Strategic Management and Career Planning as a Corporate Accountant

This report outlines a strategic management plan for an individual aiming to become a corporate accountant in Australia. It includes a market analysis of the Australian accounting sector, highlighting its revenue and growth, as well as the demand for accounting professionals. The report also presents an internal and external analysis using SWOT and PESTLE frameworks, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Key market gaps are addressed, focusing on the need for improved knowledge of market downturns and global accounting standards. Strategic formulations, including Ansoff Matrix and Porter’s Five Forces, are employed to develop competitive strategies. The report concludes with an evaluation and control section using a balanced scorecard approach to manage changes and potential risks, aiming to provide a comprehensive roadmap for career development in the accounting field. The use of software and tools like ERP is having a direct impact on human resources in the accounting field and hindering the opportunities for young professionals like me to get the desired job.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The report has aimed to present me as a corporate accountant in the finance sector of
Australia to manage the accounting operations of the companies and get employment in the
desired field. The accounting sector of Australia is expected to generate revenue of $20.3
billion in the financial year of 2019-20 and more than 71% of businesses are using the
accounting services. The global accounting service industry is increasing at the 3.5% rate
yearly and providing a variety of services such as the development of financial statement,
budget development and review of audit reports. The use of software and tools like ERP is
having a direct impact on human resources in the accounting field and hindering the
opportunities for young professionals like me to get the desired job. According to analysis,
the learning attitude is a key aspect of my academic life and I would maintain it in
professional working.
Moreover, I am lacking the knowledge related to the market downturn and funding
crisis is also affecting the demand of corporate accountant by concentrating on the valuable
segments of the existing business. To get recognition of the companies those looking for a
corporate accountant, I need to understand the growth of the particular market and
demographic actions of companies for maintaining the diversity in the workforce. In addition
to this, the rivalry among accounting candidate is high and harming salary. The new
candidates are willing to offer services at the lowest amount which affect the opportunities
for the well-qualified and deserving candidate

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1
MARKET ANALYSIS..............................................................................................................1
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ANALYSIS...........................................................................2
Internal analysis.....................................................................................................................2
External analysis....................................................................................................................3
MARKET GAP..........................................................................................................................4
STRATEGIC FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC CONTROL 5
Ansoff matrix.........................................................................................................................5
Porter’s five force strategy.....................................................................................................6
EVALUATION AND CONTROL............................................................................................8
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................11

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Finance industry of Australia.....................................................................................2
Figure 2: The Growth rate of the economy of Australia............................................................4
Figure 3: Ansoff matrix..............................................................................................................5
Figure 4: Porter's five forces......................................................................................................6
Figure 6: Balance scorecard.......................................................................................................9

