Importance of Corporate Accountants in Modern Business

This assignment explores the significance of corporate accountants in today's business environment. It highlights the key responsibilities of corporate accountants, including preparing financial statements, analyzing business performance, and providing stakeholders with accurate and reliable information. The assignment also emphasizes the importance of ethics and loyalty in the profession, as well as the need for continuous learning and professional development to stay up-to-date with changing laws and regulations.

CORPORATE
ACCOUNTING

ABSTRACT
This report provides a detailed analysis of various job advertisements which have been
posted on various job portals. Specifically, the report provides an attachment of such
requirements that have been extracted from various search engines such as Jora, Indeed,
Glassdoor, Gumtree, Adzuna, LinkedIn and Seek. Based on these advertisements, a comparative
study has been taken into account by analysing the requirements provided in such advertisements
and the learning outcomes of MPA Unit HI5020 Corporate Accounting. Through this, it is
ascertained that the learners have been able to inculcate various communication and analytical
skills as well as developed attributes relating to Attention to detail and Accountability. Apart
from this, there is still a need to include the learning outcomes relating to Accounting Software
as well as Financial Risk Management.

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
1. Job Advertisements Collection and their relevant sources......................................................1
2. Name of organisations posting such advertisements and their industry breakdown...............2
3. Job Titles mentioned in advertisements collected...................................................................2
4. Required Personal Attributes mentioned in Job Advertisements Collected ...........................3
5. List of Requisite Personal Attributes within the Job Advertisements Collected in a detailed
manner..........................................................................................................................................3
6. Academic and Professional qualifications of a corporate accountant that have been listed....6
in the advertisements collected...................................................................................................6
7. Relating key roles, tasks, responsibilities identified from collected job advertisements with
MPA unit HI5020 Corporate Accounting....................................................................................7
8. Identification of additional topics, attributes or learning outcomes enlisted in job
advertisements yet absent from MPA Unit HI5020 Corporate Accounting ...............................7
9. Critical Evaluation of the skills, experience and attributes required to become a corporate
accountant and how MPA Unit HI5020 Corporate Accounting has helped in achieving them. .8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
APPENDICES...............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Corporate Accounting can be defined as that branch of accounting which is concerned
with the application of related principles and techniques within a business environment for the
purpose of furnishing financial statements in a comprehensive manner (Bhasin, 2015). Every
country follows their own set of protocols so as to inculcate the practice of corporate accounting
based on their respective business environment. The scope of Corporate Accountant, in general,
is quite broad. From employment perspective, demand for this profession has grown in recent
times and is expected to grow in forthcoming years.
This report aims to provide a clear understanding on what qualifications and experiences
employers seek from Corporate Accountants. For this purpose, an assortment of job
advertisements posted by employers have been included throughout the report along with the
identification of key skills and interests required for the purpose of such position.
MAIN BODY
1. Job Advertisements Collection and their relevant sources
In the context of given case scenario, the total number of advertisements related to
corporate accounting field that have been collected with a purpose to further analyse them rounds
up to 9. All of these have been extracted from national as well as Internation Job Portals such as
Jora, Indeed, LinkedIn and Seek among others. These relevant sources have been enumerated as
under:
Adv. No. (as per Appendices Section) Source Number of Sources extracted
1 Jora 2
2 Indeed 1
3 Glassdoor 1
4 Gumtree 1
5 Seek 1
6 Adzuna 1
7 LinkedIn 1
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2. Name of organisations posting such advertisements and their industry breakdown
The job advertisements extracted and attached to the appendices section of this report
belong to respective sources that have been enlisted as under:
Adv. No. Name of Organisations Industry Type
1 Crumpler, Melbourne (VIC) Luggage Stores
2 L'Oreal, Melbourne (VIC) Cosmetics
3 Skinner Hamilton-Gold Coast SME Business Advisory
Services
4 UBER, Strathfield (NSW) Transportation
5 Reo Group, Sydney Consultancy and
Recruitment
6 Intuitive Recruitment, Sydney CBD Employment
7 Port of Newcastle, Newcastle Logistics
8 Mitalent, Sydney (NSW) Employment
9 Hays Recruitment, Sydney CBD Employment
3. Job Titles mentioned in advertisements collected
As per the advertisements collected and attached in the Appendices of the section,
namely Advertisements 1 to 9, the following job titles have been mentioned:
 Corporate Accountant;
 Junior Management Accountant;
 Senior Tax Accountant;
 Tax Accountant;
 Senior Corporate Financial Accountant;
 Corporate Financial and Management Accountant;
 Financial Accountant;
 Senior Financial Accountant;
 Senior Tax Accountant.
