Career Opportunities in Accounting Industry: Trends and Challenges

This report analyses the current Australian labour market and trends in the accounting industry. It explores career opportunities in investment banking and financial planning, recruitment agencies, and intercultural challenges faced by international students. The report provides recommendations for success in the accounting industry.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................2
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2. Research and Analysis...........................................................................................................3
2.1 Australian labour market trends for the accounting industry...........................................3
2.2 National and state employment trends.............................................................................4
2.3 Accounting industry employment trends.........................................................................6
3. Career opportunities in investment banking and financial planning industry........................7
4. Recruitment agencies in the accounting industry...................................................................8
5. Intercultural challenges..........................................................................................................8
6. Recommendations..................................................................................................................9
7. Conclusion............................................................................................................................10
8. Reference..............................................................................................................................12

2
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
Executive Summary
The study aims to research and analyse the current Australian labour market and the trends
that are present in the accounting industry. The current trends of the industry are discussed in
this report. The chosen industry for the given degree in accounting is the accounting industry.
However, there are other industries which might provide more opportunities for the career of
the candidates. These are the investment banking and financial planning industries. The
report also describes the intercultural challenges that are faced by the international students
followed by recommendations for the career opportunity of the students.

3
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
1. Introduction
The purpose of the report is to analyse the different career opportunities that are
existent in the labour market in the accounting industry. The report will evaluate all the
opportunities for careers that are present in the Australian Labour Market in different areas
such as technology, employment and others. The other industries such as investment banking
and the financial industry will be evaluated, and the occupation which will be helpful due to
the accounting degree will be identified. The report will also access the recruitment agencies
that are present in the accounting industry followed by the intercultural challenges that could
be faced by the intercultural students and how these challenges would impact the career
opportunities in the future.
2. Research and Analysis
2.1 Australian labour market trends for the accounting industry
The Australian labour market has seen many changes regarding the structure and the
dynamic of the accounting industry. The technological changes and globalisation have
impacted the Australian labour market to a great deal for almost all industries. The Australian
market has embraced the new technologies that have emerged in the market. The need for
labour in the manual skills is comparatively low as compared to the higher skills which
require a higher level of education such as the accounting industry. The demand for
accountants in the Australian Labour market is on the increase due to the need for skilled
employees who would be able to utilise the high technologies that have been adopted by the
industry. The change in the economy demands new skills which have led to the requirement
of highly educated and skilled labour in the accounting industry.

4
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
Figure 1: Actual and forecast for employment in Australian industry
(Source: Lmip.gov.au 2018)
2.2 National and state employment trends
The accounting industry has different trends both in national and state aspects in
Australia. Due to the technological advancement in Australia, there have been many changes
and a rise in demand for accountant in the country. Along with the accounting industry there
have been a high demand for labour industries as well. The graph below shows the labour
participation rates by state in Australia.
Figure 2: Labour force participation rate by State
(Source: Lmip.gov.au 2018)

5
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
Figure 3: Employment by industry
(Source: Lmip.gov.au 2018)
The data shows that the financial or accounting industry is at the eleventh position between
0.3m and 0.7m population in Australia.
Figure 4: Person employed according to industry
(Source: Lmip.gov.au 2018)

6
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
The number of people employed in the accounting and financial industry in Australia is
439,900.
2.3 Accounting industry employment trends
The accounting industry in Australia is changing very fast along with the technology
that has been adopted in the industry. The job market is expected to stay strong. However,
there might be several differences which will emerge in the job market. Due to this change
both the candidates and the companies who will be hiring the candidates have to be updated
about the current trends that are existent in the market and develop their strategies according
to the trends (Autor and Salomons 2018). The different employment trends of the accounting
industry in Australia are as follows. Firstly, the market has become very competitive due to
the rising demands for accountants in the market. The high demand in the organisations has
given rise to a higher competition among the accountants to secure their employment in a
renowned organisation. Companies can get an edge in their recruitment policies by providing
better salary and incentive structure to the recruits and attract the talent towards their
organisation (Jardim et al. 2017). Secondly, the experienced accountants are looking for
better job opportunities where they can grow and develop their skills. Due to this trend, many
organisations are facing issues regarding employee retention since their experienced
accounting employees are leaving the organisation in search for better jobs which might help
to secure their future. Thirdly, due to the advent of technology, companies are looking for
people who have a diverse set of skills so that they can make use of the new technologies and
increase their productivity. Moreover, they want people who will be able to evolve
themselves based on the changes in the market (Watson 2017). Candidates who are proficient
with technology are often hired by a different organisation than the candidates who do not
know of financial technologies. This is because technology has become an important part of
life and organisations look for people who will be able to give maximum productivity in less

