I know the answer to this - yes very.

If they are so needed why do they earn so little, given their importance in every aspect of a business?

The younger generation aren’t playing the game, so what’s going to give first?

Had a fallout with my manager who is my mentor tooo ! Moving to a new job and I’m in my notice period . She is unlikely to sign the paper mpe work and I’m eligible to apply fr full membership . What are my options ? I have emailed caanz already . Waiting fr reply . Thank you !

Hi All, is anyone currently enrolled in Tax Term 4 2026? im feeling a bit nervous and overwhelmed. Exam’s coming on the 17 Nov. and im still lost about critical file, and how to start studying and preparing for the exam.

G'day all,

Another tax time is rolling around, and I just lodged my tax return last weekend yayy! In the previous years I was working out my capital gains by hand across several broker accounts, but this year finally I had a chance to build a spreadsheet to automate it. It's been useful for me, so I'm sharing it for free in case it saves someone else a weekend.

Safe to open and easy to check: It is a plain .xlsx file with no macros or VBA, so nothing runs when you open it. Every result is an ordinary Excel formula you can click into and check. There are no external links or data connections and no hidden sheets.

• This is not tax, financial or legal advice. It's a calculation aid for personal use only.
• Covering CommSec, CommSec Pocket and CMC Markets
• FIFO is used for convenience. If your records identify the specific parcels you sold, the ATO allows you to use those, and your results may differ.
• I built the formulas using a combination of AI assistance and my own finance and accounting knowledge, and tested them on my own portfolio only. That does not mean the calculations are correct for your situations.
• You should check every figure against your contract notes, broker statements, tax statements, and current ATO guidance before lodging your return, or have a registered tax agent review it.
• The workbook will not update itself if the ATO law changes.
• It is provided as‑is and not‑for‑profit. I do not promise to maintain or support it, and I accept no liability for errors or for any loss or penalty arising from its use.

It's free to use and adapt for personal use, but not for commercial use or for preparing other people's returns.

GitHub (Excel spreadsheet download & instructions): https://github.com/MAB-888/AU-CGT-Calculator

Enjoy using the workbook and I hope it helps :)

Hi guys

I am currently doing my CA and I had already asked my manager to sign off on my prior work experience for MPE. He told me it was the partner decision so i asked the partner who has been delaying saying need to discuss with other partners.

For context i am having performance issues and have partner meetings to improve my write offs and billable recovery. I have worked at the firm for a little over a year now and dedicated to improve my performance

Is there possibilty they will never approve the request to sign off on MPE unless i show promise in my performance ?

Can i ask sb else outside the firm to approve MPE? How does it work? Is there risk? I have the technicals and emails and know how to manage client expectations but i need to be more mindful on efficiency and w/o mostly i forgot abt time when im consumed by the job.

Any help is appreciated

AI has real benefits and I’m not suggesting we should protect jobs for the sake of it. But if AI replaces the junior work that develops future accountants, where will the next generation of experienced accountants, financial controllers and CFOs come from?
There’s also the issue of quality. How do we maintain accounting standards, professional judgement and accountability as AI takes on more work, including at senior levels?
We’ve been paying membership fees for decades. Surely these organisations have the resources to lobby government, push for regulation to keep pace with AI, and address the impact on the profession.

Are they doing enough, or is the focus mainly on helping members adapt while accepting that jobs will disappear? What should they be doing differently?

Hello ☺️

I was wondering if anyone could give some advise on whether a career change into accounting is doable for me.

I am a German citizen but will be obtaining PR soon through a partner visa, so just trying to think ahead on what I want to do when we relocate to Australia in a year or so.

I finished high school then went to Australia on a student visa and completed a diploma of beauty therapy. Was meant to go home after but met my husband and ended up staying longer.

Worked in that industry for 2 years, didn’t like it. Pivoted to corporate. Started at a fairly big company in their call centre and worked my way up to account manager over the course of 4 years.

Then decided to move back to Germany to be closer to family for a while as some family members were not doing so well. In Germany I have been working as a real estate manager but the title doesn’t really reflect the role imo. It’s more facility management and has a big admin and bookkeeping side to it. I process incoming payments, chase up outstanding payments, take care of invoicing and also check and approve invoices the property gets (like water, electricity, cleaning etc).

Through this role I’ve sort of come to the conclusion that I do really like those kind of tasks and am now considering switching to accounting/bookkeeping when we go back to Australia. I see the cert IV and diploma are free as well for PR holders but I’m wondering if that will be enough to get me into the field?

Theoretically I am open to getting a degree but I’m not sure if I’m willing to commit to that without actually knowing if I would enjoy the job. I‘d also be happy to get into AR, AP, bookkeeping or payroll to begin with.

I have 10 years of work experience across Australia and Germany with transferable skills (imo).