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4. Required Personal Attributes mentioned in Job Advertisements Collected
Essentially, personal attributes can be defined as those characteristics present in an
individual which attract an employer to perceive such persons as prospective candidates for their
respective organisations (Cooper, 2017). In the context of the nine job advertisements collected,
the following personal attributes have been specified among all of them:
 Technical Competencies in the relevant field;
 Communication Skills;
 Degree of Enthusiasm towards work;
 Ability to work in harmony with colleagues;
 Work Ethic;
 Flexibility;
 Problem Solving Skills; and
 Honesty and Loyalty.
5. List of Requisite Personal Attributes within the Job Advertisements Collected in a detailed
manner
As mentioned in part 4 of this report, there are a variety of skills and features that an
employer seeks in their potential candidate. These are commonly known as Personal Attributes.
From the perspective of a Corporate Accountant, an employer would look for the following
features:
 Technical Competencies in the relevant field:
A technical competency refers to the relevant knowledge or skills one holds which are
important to successfully perform a particular job role or responsibility. This is one of the most
crucial personal attributes which an employer seeks in a candidate (Crowther, 2018). It is highly
prioritised among employers, mainly due to the fact that such competencies provide the potential
candidates to be identified easily and gives them the ability to understand the nuances of daily
activities as well as adversities arising in that specific industry, field or discipline. It is important
to note that such attributes may differ from industry to industry based on the respective
requirements of such fields. Some of the most common examples of Technical Competencies
include job-specific skills such as Coding and Programming in IT industry and Soft Skills in
Hospitality business among others.
 Communication Skills:
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Another important component of personal attributes that have been emphasized repeatedly
among the job advertisements collected relate to Communication Skills. These can be defined as
the ability possessed by an individual which enable them to transmit information from their end
to others in an effective manner (Larcker and Tayan, 2015). Hence, from an employer's
perspective who is looking for a candidate befitting the role of a corporate accountant,
communication skills are important. This is mainly due to the fact that a Corporate Accountant is
required to transcend information regarding different business activities in regards to the data
collected, recorded and analysed. If such a person is unable to clearly lay out the meaning of
accounting data, the management would not be able to undertake important business decisions
which are crucial from planning and operational point of views.
 Degree of Enthusiasm towards Work:
As the name suggests, this personal attribute talks about the need of enthusiasm towards the job-
role undertaken by a person, usually a prospective candidate. The term 'enthusiasm' can be
defined as the ability to take keen interest in all the activities undertaken by one. It is crucial
from both employers and employees point of view because such a readiness to work would
ensure that the candidate is satisfied with their respective responsibilities delegated to them by
their prospective superiors (Morris, 2018). Not only this but employee morale is also dependent
on this attributes, thus, making it an important feature to assess while evaluating an individual
for a Corporate Accountant Job Role.
 Ability to work in harmony with colleagues:
Every person likes to work in an environment where there are synergies present. This applies to
the workplace environment too. Every employer or worker would want to be heard. As a result,
this personal attribute becomes of paramount importance. Maintaining harmony with colleagues
ensures that immense amount of synchronisation is available among different people who are
responsible for carrying out various functions within a business enterprise (Ramanna, 2015).
Thus, enabling the business as a whole to be able to coordinate within different circumstances
arising in the business environment of a company. Especially from a Corporate Accountant, this
is a crucial ability to evaluate for the employers as such a role requires the individual to be in a
constant touch with all the departments as well as across all organisational levels.
 Work Ethic:
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Punctuality and code of conduct is one of the most important aspect for any organisation. This
personal attribute becomes all the more important from the Corporate Accountant role as they are
required to keep track of all the financial transactions that occur continuously within an
organisation. These transactions ensure that the business remains profitable and encourages
continuous growth within the business environment it operated in. As a result, it becomes crucial
for them to be highly ethical.
 Flexibility:
Another attribute that has been heavily emphasized within the job advertisements collected for
the successful completion of this report relates to Flexibility. Generally, flexibility pertains to the
lack of rigidity (Schaltegger and Burritt, 2017). From an employment perspective, flexibility in
work relates to the degree of an individual to be able to adapt and change based on external
environmental factors. An employer looking for a prospective candidate suitable in the position
of a Corporate Accountant prioritises this personal attribute because such individuals are
required to work with a wide assortment of employees working in different functional areas. This
may require the individual to also work at odd hours in night as and when the need arises. Thus,
flexibility to work in different time frames as well as in situations makes such individuals more
likely to be accepted for a corporate accountant role within the companies such as L'Oreal, Uber
and Skinner Hamilton among others whose job advertisements have been selected.
 Problem-Solving Skills:
Another important source of personal attribute which is widely taken into consideration while
evaluating the potential of a job applicant is that of problem-solving skills. This includes active
listening, analysis, research, decision-making and providing solutions to critical problems or
situations arising within a business. For a Corporate Accountant role, one of the main
responsibilities undertaken by them is to gain insights from given accounting data that can help
in predicting the future direction of the business (Shapiro, 2015). As a result, problem-solving
skills are one of the crucial attributes which are required to be possessed by such individuals.
