Has anyone moved from commercial accounting to Audit?

L[Deactivated] on 16/06/2021 - 10:11
Last edited 16/06/2021 - 11:02 by 1 other user

Hello all!

I have worked for over 5 years as a government auditor overseas and upon migrating to Australia landed as a bookkeeper/accounts admin in a family-owned real estate.

My role covers the general office books and part of the trust accounting (manually entering rents, disbursing funds for property sales, etc) + my boss' personal stuff. In essence, I'm a small-time management/financial accountant. I'm currently at $63k + super and the lady who does most of the rental trust accounting gets $80k + super. She's not a CPA but she gets that much as she's had 21 years of experience in real estate having moved from reception to property management before ending up in accounts. She basically knows a lot of real estate matters, not just accounts.

However, I am not keen in stepping up to become a property trust accountant. Dealing with tenants and landlords (which make her swear a lot, lol) is not my cup of tea. I am an introvert and couldn't stand the everyday confrontation she does on the phone and in person. I have overheard staff say that my role could be done by a high school graduate and that I'm underpaid.

Just last year I've earned my CPA and this Sept will be my 4th year with the company. I've felt that I need to make the most of my 'title' as this makes me all the more overqualified for my role. The office is getting too small for me and I need to spread my wings and change my career path.

Not sure if this is a good idea but has anyone made the move from commercial accounting to Audit? Perhaps going back to Audit would give me a more respectable environment. I'm thinking of applying for intermediate roles in boutique firms but was taken aback by some Seek ads saying $60-70k including super. Are auditors really paid cheap these days?

Can you suggest how I could market myself to recruiters? Done government audit for 5 years, then 4 years commercial accounting and then wanting to return to audit.
Does a boutique practice have better work-life balance than the Big 4? Are the working hours always beyond 5:30 PM? 'coz I have a toddler and an anxious wife. Is a driver's licence a must for an Auditor? I can't drive due to severe near sightedness.

I would appreciate to hear from those who have made a detour in their accounting career.

Thank you!

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  Big Lenny on 16/06/2021 - 10:41

  auditors are glorified box tickers

  they get paid even worse than commercial accountants

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  Mokr on 16/06/2021 - 10:50

  if you want to make more you gotta offer more client add on services, interact with clients more, present

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  Unorthodox on 16/06/2021 - 11:44

  I think it's important to understand where your skills and strengths lie and what you will be providing as value.

  Nothing in what you've described really gives an indication of your level besides the you've had time working in accounting and government audit, for another country.

  If you don't mind audit, look at applying for the respective State Audit Office as that may be close to your experience and outcome. It's government so you'll be paid decently well and you'll not have to deal with public accounting salaries.

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    anthman on 16/06/2021 - 14:43

    I think this is really good advice - seek out govt departments/agencies for open audit roles. Will generally be within the one office location and with stakeholders you can build relationships with overtime, perhaps expand to other parts/roles. Alternatively, join the audit teams of one of the big banks, pay will be relatively great and lots of opportunity to move around. Big 4 will be demanding in terms of hours and id expect COVID to have changed the travel expectation but I'll leave that to resident ozbargain auditors to opine on.

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    [Deactivated] on 04/09/2021 - 13:38

    NSW audit ofc rejected my app coz I don't have any local experience. The entry-level role would have been $1k less than what I earn.
    When I checked out a junior/intermediate role of a local practice in a nearby suburb, they require 1-5 years experience and yet pay $15k less than what I currently earn. Goodness!
    It's disheartening that CPA as a profession has been devalued these days, tsk.

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  Crow K on 16/06/2021 - 12:51

  "Is a driver's licence a must for an Auditor? I can't drive due to severe near sightedness."

  Usually the auditor is required to be at the premises of the entity it is auditing [to observe processes, personnel]. That doesn't mean it's impossible to work without a driver's license, but public transport/Ubers would add a lot of hassle and cost to pursuing that line of work.

  I can imagine a senior enough auditor could maybe stay in an office and design internal procedures and review the work 'brought back' by the auditors who are out on field work - but that's a senior position (built on an understanding of a solid base of previous audit work in the field) - so I don't think you'd be there yet.

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  mini2 on 16/06/2021 - 21:54

  You could be in luck though, the big 4 collectively have mopped up a lot of auditors type from the suburban accounting shops so there's gaps to be filled. Just don't expect big dollars though.

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  freefall101 on 18/06/2021 - 14:21

  Why not look for another management accountant role at a company you're more interested in? Sounds like you'd be much better suited to it, the pay is better and the hours are better. There are fixed asset management accountants, particularly within government, your skills would match that a lot better than going back to big 4 audit.

  Also yes, auditors don't make any money. You need to either move up to senior manager/partner, move into specialist advisory or simply get out and move into the general corporate world. I doubled my salary overnight going from big 4 audit in Canada to management accountant in Australia.

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  Icecold5000 on 18/06/2021 - 19:07

  Does a boutique practice have better work-life balance than the Big 4? Are the working hours always beyond 5:30 PM? 'coz I have a toddler and an anxious wife.

  It’s professional services. If your clients want something the next day and you have to grind all night to deliver them that’s what you will do.

  I think you’re pretty much delusional with your expectations.