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: SWOT analysis............................................................................................................2
Table 2: Five force analysis.......................................................................................................7
Table 3: Smart objectives...........................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Strategic management refers to the development of vision, setting out objectives,
formulating and implementing strategic and introducing the corrective measures to gain a
competitive advantage. The report will aim to present me as a potential candidate for
accounting in the finance sector of Australia to manage the accounting operations of the
companies. Currently, I am pursuing a Bachelor degree in accounting and my goal is to
become a successful accountant. Therefore, I have chosen this country as the demand and
requirements of the corporate accounted is high and companies are looking for a good
candidate to manage their financial attributes to improve fund management. The report will
analyze my strengths and weakness and potential opportunities in the accounting field in the
selected country using the internal and external environmental analysis. Moreover, the report
will analyze the gaps and formulate the strategy to present me as a corporate accountant who
can be beneficial for the companies to manage their financial operations to achieve future
goals.
MARKET ANALYSIS
According to the analysis of the accounting job advertisements in Australia using the
website Seek.com, it can be considered that there is a high demand for accounting
professionals to perform and manage the accounting related operations of organizations. The
finance organizations are looking for fresh and experienced both candidates and offering a
good amount of salary according to qualification and industrial structure. The accounting
sector of Australia is expected to generate revenue of $20.3 billion in the financial year 2019-
20 and more than 71% of businesses are using the accounting services. There are more than
70 companies have posted the job advertisements for corporate accountant position with
information related to tasks and qualifications required to meet the financial goals of the
company (Audit and accounting market of Australia, 2019).
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Figure 1: Finance industry of Australia
(Source: Audit and accounting market of Australia, 2019)
Apart from that, the global accounting service industry is increasing at the 3.5% rate
yearly and providing a variety of services such as the development of financial statement,
budget development and review of audit reports. To maintain the economic growth and
stability in business operations the organizations are looking for the qualified corporate
accountant and offering salary which is negotiable (Bryce, Ali, and Mather, 2015). This kind
of positive growth and demand of an accountant is good for me to present myself as an
accountant in front of companies to hire me.
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ANALYSIS
Internal analysis
Table 1: SWOT analysis
Strengths Weakness
 I have good knowledge of
accounting operations considering
the information offered in my
bachelor degree.
 I am a very energetic person and
take the initiative
 I have qualities like focused,
 I am a very sensitive person
 Lack of experience and
professional standards of
accounting
 I have not completed my bachelor
degree yet
 Lack of commercial awareness
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optimistic and interactive
 The learning attitude is a key
aspect of my academic life and I
would maintain in professional
working.
which will affect my resume
 I have to work on my auditing and
budget control knowledge
Opportunities Threats
 The demand for the auditor is
increasing in the finance sector of
Australia
 The learning attitude will support to
obtain the job
 The accounting services sector has
become an integral part of companies
 The job advertisements of companies
are having a positive impact on
potential candidates
 High competition and cultural
differences could also affect the
future as a corporate accountant
within the finance industry
 Lack of employment is also creating
threats for me.
 The implementation of software and
AI tool decreasing jobs in this field
 Demand of experienced candidats
External analysis
 Political factors: The national government of Australia is providing the facilities and
fund for the students and educational institute for offering better knowledge.
Additionally, the government of Australia is providing support to encourage
employment in this filed which help to meet the economic goals.
 Economic factors: In the current scenario, the global economic conditions are stable
and finance sector of Australia is contributing in GDP but lack of job opportunities in
big organizations is creating problems for the accountant professionals (Jackling, and
Natoli, 2015). The major factor is wages as the income of the organization is low due
to the high competition level and affecting the demand for fresher to get employment.
 Social factors: The globalization has introduced many changes in the accounting
profession and standards due to diversity and use of international standards in the
corporate sector. Moreover, the finance organizations of Australia are giving
preference to professionals who know global policies and approach of accounting but
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lack of social needs and cultural factors are influencing the employment opportunities
for immigrates in Australia (Daly et al., 2015).
 Technical factors: The use of software and tools like ERP is having a direct impact
on human resources in the accounting field. These tools are error-free and supporting
into decision making with fast and effective analysis and forecasting the market using
the statics of the market. This is a major factor that influencing selection and
recruitment of corporate accountant (Tucker, and Schaltegger, 2016).
MARKET GAP
According to the analysis of internal and external factors, the young and fresher
corporate accountant like me is not having sufficient knowledge and understanding of the
finance sector and financial requirements of the organization to formulate the strategy for
betterment. To get the position of corporate accountant within the good organization I have to
be proficient in planning and management of cash flow, budget control and effective
utilization of market conditions for financial planning used by Australian organizations
(Weller, 2017).
Figure 2: The Growth rate of the economy of Australia
(Source: Audit and accounting market of Australia, 2019)
Moreover, by considering the analysis of external factors I am lacking in knowledge
related to the market downturn and funding crisis that could also hinder opportunities for me
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to get hired (Stewart, Kent, and Routledge, 2015). To overcome these issues, I have to work
on the skills and knowledge related to the global corporate accounting standards in the
finance industry and trends of accounting to improve the level of audit and global equity
values.
STRATEGIC FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF
STRATEGIC CONTROL
The strategic planning is essential for the development of a logical process that used
to arrive at a vision for the future and this vision needs to be breakdown into a series of
measurable steps can be used for achieving the desired goals of the product selling and
establishing into the market (Wang, and Shailer, 2015).
Competitive analysis
Figure 3: Porter's five forces
(Source: Porter's five force model, 2019)
Table 2: Five force analysis
Porter’s force Impact level Description
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Bargaining power of supplier Moderate The bargaining power of
suppliers like the educational
institute and professional
coaching institutes are
charging high fees for
certification and degree of
corporate accounting
(McDONALD, 2016).
Bargaining power of buyers Moderate According to current GDP
and economic conditions of
the finance industry of
Australia, the country is not
offering a job to a qualified
candidate as a learner. The
organizations are looking for
an experienced person for
offering the job and manage
the financial operations.
The threat of new entry High The course of corporate
accounting is in demand and
more than 20,000 students
are obtaining the degree of
accounting to get the job and
develop a career in this filed.
The entry in this field
become easier and having a
significant impact on the
opportunities for the
qualified candidate like me to
get the job without reference
(Bocken, Fil, and Prabhu,
2016).
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Threat of substitute High The technical advancement is
having a direct impact on the
demand of corporate
accountant in any sector. The
use of software and other
information systems is
affecting the job
opportunities for young
professionals like me to get
employment and establish as
an accountant
Rivalry among competitors High The rivalry among
accounting candidate is high
and harming salary. The new
candidates are willing to
offer services at the lowest
amount which affect the
opportunities for the well-
qualified and deserving
candidate (Bell, and
Rochford, 2016).
Ansoff matrix
Market penetration:
According to this strategy, the consideration of existing capabilities and skills related
to corporate accounting and improvement in the knowledge using the market gap analysis
will help to work on the areas of weakness and minimize the threats by crafting improvement
in own capabilities of auditing and budget controlling (Loughran, and McDonald, 2016).
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