This not only helps the accountant to be able to perform their job role effectively but also enables
others, especially top-management, to take informed business decision-making practices in an
effective manner.
 Honesty and Loyalty:
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Being a corporate accountant calls for having immense honesty and loyalty on the part of such
individuals as they are solely responsible for keep track of cash flows within the organisation. As
a result, this attribute is one of the important components taken into consideration within the
business.
6. Academic and Professional qualifications of a corporate accountant that have been listed
in the advertisements collected
Apart from Personal Attributes, academic and professional qualifications of a corporate
accountant play an important role. Academic and professional qualification is important for a
corporate accountant as they help to support in economic growth and making complex financial
decision. Every organization needed to hire corporate accountant whose having high skills and
experience of work that helps to make business decision. It helps to reach at global level by
making decision (Wang and Zhang, 2017). The main aim of corporate accountant is to give
right suggestion after analysing accounts and transaction of business organization. Companies
runs their business effectively with the help of corporate accountant who collect financial
information, analysis them and assist to make business decision. It also helps to make estimated
budget with the help of financial data and make decision accordingly. It gives a deeper and
specialised knowledge about accounting and make business profits. On the other side academic
qualification needed to get certificate, shows theoretical knowledge, gives Bachelor's degree and
master degrees that helps to attracts business concern and give a good opportunity to person for
the purpose of performing business activities. In the context of given case scenario, the following
academic and professional qualifications have been identified in the advertisements collected:
 CA/CPA qualifications with a relevant work experience;
 Strong experience in Budgeting and other related Financial Reporting activities;
 Experience in Financial Systems;
 Strong hold on the basic accountancy and finance-related concepts;
 Proven excellence in maintaining strong customer or client relationships with a
possession of strong interpersonal skills;
 Familiarity with spreadsheet mechanisms;
 Statutory accounts preparation experience;
 Proficiency with various business software such as MYOB, Xero and Microsoft Office;
 In-depth knowledge regarding taxation and corporate laws.
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Through these academic and professional qualifications, the employer looking for a
candidate befitting the role of corporate accountant would be able to make sure that the
individual's talents and knowledge are implemented within the business context in a
comprehensive manner. This would not only help the company management to ensure that the
person appointed for such a role is capable enough to perform it in its entirety but also provide
the job-seeker to be able to use their knowledge at a suitable platform in an effective and
efficient manner.
7. Relating key roles, tasks, responsibilities identified from collected job advertisements with
MPA unit HI5020 Corporate Accounting
The key roles, responsibilities and tasks identified from collected job advertisements are
some of the important topics that have been discussed within the topics discussed in MPA unit
HI5020 Corporate Accounting. For instance, in Advertisement 1 attached in Appendices Section
of this report, the firm named 'Crumpler' advertises a detailed set of responsibilities which are
expected to be performed by the Corporate Accountant. These include preparation of ledger
accounts, review of payrolls and filing of tax returns among others. Whereas the unit entails the
development of detailed understanding regarding the concepts such as Company Law, Australian
Accounting Standards and Financial Reporting processes related for a range of companies
including Joint Venture among others. Through their understanding, the role of corporate
accountant is enhanced as they help in building the foundation of the enlisted job role.
Thus, the two are related in the sense that while the job role provides an application of the
skills and knowledge of the corporate accountant in a competitive and dynamic business
environment. The MPA Unit HI5020 Corporate Accounting formulates such academic
knowledge through the study of principles, laws and cases related to the same. This helps in the
successful execution of key job roles, tasks and responsibilities which are to be performed by the
corporate accountant in the company itself (Warren and Jones, 2018).
8. Identification of additional topics, attributes or learning outcomes enlisted in job
advertisements yet absent from MPA Unit HI5020 Corporate Accounting
Based on the job advertisements collected, the following additional topics have been
identified as missing from the MPA Unit:
 Application of Accounting Software: The unit does not provide any information
regarding accounting software that may relate to the digitisation of managerial functions.
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Such accounting software may include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), POS, SPSS,
SAP and others which facilitate the analysis of management reports by providing Cost
Centre Analysis (Watson, 2015). The job advertisement number 6 provides a detailed job
description regarding the same whereas the unit is only concerned with a few topics such
as Accounting for Assets, Liabilities, Reserves & Surplus, Income Tax, Group Structures
and Intra-group transactions among others.
 Financial Risk Management: Another job advertisement numbered 2 entails the job role
of a corporate accountant to monitor costs and identify risks across various divisions of
the company so as to provide meaningful recommendations to the management. This
conceptual framework related to Financial Risk Management has not been covered in the
relevant MPA Unit of Corporate Accounting.
