers.
There are varying levels of education for those wanting to work in the industry. If you are aiming to become an Accounts Administrator, all you need is a Certificate III in Accounts Administration. If you aspire to become a bookkeeper, you will need a minimum of a Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping. Accountants, especially specialist accountants will need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Various universities have different names for the course. For example, RMIT calls their accounting program – Bachelor of Business (Accounting) whilst Deakin University calls their accounting program – Bachelor of Commerce.
About a decade ago, all these courses had to be undertaken face-to-face and it had a very rigid course structure. These days, majority of these courses can be undertaken as online courses or on-campus, are pretty flexible in terms of swapping an elective unit for another, and are much more affordable than they previously were.
Bookkeepers in Australia
In Australia, there are over 116,000 people working as bookkeepers and approximately 90% are women. Unlike other professions and industries, bookkeepers are less likely to be out of work.
Generally, bookkeepers are expected to be able to keep and maintain financial records, balance accounts, monitor cash flow and lines of credit, prepare and produce financial statements and budgets, prepare invoices and purchase orders, reconcile accounts against monthly bank statements, report irregularities to management, and in some organisations, they are also required to prepare business and installment activity statements.
Accountants in Australia
Accountants in Australia have the opportunity to practice as a general accountant, or as a specialist accountant such as a management accountant or a taxation accountant. The average weekly pay is $1,400 with over 199,200 people working as accountants around the country. Approximately 48% of accountants are females and those who work as an accountant have a lower unemployment rate and are less likely to be out of work than people who work in other jobs.
Accountants in Australia are expected to be able to assist in formulating budgetary and accounting policies, prepare financial statements for presentation to boards of directors and management, conduct financial investigations, prepare various financial reports, undertake audits, advise on matters such as fraud and purchase of assets and financing, examine operating cost, forecast on a business’ income and expenditure, provide financial and taxation advice on business structures and plans, prepare tax returns, appraise cash flow and financial risk of capital investment projects, and liaise with financial institutions and brokers to establish funds management arrangements.