7
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
amount of time with the use of these technologies (Bramucci et al. 2017). Fourthly, with the
advent of social media, the process of candidates have also changed. In current times,
candidates who approach the organisation through inline recruitment websites have more
chance of being noticed as companies these days have people designated to handle their
online recruitment sites where they have posted for their job.
3. Career opportunities in investment banking and financial planning industry
A degree in accountancy can get a huge number of career opportunities in different
industries in Australia. Other than the accountant industry, two other industries which can
provide a great career opportunity for people with a degree in the account is the investment
banking industry and the financial planning industry. In the investment banking industry, the
main job of the investment banker is to work as a medium between different companies who
wants to raise monetary fund through the issue of securities and also the individual investors
who want to give money in return for the securities (Maclean, Jagannathan and Panth 2018).
The main work of the investment banker is to advise the organisations on the securities that
they should issue like bonds and stocks and the price at which they should issue. They also
handle the process of underwriting which is placing the securities with the investors for both
public and private companies (De la Torre, Gozzi and Schumukler 2017). Other than the
financial activities, an investment banker would also handle other financial transactions
which are complex.
Another industry which can be determined with the accounts degree is the financial
planning industry which is very popular in Australia. This is also a major career path in
current times and has many opportunities which can help a candidate to grow in the financial
field (Anderson, Baker and Robinson 2017). A financial planner would provide advice to
different individuals regarding the management of their finances which deals with different

8
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
matters such as budgeting, saving for the future, controlling the expenditure, saving for
different big purchases such as cars or houses, investing and others. Financial planners can
work independently as well as with small firms. The roles of the financial planner would be
to help their clients save the money and control on the expense that they are doing so that a
plan can be laid out which will optimise the use of the fund that they have accumulated (Chu
et al. 2017). Financial advisors not only has to provide financial advice but should also
incorporate creativity in their solutions and develop new ideas so that they can improve the
current situation of their clients. Both of these occupations, investment banker and financial
planner is suitable as a career path with a degree in accounting. These jobs need creativity on
the part of the candidate so that they could develop new ideas which will be beneficial for
their clients.
4. Recruitment agencies in the accounting industry
The accounting and the finance sector provides a vast range of career opportunities
and is an important part of the economy of any country. There are several organisations and
recruitment agencies that search for candidates with an accounting background. This is
because there is an array of job roles for people with accounting degree such as financial
analyst, accountants, credit controller and others. These job roles require a huge amount of
candidates so that their knowledge regarding finance can be used by various organisations
and individuals for their financial benefit.
5. Intercultural challenges
There has been a huge outflow of international students in many universities, and this
has given rise to the challenges that come with being an international student in a foreign
country. The first challenge that they might face is the academic barrier where they might
face discrimination from their professors which affects their academic performance. Many

9
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
professors might not be able to accept international students in their classroom; however, due
to their position, they might not be able to show their distaste. Teachers might not give their
full attention to the students, and this hampers their educational aspects (Morgado, Régio and
Gaspar 2017). There are also various etiquettes that are evident in a classroom which varies
from country to country. This becomes a confusion for international students which becomes
a challenge for them in the initial time. Secondly, the international student often faces
language barriers which are the biggest challenge in an intercultural setting. Different
students have different languages which are a hindrance for the international students since
they might take some time to learn the local language of the country that they are studying in.
Many students do not even know to speak in English which can become a big issue for them
(Portera and Grant 2017). Thirdly, they could face isolation from classmates, if the
international students are not able to involve with the other students. The language barrier
could be a major issue which can stop them from communicating with the other students
which send them into isolation as they will not be able to mix with any group. There are other
challenges such as cultural and social barrier which becomes an issue for the international
students. The international students can face severe adjustment issues if they do not receive
any help from the university, their faculties or their friends.
6. Recommendations
Based on the analysis in the earlier sections there could be certain recommendations
which can help the student to find their right career path and also to overcome their
challenges that they face in being an international student. Firstly, the student should find the
right opportunity and the career path based on their degree of accounting. The student should
choose between the careers that have been provided by analysing each of the career paths.
However, depending on the market scenario the career as a financial planner could be
beneficial for the student. This is because financial planner can work independently and give

