Try it for 5 - Personal Experience Profile
Accountant (Small Business)

After twelve years working as an Accountant for someone else, Tim decided to branch out and start his own firm. He has successfully run his own business for the past six years. Tim spends his days managing a diverse range of clients with different circumstances, which means he gets called upon to do a wide range of things.

My working day begins at 8.00 in the morning and while some Accountants can work extremely long hours I aim to complete my work in approximately eight to nine hours. I like to make all of my business phone calls early in the day, which means I could have anywhere between fifteen and thirty jobs on the go at any one time. I could be attending client meetings in and outside of the office, researching client issues and assisting staff with a variety of questions. Most of my clients use disks to pass information so there isn’t a lot of data processing or even word processing. I communicate with clients mostly by email as this saves an enormous amount of time.

Throughout the year I’ve got to keep trying to meet targets. My business has been through an enormous change over the last couple of years with the GST and we have been flat out just trying to get the work done. Most of my clients are using Quick Books or MYOB and are doing it well. As a result my time has been freed up enormously, so I can speak to clients about other non-accounting issues, for example personal wills and estate management.

You don’t actually need a qualification to call yourself an Accountant but you do need qualifications to be a tax agent. I completed a Bachelor of Business, although you can become a tax agent through a diploma. Qualifications aren’t necessary unless you want to trade under the banner of a CPA (Certified Practicing Accountant) or CA (Chartered Accountant). If that is the case, then you need to be tertiary qualified and attain a certain level of experience to get your qualification. With the CPA qual you need to do five multi-choice units, and you can do a unit a semester. If you pass those you can apply to be a CPA.

It is an exciting time for Accountants. The developments in technology mean we haven’t got the same daily time commitments as we had in the past and a lot of people have retired in the past year or two so there are plenty of opportunities. The best part of the job is the client contact and the relationships I have developed with my clients and the other team members who I work with. It’s up to the individual as to where they can take accountancy. I believe I’ll never be out of work.

Download Profile

For more career information visit the getaccess website.