Organisation: Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA)
Job Title: Assistant Accountant
Location: Burwood East
Minimum 3 years’ proven experience in accounting/finance in a medium to large and complex
organisation. Knowledge of government financial and accounting systems is desirable
Possessing 13 years of accounting and finance experience, I have a proven record of delivering
successful outcomes in this field. Since 2006 I have held positions at CPA (Certified Practising
Accountants) Australia, one of the world's largest accounting bodies with a global membership of
more than 150,000 members working in 120 countries around the world. As well as holding offices
in each Australian capital city, CPA Australia operates in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore,
China, Vietnam, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In this large and complex organisation,
some overseas offices employ financial staff of their own for processing work while my head office
in Melbourne undertakes the managerial finance aspects of their operations; for other countries
my office manages all financial and accounting requirements. The finance team of ten people is
among the 450 staff employed by CPA Australia.
Commencing as Senior Accounts Payable Administrator at CPA Australia, I have since obtained a
promotion to the position of Assistant Accountant in 2010 and have in that time also undertaken a
year-long secondment in the role of Financial Accountant. These opportunities for promotion and
additional responsibility have come as a result of my proven success in performing a range of
accounting and finance responsibilities, as well as my demonstrated willingness to acquire new
skills and seek opportunities for further development.
My experience to date has provided me with exposure to the full range of organisational
accounting and financial functions. My responsibilities have included compilation of financial
statements, including monthly profit and loss (P&L) statements, extensive liaison with key
business stakeholders to review month-end results and variances, general ledger (GL)
reconciliations and assisting in compiling CPA Australia’s annual report. I also undertake monthly
reporting including the business activity statement (BAS), WorkCover and payroll tax, maintenance
of the fixed assets register, including reporting, analysis and reconciliations and monitoring of cash
flow on a daily basis. My initial role with the organisation also saw me obtain significant
experience in the accounts receivable and accounts payable functions.
With a strong record of achievements in my roles with CPA Australia, I have been instrumental in
implementing an electronic filing system across the organisation. I have also successfully
undertaken a project to streamline the fixed asset process for capital expenditure (CapEx) by the
technology business unit, working with key stakeholders to introduce processes which have
increased transparency and communication around progress of CapEx projects.
Sound understanding of accounting concepts and the associated accounting standards
With a strong record of professional success, throughout my career I have demonstrated a sound
knowledge of accounting and financial standards and processes, policies and procedures and the
ability to interpret and apply legislation. My responsibilities and functions across my career have
been broad, giving me an opportunity to develop knowledge of most aspects of accounting
practice. With a sound understanding of accounting standards and best practice, I have been
instrumental in contributing to various accounting and finance policies and procedures, ensuring
they are regularly maintained, updated and distributed across the organisation.
In my current role I am responsible for processing invoices relevant to the various business units
across the organisation, including creation of invoices and distribution to relevant stakeholders. I
play a significant role in ensuring all documentation is received from across the organisation in
time for weekly invoice processing. Within this role, I am also responsible for receipting monies
received and producing a weekly accounts receivable report, which is forwarded through to the
relevant line managers to action any outstanding debt.
Other current functions I undertake include lodgement of business activity statements (BAS) and
preparation of fringe benefits tax (FBT) statements, for which I have undertaken formal training. In
my role as Assistant Account I am responsible for submitting the company’s payroll tax return each
month across all states in Australia. This is done to a strict deadline with a three day turnaround
time, meaning that in order to complete the return on time I must schedule and prioritise my work
effectively. As well as this payroll tax function, I also perform the payroll and leave general ledger
journals for CPA Australia’s New Zealand offices.
In a prior role with CPA Australia as a Senior Accounts Payable Administrator, I was tasked with
ensuring invoices were approved correctly according to financial delegation. I also facilitated
training of others in the accounts payable process according to accounting standards and
organisational requirements. As I have a high level of knowledge of CPA Australia’s processes
specific to the accounts payable and receivable functions, I was known as the ‘go to’ person within
the finance team who was able to assist others with queries or tackle complex problems. In my
current role I now act as a backup to the accounts payable team if there is a leave of absence or an
increase in workload.
Detail focus – undertake finely detailed work in a precise and accurate manner
Many of the tasks I undertake on a daily basis rely on a high level of attention to detail and the
ability to ensure precision and accuracy in my work. This includes my work with CPA Australia’s
fixed assets register, balance sheet reconciliations, raising and receipting of debtor invoices,
processing and payment of creditor invoices, bank reconciliations, end-of-month journals, month-
end variance analysis, and reconciling corporate credit cards. I also demonstrate my highly
developed numeracy skills in the execution of my daily tasks; an example of this ability can be
found in my processing work in the accounts receivable area. The duties I undertake rely on
precision and accuracy for completion – if I were not able to demonstrate these abilities in my
work, problems such as account discrepancies or failure of figures to balance would be evident.
My attention to detail and numeracy skills have been relied upon by CPA Australia in my work on
the figures that are fed into the business’s annual report. In this task I utilised my ability to
undertake work with precision and performed a quality review on the figures to ensure accuracy
prior to use for reporting, calculating to the nearest rounding figure on all entries.
One of my recent tasks has been to compile the required information for CPA Australia’s yearly
insurance policy renewal. One of these six policies was the organisation’s travel insurance policy.
In the past, the staff providing information to the insurance broker had provided rough estimates
of the organisation’s travel activity, rather than any concrete data. I recognised that this may not
have led to the optimum policy pricing and conditions being secured and determined to secure
more accurate data for this year’s submission. To this end, I liaised with CPA Australia’s travel
provider and obtained detailed data on items such as the number of trips taken, destinations
travelled to, number of individual travellers and total number of nights away. The level of detail I
provided was such that our insurance underwriters were able to issue a policy without needing to
request any further information, and I could be confident that my precision and accuracy had
secured the most appropriate policy for CPA Australia’s needs at the best price.