10
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
their creativity to develop solutions for their clients. Their main aim would be to manage the
financials of the clients who come to them. Secondly, candidates should train themselves to
become adaptable to the technologies that have emerged in the market. Before applying for
any job role, the candidate should develop their skills to match the latest trends so that the
organisation would find no way to reject them. Thirdly, the candidates should be able to
possess several skills and must be creative so that they are the first choice of any
organisation. In current times, organisations look for people who possess a huge array of
skills so that they can use the candidate for several works. Therefore, the candidates must be
adapted to other jobs as well other than accountancy. They need not be proficient in other
fields. However, they should have basic knowledge regarding the current trends in the
market.
7. Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that an accounting degree can provide several opportunities
in the Australian labour market. There are many trends which are followed by the Australian
market such as high competition, an adaptation of social media in the recruitment process and
better job opportunities for the experienced people in the accounting field. The changes that
have emerged in the market have led to the emergence of these trends since the financial
sector is also moving away from the traditional recruitment process and adapting to new
technological aspects. The technological aspect has forced the candidates to develop their
skills further so that they can work in sync with the technology. Moreover, there are many
benefits to the usage of technology such as being more productive in a much less time which
will be cost effective for the organisation. Other than the normal accounting sector there also
many job opportunities in other industries such as investment banking and financial planning.
Both of these career opportunities are in demand in the market and can provide ample
opportunity for growth and incur more money than other accounting jobs. However, many

11
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
challenges have to be faced by the international students in the college and universities that
they study in. The intercultural challenges provide many barriers for them which need to be
overcome for them to succeed in their field. The guidance of the teachers, friends and self-
motivation is very important to overcome these barriers and challenges.

12
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
8. Reference
Anderson, A., Baker, F. and Robinson, D.T., 2017. Precautionary savings, retirement
planning and misperceptions of financial literacy. Journal of Financial Economics, 126(2),
pp.383-398.
Autor, D. and Salomons, A., 2018. Is automation labor-displacing? Productivity growth,
employment, and the labor share. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity.
Bramucci, A., Cirillo, V., Evangelista, R. and Guarascio, D., 2017. Offshoring, industry
heterogeneity and employment. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics.
Chu, Z., Wang, Z., Xiao, J.J. and Zhang, W., 2017. Financial literacy, portfolio choice and
financial well-being. Social Indicators Research, 132(2), pp.799-820.
De la Torre, A., Gozzi, J.C. and Schumukler, S.L., 2017. Innovative Experiences in Access to
Finance: Market-Friendly Roles for the Visible Hand?. The World Bank.
Jardim, E., Long, M.C., Plotnick, R., Van Inwegen, E., Vigdor, J. and Wething, H.,
2017. Minimum wage increases, wages, and low-wage employment: Evidence from
Seattle (No. w23532). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Lmip.gov.au, 2018. Welcome to the Labour Market Information Portal.. [online]
Lmip.gov.au. Available at:
http://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/EmploymentRegion/EmploymentbyIndustry [Accessed
5 Oct. 2018].
Maclean, R., Jagannathan, S. and Panth, B., 2018. Overview. In Education and Skills for
Inclusive Growth, Green Jobs and the Greening of Economies in Asia (pp. 1-18). Springer,
Singapore.

13
INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE PRACTICE
Morgado, M., Régio, M. and Gaspar, M., 2017. Content, language and intercultural
challenges in engineering education:(E-) strategies to improve instructional design. New
Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(8), pp.153-161.
Portera, A. and Grant, C. eds., 2017. Intercultural education and competences: Challenges
and answers for the global world. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Watson, A.L., 2017. Employment trends by typical entry-level education
requirement. Monthly Lab. Rev., 140, p.1.