Holmes Institute HI5020: Corporate Accountant Qualifications Report

This report examines the qualifications, skills, and experiences that employers seek in corporate accountants. It analyzes 30 job advertisements from online portals like Indeed and Seek, focusing on positions such as tax accountants, corporate financial accountants, senior financial accountants, and senior accountants. The report assesses the academic and professional qualifications, including degrees in commerce or business, and certifications like CA or CPA. It also details the personal attributes employers value, such as ethics, constant learning, initiative, organizational skills, creativity, communication, accountability, flexibility, trustworthiness, and teamwork. The report also outlines the technical skills and experiences employers prioritize, including knowledge of accounting software, taxation, and financial standards, providing a comprehensive overview of the corporate accounting job market and the requirements for success in the field. The report fulfills the requirements of the HI5020 Corporate Accounting assignment for Holmes Institute.

Running Head: QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

2QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
Executive Summary
The purpose of preparing this report is to develop an idea of qualifications skills and
experiences of a corporate accountant which are seek by employers. For evaluating the same
a total number of 30 job advertisements which are posted in online job portals like Indeed and
Seek are considered. These jobs are related to the positions of tax accountants, corporate
financial accountants, senior financial accountants and senior accountants posted in the online
portal in the recent dates. The Australian employers mentioned about certain skills,
qualifications and experiences as criteria for the mentioned job positions which are critically
evaluated in the report.

3QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................4
Discussion....................................................................................................................................4
Response to requirement 1..........................................................................................................4
Response to requirement 2..........................................................................................................4
Response to requirement 3..........................................................................................................5
Response to requirement 4..........................................................................................................6
Response to requirement 5..........................................................................................................7
Response to requirement 6..........................................................................................................8
Response to requirement 7..........................................................................................................8
Response to requirement 8..........................................................................................................9
Response to requirement 9..........................................................................................................9
Conclusion....................................................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................10

4QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
Introduction
The purpose of preparing this report is to have a proper understanding of the
qualifications and experience along with the skills and knowledge that employers seek in
corporate accountants. Initially, there were no facilities of online searching of jobs like today.
The people who were in search of jobs used to visit different offices physically and would apply
for jobs best suited for their knowledge, qualification and experience. Nowadays, various
online job portals both public and private have made the lives of jobseekers easy and simple
(Kureková, Beblavý and Thum, 2013). This also helps the employers to get in touch with the
employees in a more convenient way. There are many online job portals like seek and Indeed
(Banerjee, 2016). The employers post the available job openings and the jobseekers can apply
for the best suited jobs. A variety of job advertisements are found in the online job portals
related to various streams, experience, skills and expertise for the jobseekers. Many
accounting jobs related to various positions like tax accountants, corporate financial
accountants, senior financial accountants and senior accountants are provided by these online
job portals which are posted by the employers of various companies. The jobseekers who are
interested to apply for the above mentioned jobs should have a minimum bachelor degree of
commerce or finance. Sometimes other degrees like CA or CPA are asked by the employers.
Along with these, the candidates are expected to have relevant experience and knowledge
about few accounting and taxation software.
Discussion
Response to requirement 1
A total number of 30 job advertisements have been collected for having a proper
evaluation and understanding of the qualifications and experience which the employers are
seeking in corporate accountants. All these 30 job advertisements are collected from the online
job portals. The online job portals consists jobs related to tax accountants, corporate financial
accountants, senior financial accountants and senior accountants. Indeed and Seek are the
online job portals which have been used for the collection of these job advertisements. A total
number of thirty (30) job advertisements have been collected among which fifteen (15) job
advertisements are taken from Indeed and the other fifteen (15) (Au.indeed.com, 2019) have
been collected from Seek online job portal (SEEK.,2019). The jobs for the above mentioned
positions like tax accountants, corporate financial accountants, senior financial accountants
and senior accountants required by different employers are posted in these two online job
portals.
Response to requirement 2
A list of organizations which have posted job advertisements in the online job portals
along with their industry breakdown is given below-
1. Broad Construction Services Pty Ltd- Building Industry
2. TMF Group- Accounting & Advisory Firm

5QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
3. Pitcher Partners- Accounting & Advisory Firm
4. Pernod Ricard- Wholesale industry
5. Sedgman Limited- Consulting Services
6. BNP Paribas- Banking Industry
7. Anton Murray Consulting- Recruitment Industry
8. Powerstaff Consulting- Mining Industry
9. Lawson Elliot- Recruitment Industry
10. Woolworths Group- Retail Industry
11. Future You- Recruitment Industry
12. U&u Recruitment Partners- Recruitment Industry
13. HAYS- Recruitment Industry
14. Hudson- Recruitment Industry
15. Micheal Page Accounting & Finance- Health Care Industry
16. Moore Stephens- Accounting & Advisory Firm
17. On Talent Pty. Ltd.- Recruitment Industry
18. Opteon- Real Estate Industry
19. Guide Dogs Queensland- Non-profit organization
20. Optimum Consulting Group- Recruitment Industry
21. Chisholm Institute- Education Industry
22. Abacus Human Capital- Recruitment Industry
23. Bottrell Business Consultant- Accounting and Financial Services
24. Ford Peterson- Recruitment Industry
25. White Sky Music- Music Industry
26. Robert Half Finance & Accounting- Accounting and Financial Services
27. NewsCorp Australia- Media industry
28. Vocus- Service Industry
29. RSM- Chartered Accountant Firm
30. NSW Treasury- Accounting and Financial Services
Response to requirement 3
A large number of job advertisements have been posted in the online job portals like
Indeed and Seek by a many companies. The list of the companies with the specific job titles is
shown below-
Title of Job Name of the Companies
Tax Accountant  Broad Construction
 TMF Group
 Pitcher Partners
 Pernod Ricard
 Sedgman Limited
 BNP Paribas
 Anton Murray Consulting
(Au.indeed.com 2019)
Corporate Financial Accountant  Powerstaff Consulting
 Lawson Elliot
 Woolworths Group

6QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
 Future You
 U&u Recruitment Partners
 HAYS
 Hudson
(Au.indeed.com 2019)
Senior Financial Accountant  Micheal Page Accounting & Finance
 Moore Stephens
 On Talent Pty. Ltd.
 Opteon
 Guide Dogs Queensland
 Optimum Consulting Group
 Chisholm Institute
 Abacus Human Capital
(SEEK 2019)
Senior Accountant  Bottrell Business Consultant
 Ford Peterson
 White Sky Music
 Robert Half Finance & Accounting
 NewsCorp Australia
 Vocus
 RSM
 NSW Treasury
(SEEK 2019)
Response to requirement 4
Here the personal attributes that a corporate accountant should possess is discussed
which have been mentioned in the job advertisements posted in the online job portals. The
candidates who are seeking for corporate accountant jobs should possess a sound
organizational skill. This is the most important criteria which is seek by every employers. In
order to excel the accuracy level of the accounting jobs to be performed by the candidates, the
organizational skill is considered to be the most important attribute (Tan and Laswad, 2018).
The candidates who have applied for the position of the tax accountant should have an
extensive knowledge of provision of taxation and tax amendments. A thorough technical
understanding of the system of taxation along with the accounting principles and its effective
implementation are required to be possessed by the jobseekers (Hall et al., 2015.).
Alternatively, the applicants of financial accounting should be able to support the senior
management of accounts and the other financial controller with their proper knowledge of
finance and accounts.Below, the important personal attributes that a corporate accountant
should possess is discussed-
i. A sense of Ethics
ii. Constant Learning
iii. Initiative
iv. Organisational Skill
v. Creativity
vi. Communication skill

7QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
vii. Sense of accountability
viii. Flexibility
ix. Trustworthiness and Reliability
x. Ability to work in a team
Response to requirement 5
The detailed and clear understanding of the personal attributes which are required to be
possessed by a corporate accountant given in the job advertisements in the online job portals
specified by the employers are given below-
 A sense of Ethics- A corporate accountant should have a strong sense of ethics and
integrity. His/her integrity should always reflect in the work and should have a sense of
awareness of the rights and wrongs. The duties that a professional corporate
accountant performs should be abide by certain rules and regulations. The accountant
should always keep in mind the concerns about the other involved parties of the
organisation (Dellaportas, et al., 2014). It is also important for the accountant to
safeguard the confidentiality of the organization and it should not get disclosed to any
third party.
 Constant Learning- The accounting principles and accounting standards of taxes and
laws are subject to change. An accountant must have the eagerness of constant
learning. This will help him/her to stay updated about the accounting modifications and
in this way the jobs that re to be performed by him/her will be done with perfection. The
accountant must have a strong knowledge of the basic accounting principles (Pan and
Seow, 2016).
 Initiative- The attribute of initiative is also an important attribute that should be
possessed by an accountant. This attribute will help the accountant to learn on his own
about new things ((Tan, 2016).
 Organizational Skill- The most important personal attribute that a corporate accountant
must possess is the organizational skill. A lot of paper works related to data and
numbers are performed by an accountant for which organizational skill is of utmost
importance. This will help him/her to perform the task with perfection and dedication and
also with efficiency with the given information in a given period of time (Ahadiat and
Martin, 2015).
 Creativity- The accountant must be a creative person because creativity is considered
as another important personal attribute that an accountant should have. The person
should have the ability to solve complex matters innovatively and should be able to
input fresh ideas for crunching numbers (Hordacre, Spoehr and Barnett, 2017). An
accountant with better problem solving ideas will be considered as an asset for the
organization.
 Communication Skill- A good and presentable communication skill will help a corporate
accountant to interact with the personnel of other departments of the organisation
(Siriwardane and Durden, 2014). Effective communication skill is also one of the
attributes that should be possessed by an accountant.
 Sense of accountability- Above all, an accountant is a human being and it is normal for
him/her to commit any mistake. But the accountant should have a sense of
accountability to own up to those mistakes and should make sure that those mistakes
are not be repeated in the near future (Newberry, 2015).

8QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
 Flexibility- Flexibility is considered as another important personal attribute of an
accountant. There is constant change in the accounting procedures due to evolution of
technologies. Therefore, the accountant must be flexible enough so that he/she can
cope up with the changing situation (Huber, et al., 2015.). Flexibility is also important if
the person wishes to change his/her present organization then if he/she is not flexible
enough, it will be difficult to get accustomed with another set of accounting rules and
procedures since different organizations use different types of accounting models.
 Trustworthiness and reliability- Trustworthiness is considered to be the most valued
personal attribute of a corporate accountant. The job of an accountant is to deal with the
financial health of an organization and it is a very confidential matter to deal with
(O'Connell, et al. 2015).
 Ability to work in a team- It is important for a corporate accountant to work in a team.
The person should be comfortable to work in a team since the job of accounting
requires team work. The accountant needs to coordinate and interact with other
departments of the organisation along with the clients and stakeholders (Paguio and
Jackling, 2016).
Response to requirement 6
The academic and professional qualifications that a corporate account should possess
is discussed below as per the job advertisements in the online job portals-
The jobseekers are required to have a minimum qualification degree in commerce or in
business along with an optional additional degree of Chartered Accountant (CA) or Certified
Public Accountant (CPA) (Cernusca and Balaciu, 2015). For the role of tax accountant it is
important for the candidates to have a working experience in CA firm or a large corporate firm
with an extensive knowledge of laws related to income tax and should also have experience in
indirect taxes. High advantage will be provided to the candidates working at resource sector
and in international taxation. Along with all these, strong knowledge of commonly used
accounting software like MYOB and XERO is mandatorily required. On the other hand, for the
position of financial accountant detailed understanding and knowledge of accounting standards
is needed. Also, the candidate should have experience in formulation and documentation of
accounting policies. The person should possess the 3-5 years of experience of working in a
CA firm or has already worked in an ASX200 company as a senior accountant. An excellent
written and oral communication skill should be possessed by the accountant to interact with all
the levels of the organisation. The person should be comfortable to work autonomously and
also in team. The person is required to have a proficient knowledge of MS Office should have
experience in using the accounting software named SAP (Au.indeed.com 2019).
Response to requirement 7
The topics learned in MPA unit HI5020 is related to key roles, tasks and responsibilities
mentioned in the collected job advertisements. The MPA unit focuses on theoretical
accounting framework and techniques. The areas like capital formation, profit distribution,
capital reconstruction and preparation of consolidated group accounts and the liquidation
under stock exchange regulations and accounting standards are considered in the MPA unit
HI5020 of Corporate Accounting (Holmes.edu.au.,2019). The subjects like cash flow
statement, share capital reserves, income tax accounting, accounting for assets and liabilities
are studied under the MPA unit. The job role of the tax accountant and the financial accountant

9QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
mentioned in the job advertisements are related to the topics and subjects learned under this
unit (Howieson, et al., 2014.). The topics covered under this unit will help the accountants to
work effectively in the practical work field.
Response to requirement 8
The topics learned in MPA unit HI5020 include the accounting responsibilities and tasks
like capital formation, profit distribution, capital reconstruction and preparation of consolidated
group accounts and the liquidation under stock exchange regulations and accounting
standards that an accountant has to perform in practical work field. However, these knowledge
are related to the job advertisements in a technical way and lack the personal attributes that an
accountant should possess (Holmes.edu.au.,2019). There are also other related topics that are
missing in the MPA unit like proper and detailed understanding and knowledge of financial
technologies for the betterment of financial health of an organization.
Response to requirement 9
The topics like consolidated financial statement, capital restructuring, accounting for
liabilities, comprehensive income statement, profit distribution are some of the topics that are
discussed in MPA unit HI5020. The corporate accountants with the help of these knowledge
will be able to perform the accounting assisting the senior levels along with the auditors
(Holmes.edu.au.,2019). Similarly, these topics help the tax accountants to perform tax related
activities and other financial and operational activities. Besides these technical knowledge, the
accountants are required to possess personal attributes for participation in the preparation of
company accounts and taxation reporting in a professional and responsible manner (Guthrie,
Evans and Burritt, 2014).
Conclusion
From the above discussion of this report it can be concluded that a proper and detailed
understanding of the qualifications and experiences that the employers are looking out in a
corporate accountant is explained. A total number of 30 job advertisements which are collected
from online job portals are discussed in this paper explaining about the qualifications, skills and
experience of tax accountants, corporate financial accountants, senior financial accountants
and senior accountants. The paper also discusses about the personal attributes required for
applying for the jobs posted in the online job portals that should be possessed by a corporate
accountant. The report also deals with the topics learned under the MPA unit HI 5020
corporate accounting which would help the accountants to perform their work in the practical
work field successfully along with its critical analysis. The topics that are not covered by this
MPA unit is also provided in this report. It is also mentioned in the report other than the
personal attributes, technical knowledge about the subject and the subject related software
along with the skills, educational qualification and certification and relevant years of experience
that is required for positions posted in the job advertisements by the employers. Thus, it can be
said that to apply for the jobs posted by the employers in the online job portals like Indeed and
Seek, the candidates should have a thorough and proper understanding and knowledge about
the mentioned job responsibilities.

10QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
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11QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTANTS
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