Organisation: Australian Taxation Office
Job Title: APS4 Compliance Officer
Word Limit: 700 words
Location: Albury
As an effective communicator, I tailor my communications appropriately for my audience. This capacity was
demonstrated in my role as Senior Management Accountant for Munters Pty Ltd, where I provided monthly
reports to the Managing Director for distribution to the regional heads of this multinational business. These
reports included analysis of variances, sales, cost margins, cash flow balances and operating profits, and I
utilised tools such as graphs, tables and concise bullet points to convey complex information in an accessible
and relevant manner to allow decision-making by management staff. Also in this role at Munters, I produced
a number of clearly and concisely written financial procedure documents to guide other staff in the
completion of their duties.
My commitment to my own self-development is evidenced through my recent completion of a Certificate in
Information Technology (IT) alongside my Masters of Business Administration degree. Because many of my
previous roles saw me acting as the contact person for any IT-related issues with the accounting and
financial systems, I chose to further my technical knowledge with formal study to allow me to better support
myself and my colleagues in performing our finance duties. In my current position with the Australian
Taxation Office, I have demonstrated willingness and capacity to self-teach new areas of operations through
following procedures, even without formal training. My career to date has seen me deliver successful
outcomes in diverse, often fast-paced, environments, including working in multinational organisations with
professionals from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and rapidly changing environments due to the
complex nature of international transactions.
Possessing strong interpersonal skills, I demonstrate success in building relationships with both internal and
external stakeholders. As a manger of finance teams, I have shown the ability to lead and develop groups,
delivering effective results through management of workloads and supervision of quality outcomes. I share
knowledge and information with colleagues both through creation of formal procedural documents and
through provision of advice and assistance, including assistance with the use of technology systems. In my
current role with the ATO, I work collaboratively in a team of 12 staff, sharing workloads and assisting to
cover the work of absent team members. I have successfully managed relationships with external clients
such as auditors and insurers, and have demonstrated the ability to liaise effectively with government
departments and financial providers.
Comfortable and confident with the use of technology, I am quick to acquire competency in new systems. In
my current role at the ATO, I utilise SAP and Seibel; prior to taking up this role I had no prior knowledge of
these systems and am now competent in their use, demonstrating my ability to learn the use of new
technologies.
When dealing with clients, I have demonstrated a responsiveness to needs and expectations. An example of
this is my ability to negotiate, and renegotiate, terms for credit or repayments in order to reach
arrangements which meet the needs of both the organisation and the client. In my current role at the ATO,
when in my reconciliation role I encounter accounts which do not reconcile, I will work with the operator to
ensure that they have the information and assistance required to rectify the problem.
Having previously been an Audit Manager at a firm of Chartered Accountants, I possess a strong knowledge
of audit requirements and processes. My work as a Senior Management Accountant for a large and complex
international organisation provided me with exposure to and understanding of complex commercial
operations. Complex matters that I have dealt with have include calculation of cost prices for sales on
consignment basis where factors, including costs associated with import and export locations, must be
considered alongside foreign currency transaction implications. This environment demonstrated my ability
to interpret and apply law and regulation relating to tax matters, as a thorough understanding of the
taxation laws of various countries was essential to be able to accurately calculate costs of international
business operations. With a range of formal qualifications including a Masters of Business Administration
and membership of the Australian, UK and Sri Lankan Accounting professional bodies, I obtained the grade
of High Distinction in the Taxation Law component of my CPA Australia examination.
