Qualified accountant salary Australia versus Dublin

katie21

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any idea what salary people are starting on as newly qualified CA's in Audit?
I'm particularly interested in if anyone knows what salary would be expected if someone moved to australia after qualifying out of a Big 4 as opposed to staying in Dublin looking for work?

jockey#1

Hey,

I would say $75-$90k depending on what city you go to. Year ends are 30th June here so busy time is fast approaching. Been told that alot of firms will sponsor you almost immediately but don't know how true that is as i haven't worked in audit here, done my time

If you have big 4 background here, banks will love you and you will earn alot more money!

Good luck.

hussey

jockey#1 wrote: »

Hey,

I would say $75-$90k depending on what city you go to. Year ends are 30th June here so busy time is fast approaching. Been told that alot of firms will sponsor you almost immediately but don't know how true that is as i haven't worked in audit here, done my time

If you have big 4 background here, banks will love you and you will earn alot more money!

Good luck.

A lot of the big firms will sponsor you but work you to the bone! Best try get a contract job (per hour if you can)

Pisco Sour

katie21 wrote: »

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any idea what salary people are starting on as newly qualified CA's in Audit?
I'm particularly interested in if anyone knows what salary would be expected if someone moved to australia after qualifying out of a Big 4 as opposed to staying in Dublin looking for work?

I used to work in big 4 (for my sins) and a lad I used to work with is currently getting paid 50 dollars an hour in Sydney for a 3 month temp role doing financial accounting.

man1

katie21 wrote: »

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any idea what salary people are starting on as newly qualified CA's in Audit?
I'm particularly interested in if anyone knows what salary would be expected if someone moved to australia after qualifying out of a Big 4 as opposed to staying in Dublin looking for work?

Wife went for 4-5 interviews last year when we arrived and they were all offering about $120,000 pa.

hussey

04072511 wrote: »

I used to work in big 4 (for my sins) and a lad I used to work with is currently getting paid 50 dollars an hour in Sydney for a 3 month temp role doing financial accounting.

If he is fully qualified he is underpaid.

Pisco Sour

hussey wrote: »

If he is fully qualified he is underpaid.

UNDERpaid?? :eek:

Fully qualified yes.

hussey

04072511 wrote: »

UNDERpaid?? :eek:

Fully qualified yes.

Yeah, a fully qualified accountant doing contract work (obviously depends on work experience/qualifications) can earn big bucks.

Pisco Sour

hussey wrote: »

Yeah, a fully qualified accountant doing contract work (obviously depends on work experience/qualifications) can earn big bucks.

Well he was just out the door of big 4, with nothing but auditing as experience. 50 dollars an hour is very very generous in my opinion.

mandrake04

$50 ph would be good on a WHV .......but I can see Hussey's point its only $96K per year and you relinquish your paid holidays and any other benefits.

ballooba

hussey wrote: »

If he is fully qualified he is underpaid.

I was just thinking that, especially for a short term contract. I know part-qualified accountants who were earning more than that.

Pisco Sour

mandrake04 wrote: »

$50 ph would be good on a WHV .......but I can see Hussey's point its only $96K per year and you relinquish your paid holidays and any other benefits.

He is on a WHV.

I certainly wouldnt turn my nose up at 50 an hour anyway thats for sure Double what I am on, though I am not doing financial accounting, or anything as difficult as that.

katie21

Great thanks for the replys, Id be happy enough with $50 an hour! which city do people think would be the best for finding work? anyone any idea if there is much of this sort of work in Darwin?

hussey

katie21 wrote: »

Great thanks for the replys, Id be happy enough with $50 an hour! which city do people think would be the best for finding work? anyone any idea if there is much of this sort of work in Darwin?

Sydney, Melbourne are the two biggest cities, so would have all the big firms, and seems to have a decent amount of jobs, then brissie and perth.
Darwin is a pretty small city (pop 120000) you could get a job but you won't get paid as well as the bigger cities (then cost of living is smaller too)

Mellor

hussey wrote: »

Darwin is a pretty small city (pop 120000) you could get a job but you won't get paid as well as the bigger cities (then cost of living is smaller too)

I'm surprised its even that high, had a look there less tan 230k in the whole of NT

6ix

Just to hijack this thread slightly - are decent jobs for Chartered Accountants fairly easy to come by on a WHV? My girlfriend and I are planning to move to Sydney in December on a WHV. She's a qualified CA with decent experience (Big 4 doing mainly Tax, and now a financial accountant in industry).