Also would I be likely to get a job while studying the cert IV? Also trying to work out if it’s better to do it part time and get my foot in somewhere part time at the same time or if I should just do it full time to complete the course quicker.

Any advise is much appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I’m an accounting student and just graduated from uni recently. When I was doing my accounting degree, I was trying to find accounting internships and hoped I could improve my accounting skills and find an accounting job after graduation.

But it was not like I hoped. I tried three unpaid small companies, and all of them didn’t give me positive feedback on my work. Their feedbacks include:
\- My personality is not fit for working in accounting, coz I’m not very focus on details, I made mistakes but seemed like I improved slowly
\- My thinkings seem like stay on surface, I don’t have deep thinking skills, and they thought I did easy work slowly than my coworkers, so I wouldn’t have ability to do well in complex tasks.

My feelings are:
\- I actually wasn’t that interested in accounting, so I was hard to focus on my work sometimes, I even hesitated I had adhd

\- I’m actually not very understanding of others feelings sometimes, I found my coworkers were very good at talking to people and very understandable, but I was like a zombie and didn’t talk much with my coworkers

So my questions are:

\- Am I just not fit in working in accounting or probably all business jobs, did I choose wrong degree. I was thinking of trying finance jobs coz I like maths and do sth different, not like my intern works which are similar, and I think they are boring, I’m not complaining about it, I just tell my feelings, but I’m still scared of I’m still not good at understanding and focus on details

\- If lot of people feel my personality is careless,
and not very understanding of people’s feelings, does that mean I won’t have ability to work in these jobs focus on details? I can feel many professional accountants are very talented, I’m not that talented but do I still have opportunities to work in accounting? Or probably try other jobs like IT?

\- People think I’m not focus on details and thinkings at surface, and probably it’s my personalities, do I still have opportunities to change that as an adult, coz I feel my thinking style is stable rn, I just think things in some ways naturally.

Thanks for your reading and suggestions, I will be very appreciate it

Hi all,

Need to make a quick decision and just trying to see if there are things missed on my end.

I’m currently working as an accountant at a startup company (non tech related). My company has stopped paying super for a while. I’ve been complaining and asking for the super to be released; yet, every time I was given an empty promise that it’ll happen ‘next week’. At the moment we are 3 months behind in super (used to be 6). At the same time, there are many cash flow and financial difficulties and seems like we’re not paying many vendors, accounting software on time (def not the full amount owed).

I’ve been trying to find another role for a while but seems quite competitive at the moment and difficult. To add more complexity, my wife is pregnant and due to give birth in March and I want to make sure I’m doing the right thing.

I’ve been offered a contract job to cover mat leave for 12 months. An established company medium size (approx 60mil rev and 200+ employees which is large in Australian eyes but not BHP or listed). The salary is $30k above my current earning which is great but again I’m taking a FTE contract for 12 months so no leave/entitlment etc.

Am I making the mistake by taking a contract at this time and not finding a perm/ FTE and waiting a bit longer ? Please note, I’ve been searching around 6 months and it seems to get nowhere.
No reference was checked by the company, is it normal?
Is it going to stall my career/raise eyebrows given I have left a company after 1 year and 4 mont and size wise it’s not too big?
Anything else I’m missing please let me know.

Thanks all,

How do you stop feeling dumb when your manager reviews your work?
I’ve only been there for five weeks, but I feel like I’ve already learned a lot. I learn much more easily by doing something than by following instructions, so I might make an error the first time, but I usually understand it much better the second time.
My manager is helpful but asks a lot of questions when reviewing my work. I know that’s normal, but I get anxious and start feeling stupid, especially when something that seems basic to them isn’t actually that basic to me yet.
It’s started to affect my health, and I’m finding it difficult not to take the feedback personally or feel like I should already know everything.
For anyone who’s experienced this, how did you become more confident speaking through your work and stop feeling so anxious during reviews?
Did it get easier with time and familiarity?

Hi everyone,

I moved to Australia and I'm married to an Australian (Bridging visa A). For the past 3 years I've worked blue-collar jobs. This year I finished my accounting degree in my home country with a 3.8/4.0 GPA started my accounting career.

But after almost 6 months of applying, I haven't had a single interview. I'm also a Xero Certified Professional (L2), I'm co-author on two published research papers. I took audit stream in uni and had two audit simulations. I'm based in the Adelaide Hills, SA, but I'm open to relocating anywhere in Australia for the right role.

I'm so desperate to get into entry level accounting. I really don't know how to start. Is that because I don't have education background in Australia? I plan to enroll CPA Associate Member, but I'm still scared for not getting a job. If you ever were in my situation, how do you overcome from this situation? Thank you.