Advanced Computer Skills – Competency in the use of software applications, in particular
Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Dynamics (Great Plains) would be well regarded
In my work I facilitate all accounting and finance tasks through my in-depth information
technology (IT) skills and capabilities. Throughout my career I have developed skills across a
variety of accounting-based systems. With eight years of experience in the use of Microsoft
Dynamics GP, I am extremely proficient in its functions. I currently utilise Dynamics for all accounts
payable functions, debtors, fixed assets and journal entries. In the reporting field I use it to extract
data and create trial balances; utilising the Integration Manager I upload journals in to Microsoft
Dynamics GP. In addition, I use the Workplace add-on to raise purchase orders. My extensive
experience with Microsoft Dynamics means that I have seen several versions and upgrades; with
an aptitude for technology I have been quick to adapt to and make best use of new functions
available with successive versions of the program.
As an advanced user of Microsoft (MS) Office software, I utilise Word, Excel and Outlook regularly
in my work. On a day-to-day basis I use MS Word to produce overdue notice letters; MS Outlook
Calendar to schedule meetings and email to send correspondence, and the Internet for research
purposes. In my work I use MS Excel to an advanced level on a regular basis; I am proficient in the
use of pivot tables and VLOOKUP. I regularly use Excel to develop and update spreadsheets, and
am able to prepare graphs and tables of data to communicate complex financial information in a
clear way. In addition to these programs, I also use Cognos in my work to undertake forecasting,
produce P&L reports and to produce complex management accounting reports as required.
Comfortable and confident in the use of technology, I am quick to adapt to new software packages
and programs. While I have had the benefit of formal training in the use of some programs, I also
possess an aptitude for technology which allows me to pick up new skills with minimal instruction
or teach myself to use new programs. I am familiar with the online lodgement processes and
functions of government bodies and statutory authorities to allow me to undertake processes
such as FBT, payroll tax and BAS online lodgement activities.
Effective communication skills – with the capacity to build and foster positive working
relationships with internal and external stakeholders, other government agencies and strategic
and project partners
Over the course of my professional career I have demonstrated outstanding communication skills,
both written and oral, with highly developed listening skills and the ability to appropriately
respond to stakeholders, management and team members. With the capacity to adapt my
communication style and messages to suit my audience, I focus on delivering a high standard of
customer service in my role. I do this by providing a professional approach to each interaction
using my superior interpersonal and engagement skills. As a naturally social person, I am a skilled
communicator and I endeavour to build and maintain positive relationships in my professional
dealings.
Possessing the ability to respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders in an
appropriate manner, I am able to convey complex financial and accounting information in a readily
understandable way that meets the needs of the recipient. When dealing with people who do not
have an accounting background or knowledge I thoroughly explain the complex information I am
providing in a clear and concise manner and ask questions to ensure that I am being understood. I
pride myself on ensuring that others are provided with the information they require to undertake
their responsibilities. This was recently evidenced with CPA Australia when I was tasked with
compiling all information for our yearly insurance policy renewal. I liaised with our insurance
broker extensively and went to great lengths to obtain complete and accurate information for use
by the insurance underwriter; my attention to the needs of our insurers was such that I was
commended by the broker and our senior management team on a job well done.
I am committed to sharing information where required for the benefit of others, which is
evidenced in my current role where I mentor and provide advice to new and existing employees
from an accounting and an internal business practice and procedural perspective. In the case of
new employees, I support them by talking them through the relevant practices, applications and
systems on a one-on-one basis. I endeavour to assist where I can, and if I am unable to provide the
information, I source an appropriate person who can assist and point them in that direction. In this
way, I facilitate strong internal relationships that serve to benefit my organisation.
Problem solving – an aptitude for problem solving in the context of accounting, compliance, and
budgets related matters
My strong investigative, research and analytical skills have been demonstrated in my current role
with CPA Australia, where I have spent the past 12 months reconciling the sundry debtors of the
organisation. A complex problem was created when in 2013, following a four-year building process
a new customer relationship management (CRM) system was implemented by the organisation. In
the previous system, a number of reports were used to reconcile the sundry debtors list. It
emerged that in the introduction of the new CRM, a number of reports were lost which meant
there was limited available information on sundry debtors. Staff movements in the financial team
meant that this problem went unaddressed for some time, which only exacerbated the problem.
Because nobody within the department was sure how to address the issue and undertake a
reconciliation, nothing was done for some time. Due to my reputation for my ability to develop
solutions and undertake complex tasks, it was requested that I tackle this problem and find a way
to perform a reconciliation of the sundry debtors accounts.
Because no report existed under the new CRM which could provide the information I needed, I
worked closely with the technology unit to locate the required information, generate reports and
analyse key data. This was an extremely time consuming process which required a great deal of
trial and checking to ensure that the correct data was being pulled from our system to generate
the report I would require. Once this process was successfully completed and I had the correct
data, I was able to work with key business stakeholders in recovering sundry debt.
My success in undertaking this process was demonstrated clearly through the outcomes in
financial terms. The sundry debtors balance at the end of 2014 before I implemented my solution
was $306,000. By the end of April 2015 the balance was $39,000, a reduction of 85% within 4
months. In the history of CPA Australia, this is the lowest that sundry debtors figures have ever
been.
Consistently taking a hands-on approach to problem solving, I will always attempt to find a
resolution rather than allowing an issue to go unattended. While I am always willing to ask for help
and input from others where required, I am comfortable taking the lead in developing solutions or
tackling problems, and derive satisfaction from creating effective processes and removing
inefficiencies from my organisation’s functions.