Neither of us are necessarily looking to be sponsored (it depends how we like it) but if she could get a decent paying job to help pay for further travels and try out the lifestyle then that would be fine. Would being on a WHV inhibit her chances at all?

sarahjph

Hi, I'm in exact same position, I'm qualified CIMA, and would like answers to the questions you have just asked...so I'll be following.

hussey

6ix wrote: »

Just to hijack this thread slightly - are decent jobs for Chartered Accountants fairly easy to come by on a WHV? My girlfriend and I are planning to move to Sydney in December on a WHV. She's a qualified CA with decent experience (Big 4 doing mainly Tax, and now a financial accountant in industry).

Neither of us are necessarily looking to be sponsored (it depends how we like it) but if she could get a decent paying job to help pay for further travels and try out the lifestyle then that would be fine. Would being on a WHV inhibit her chances at all?

No not really, lots of good jobs (start as temp/contract) on a WHV to be had, there seems to be a shortage of accountants from what I hear

The Sweeper

As hussey says, contract is contract. A WHV will inhibit your ability to get a permanent job because it's not a valid visa for a permanent job. It's a perfect visa, however, for casual or contract hours.

However it you're going to do casual or contract work, make sure you understand how the employment system here works!

You need a TFN (tax file number) so you can be placed on the correct tax rate for PAYG (pay as you go, as opposed to pay as you earn) employment. However some companies want their contractors to also have an ABN (Australian business number). This means you register as a business and are then responsible for your own personal tax and superannuation and so on. These shouldn't be intimidating requirements for a chartered accountant, but you need to get yourself organised and make sure you know your rights and what's required of you.

If you're working under an ABN, you need to be careful you don't get too relaxed about your finances under the impression you're going home. You still need to track your expenditure, keep your receipts, save your invoices and so on.

Pisco Sour

The Sweeper wrote: »

As hussey says, contract is contract. A WHV will inhibit your ability to get a permanent job because it's not a valid visa for a permanent job. It's a perfect visa, however, for casual or contract hours.

However it you're going to do casual or contract work, make sure you understand how the employment system here works!

You need a TFN (tax file number) so you can be placed on the correct tax rate for PAYG (pay as you go, as opposed to pay as you earn) employment. However some companies want their contractors to also have an ABN (Australian business number). This means you register as a business and are then responsible for your own personal tax and superannuation and so on. These shouldn't be intimidating requirements for a chartered accountant, but you need to get yourself organised and make sure you know your rights and what's required of you.

If you're working under an ABN, you need to be careful you don't get too relaxed about your finances under the impression you're going home. You still need to track your expenditure, keep your receipts, save your invoices and so on.

Being employed on an ABN is more often than not dodgey. If you are being treated as an employee (i.e. work is delegated to you from somebody above, the amount you are paid is decided by somebody else, and the working hours are set by somebody else) then you should NOT be on an ABN, and the chances are the company is only doing this so they can underpay you.

I had an issue with an employer out here who had me on an ABN. It wasnt accountancy mind you, but after 5 weeks I was underpaid by just under $1200. After I left I requested that money be lodged into my account or else they would be reported and investigated, and I got the money within 2 days.

I can't imagine how it would be any different for most accountancy jobs, so be careful. Many companies use this ABN thing as a way of scamming honest workers.

hussey

usually only construction industry ask for people to get ABN
I've never heard of a accountant on a WHV going on an ABN (usually they go through an agency) not saying it doesn't happen, but just unlikely

Pisco Sour

hussey wrote: »

usually only construction industry ask for people to get ABN
I've never heard of a accountant on a WHV going on an ABN (usually they go through an agency) not saying it doesn't happen, but just unlikely

Exactly. So if somebody requires you to have an ABN then you know you are being scammed.

All Call centres have people on ABN's, illegally.

hussey

04072511 wrote: »

Exactly. So if somebody requires you to have an ABN then you know you are being scammed.

All Call centres have people on ABN's, illegally.

I wouldn't go that far, construction workers on ABN makes sense as they are working for themselves etc, while accountants/white collar workers usually go through agency, as agency will process their pay and get a cut etc.
Mellor in some previous posts has outlined in great detail about construction workers and ABN's

but call centre workers on an ABN - yeah that sounds dodgy.

anyway I suppose we should really head get back on thread

Bansai

Walker Anderson Accounting had an ad in the Irish Independent at the end of March saying that Oz was mad after accountants and they provided an email address for you to send your CV to if you were looking for a job in Sydney. They specialise in recruitment for banking/accountants etc.

Im gonna send my CV off next week.

Is it easier to get industry type accounting work or practice type accounting work? Im heading over in October and should be fully qualified when I get my results in November. I would like to get an industry type job before practice as I've spent the last 5 years in a small firm.

The_Hustler

Over a year on and there's very little chance you would get $50 an hour in Sydney, $40 is good.

Even harder in Melbourne, seems around $30-35 on average.

This is my experience anyway but I'm at a disadvantage not having trained in audit.