As a result, the learner of such a unit would tend to take more time in carrying out such
operations as they would not be well-versed with the systems. Thus, taking more times in
producing results using such software. In addition to this, without proper training, their
respective opinions formulated on the basis of such software would not be reliable as they would
be partially akin to the utilization of such accounting software.
9. Critical Evaluation of the skills, experience and attributes required to become a corporate
accountant and how MPA Unit HI5020 Corporate Accounting has helped in achieving
them
A corporate accountant is said to be one who is In order to become a corporate
accountant, it is important for one to possess following skills, experience and attributes:
 Skills:
 Analytical Skills:
A corporate accountant must possess strong analytical skills which enables them to identify risks
and forecast contingencies by assessing a given set of substantial financial data. Without this
skill, a corporate accountant cannot perform their assigned roles or duties in an effective and
efficient manner.
 Verbal Communication Skills:
Not only a corporate accountant must be able to successfully analyse a given set of financial data
but also communicate the same to relevant management authorities of the enterprise. Therefore,
strong verbal communication skills is a must for a corporate accountant as they enable them to
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successfully explain the problems or risks identified and results generated through the analysis of
financial data. This is important due to the fact that the management takes such information into
account while carrying out any decision-making practice regarding various business functions
that are critical for the company in order for it to achieve its overall organisational objectives.
 Experience:
This is another important requirement which is needed to be possessed by a corporate
accountant. Without relevant experience, such an individual would not be able to make decisions
in a confident manner. Hence, higher the experience of an accountant, lesser is the possibility for
them to make unreliable or wrong decisions.
 Attributes:
 Accountability:
One of the main attributes of a corporate accountant is their tendency to own up or take
responsibility for both right as well as wrong decisions recommended by them to the
management authorities (Yakovleva, 2017). This attributes indicates that the corporate account
prioritises integrity and accountability to the maximum level. Thus, making them trustworthy in
the eyes of their employer.
 Attention to detail:
Another important attributes of a corporate accountant is their ability to pay maximum attention
to detail. As they are expected to identify risks, prepare financial accounts and recommend
regarding various important functional issues, such a quality helps them to identify any
unforeseen risk, thus, enabling them to minimise overall risk of the business in a successful
manner.
Through the undertaking of MPA Unit HI5020 Corporate Accounting, the learners of the
course have been enable to inculcate such habits within their curriculum in an effective manner.
All the assessments and teachings that have been imparted by the course has helped in achieving
such attributes, skills and experience which enables them to be a better corporate accountants in
relation to a dynamic business environment as well as its current requirements.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it has been concluded that corporate accountant play
important role and they are specialized in the accounting. They ensure that, when they record
transaction then it will be according to the law, rules and as per the standards. Corporate
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accountant have various skills which make them capable to complete their task and produce true
and fare financial statement which help the stakeholders to analyse business records and then
take further decision as per the analysis. Accountant should be loyal and have ethics which
required at the time of preparing companies accounts. They help the organization to analyse their
performance and further strategies will build according to it.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Bhasin, M. L., 2015. Creative Accounting Practices in the Indian Corporate Sector: An Empirical
Study. International Journal of Management Sciences and Business Research. 4(10).
Cooper, S., 2017. Corporate social performance: A stakeholder approach. Routledge.
Crowther, D., 2018. A Social Critique of Corporate Reporting: A Semiotic Analysis of Corporate
Financial and Environmental Reporting: A Semiotic Analysis of Corporate Financial
and Environmental Reporting. Routledge.
Larcker, D. and Tayan, B., 2015. Corporate governance matters: A closer look at organizational
choices and their consequences. Pearson education.
Morris, R., 2018. Early Warning Indicators of Corporate Failure: A critical review of previous
research and further empirical evidence. Routledge.
Ramanna, K., 2015. Political standards: Corporate interest, ideology, and leadership in the
shaping of accounting rules for the market economy. University of Chicago Press.
Schaltegger, S. and Burritt, R., 2017. Contemporary environmental accounting: issues, concepts
and practice. Routledge.
Shapiro, D. M., 2015. Assessing Corporate Governance in M&As. Journal of Corporate
Accounting & Finance. 26(2). pp.35-39.
Wang, H. and Zhang, J., 2017. Fair value accounting and corporate debt structure. Advances in
accounting, 37, pp.46-57.
Warren, C. and Jones, J., 2018. Corporate financial accounting. Cengage Learning.
Watson, L., 2015. Corporate social responsibility research in accounting. Journal of Accounting
Literature, 34, pp.1-16.
Yakovleva, N., 2017. Corporate social responsibility in the mining industries. Routledge.
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APPENDICES
Advertisement 1:
Advertisement 2:
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Advertisement 3:
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Advertisement 4:
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Advertisement 5:
15

Advertisement 6:
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Advertisement 7:
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Advertisement 8:
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Advertisement 9:
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