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Financial Accountant

Financial accountants prepare financial reports and give financial advice to clients or company management. They also provide a variety of information, such as external financial statements, to parties outside the organisation.

Tasks & duties

Financial accountants may do some or all of the following:

prepare financial statements and reports for clients or company management
record the amount of money spent and received daily by clients or company management, using computer cash-flow software
develop and check budgets
recommend appropriate tax structures for clients, such as whether they should be declared partnerships, individuals or businesses, in order to use the most efficient way of holding tax assets
ensure compliance with relevant legislation
prepare GST (Goods and Services Tax) and other returns, such as surveys, PAYE (Pay as You Earn) and tax forms
contact and work with Inland Revenue on behalf of management or clients
advise on financial aspects of businesses such as budgets, tax and cashflows
ensure financial and business matters are transparent, accurate and timely
review accounting procedures and analyse financial performance of businesses
hire and supervise staff
maintain financial computer systems
assist management with strategic planning and human resources (HR)

Skills & knowledge

Financial accountants need to have:

knowledge of finance, economics and marketing
accounting and maths skills
knowledge of business management practices, including business ethics
the ability to use computers and various computer software packages
skill in analysing and interpreting information
problem-solving skills
good organisation and planning skills
good communication and people skills
good literacy skills

Entry requirements

To become a financial accountant you need to have a commerce degree, majoring in accounting or finance.

Secondary education

A tertiary entrance qualification is required to enter further training. Year 12 Certificate of Education or Higher School Certificate equivalent is preferred and useful subjects include accounting, economics, English and maths with statistics and/or calculus.

Training on the job

The majority of people working in accountancy roles are members of the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants. A chartered accountant is considered the highest accountancy qualification in Australia.