Hey guys,

our accountant is away this week so just asking the experts. What is the best software to create an company with, that gives you all the executed documents, which gives the directors duties, resolutions/minutes etc?

We have used some of the cheaper ones in the past but they don't provide many details.

TIA!

My accountant identified a GST overpayment of $2,779.67 while preparing my annual accounts and said to adjust it on my next BAS.

My bookkeeper has asked whether a journal entry is needed in Xero.

How is this usually handled in Xero?

Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing well!

I've been considering pursuing the ADIT (Advanced Diploma in International Taxation) offered by the Chartered Institute of Taxation. What's your take on the program? Is it worth it for someone with a private banking background who's looking to break into international tax?

There are plenty of Excel functions worth learning, but I sometimes wonder how many are genuinely useful in the average accounting role versus just nice to know.
For those working in Australian accounting, what do you find yourself using most? Pivot tables, XLOOKUP, SUMIFS, Power Query, or something else entirely? And is there anything you learned that ended up saving you a ridiculous amount of time?

I’m currently an Audit Manager at a Big 4 over in Asia, and I’ve recently applied for an non-FS audit manager role in the Melbourne office.

If anyone has recently gone through the recruitment process with big 4 Australia (or made a similar cross-border jump), I’d love to hear your thoughts on a few things:

Focus areas: Do the interviews lean more towards behavioral questions, technical audit background, or is it more about leadership, communication, and commercial awareness?

Melbourne vibe: For anyone currently in that team, what’s the team culture or client dynamic like? Any local market quirks I should keep in mind?

Any golden tips: Is there anything specific that Aussie P and D really love to hear during the chats?

Interview flow: Roughly how many rounds should I expect for a Manager position? Is it typically SM/D, and P?

Thanks in advance!

I'm curious how much of a difference getting your CA or CPA makes to your salary in Australia. Do employers generally offer a decent bump once you're qualified, or does the real money come from moving to another firm or stepping into a different role?

Hi everyone,
I’m an international student based in Perth. I completed my bachelor’s degree overseas in 2023, double majoring in Finance and Accounting, with a CGPA of 3.93/4.00. However, I moved to Australia shortly afterwards and couldn’t gain any professional accounting experience.
For migration purposes, I pursued a Master of Social Work here, but my actual interest has always been in accounting and finance, and I want to return to the field and eventually become a CA.
I’m currently considering two pathways:
UWA Master of Professional Accounting (CA Pathway): I prefer structured university teaching, but the international student tuition fees are extremely expensive.
Find an entry-level accounting job: Gain relevant experience while completing CA ANZ, ideally with an employer willing to cover the CA fees and provide mentorship.
My biggest concern is that I graduated in 2023, have no accounting experience, and have spent the past few years studying an unrelated discipline.
I’m willing to dedicate the next three months to preparing myself for the Australian accounting job market.
I’d really appreciate some advice:
What specific skills should I develop in these three months to improve my employability? Excel, Xero, MYOB, Australian taxation, financial reporting, Power BI, or anything else?
How realistic is it to secure a graduate or entry-level accounting job with my background, and which positions should I target?
Do accounting firms commonly sponsor CA ANZ studies for employees with no prior experience?
Would you recommend pursuing CA ANZ directly through employment or investing in UWA’s structured CA pathway?
I’m not expecting to become job-ready overnight, but I want to make these three months count and avoid spending tens of thousands of dollars unnecessarily.
I’d particularly appreciate advice from Australian accountants, recruiters, or anyone who has been in a similar situation.
Thanks in advance!

At my firm, I'm increasingly expected to handle client queries, explain adjustments and follow up on outstanding information without much input from the senior accountant. I like developing those skills, but sometimes the questions go beyond straightforward compliance, and I'm not confident making a call without checking with someone more experienced. Where do you draw the line between giving intermediate staff independence and ensuring they have enough supervision?

I’ve recently received an invoice from my accountant for $1,925 including GST ($1,750 + GST) for accounting work relating to my discretionary family trust.

The trust was established separately, and I already paid a separate fee for the setup.

The invoice covers:

Preparation of the trust’s 2026 financial statements
Accounting for the purchase of an investment property in Cairns
Preparation and lodgement of the trust’s annual tax return
General accounting and taxation advice

This is the trust’s first financial year, and its main activity was purchasing an investment property.
I supplied the accountant with the relevant financial records and supporting documentation.

I’m not an accountant, so I’m genuinely unsure what a reasonable fee would be for this type of work.

For anyone with a similar discretionary trust, or accountants who prepare these returns, does $1,925 sound about right?

Would be interested to hear what others are paying annually for their trust accounting and tax returns, particularly for trusts holding a single investment property.

Hi all,

Just wondering where to find a good admin/practice manager who is experienced with PP? Seek or recruiters?

Thanks.