CAREER FOCUS WORKSHEET

Part A
Name of major that you have selected: Accounting

List five (5) industries that employ graduates from this major: [The term industry refers
to the broad field]

Industries that employ graduates from this major

1. Chartered Accounting Firms

2. Government Organisations

3. Management Consultancies

4. Banking and Finance

5. Educational Organisations

List five (5) organisations that employ graduates from this major. [The term
organisation refers to the name of an actual company or government department]

Organisations that employ graduates from this major

1. Vincents Chartered Accountants

2. QLD Government Safety and Regional Services

3. MGI Business Solutions

4. Suncorp

5. Moreton Bay Regional Council

List one (1) website where you may find job vacancies for this major:

Vacancy website:

1. www.accountingjobs.com.au

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List three (3) job titles for graduates from this major: [The job title refers to the name of the
position you would occupy]

Job titles for graduates from this major

1. Auditor

2. Payroll Officer

3. Tax Consultant

List five (5) duties that a graduate from this major may perform in his/her day-to-day work:
[Duties are on the job tasks such as: Undertake research in the field of]

Duties a graduate from this major may perform

1. Assist with the formulation of budgetary and accounting policies

2. Prepare financial statements for both internal and external users

3. Prepare reports and advise on matters such as taxations, suspected fraud and insolvency

4. Provide auditing services to individuals and businesses

5. Prepare and present financial statement to managers, shareholders and directors

List five (5) skills or attributes that employers might be seeking (apart from a degree) in
graduates from this major: [Skills or attributes are required to perform the duties as
described above e.g. Well developed analytical skills may be required to conduct the duty
of research]

Skills or attributes required of a graduate in this major.

1. Detail orientated

2. Effective communication skills

3. Able to analyse and solve problems

4. Teamwork skills

5. Able to build a rapport with clients

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Part B
Reflection on field research Worksheet

Name of person you listened to: Kain Elsmore

Position: Forensic Accountant

Organisation: Vincents Chartered Accountant

Workplace Reflection

The workplace interview I had chosen to listen to was an interview conducted with Mr.
Kain Elsmore. At the time of the interview, Mr. Elsmore was a senior associate at Vincents
Chartered Accountants and his discipline was forensic accounting insurance dealing
mainly with personal injury claims. He stated that his job is to value the loss incurred by
an individual due to sustaining injury (K. Elsmore, personal communication, August 26,
2017). As a senior associate, Kain has a lot of roles and responsibilities. Some of his roles
include reviewing reports created by his subordinates, summarising financial statement,
discussing with clients, formulating strategies for report preparations and discussing
report details with lawyers (K. Elsmore, personal communication, August 26, 2017).

During the interview, I learnt that there are vast roles and opportunities within the
forensic discipline some of which are insurance claims, commercial claims, financial crime
and fraud. Kain also gave an insight as to how its like being a forensic accountant. What I
found interesting was when K. Elsmore (personal communication, August 26, 2017) said
that, every job received is different. This statement made me realise that forensic
accounting consists of both difficult and challenging components and to excel at this job, I
must be flexible and be able to adapt to situations easily. In this interview, it was made
apparent that the ability to communicate effectively is a vital skill required from this job as
Kain has to meet and deal with clients, lawyers, his subordinates and speak in courts if
need arises. Moreover, reports created must be accurate, free from error and created in a
timely manner as a lot of people rely on the information to make decisions hence making
this job stressful at times. To prepare for a role like Kains, I can join university clubs,
volunteer in the community and attend networking events. This will improve my
communication skills and allow me meet and engage with people from different works of
life. Also, I intend on studying abroad as this will improve my adaptability skills and
provide more opportunity to network and connect. Subsequently, I will practise time
management skills by setting deadlines and trying to meet them. Also utilizing planners

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can help me improve my time management skills. Lastly, I will actively look for vacationer
programs as this creates opportunity to gain workplace experience.

Kain talked about his qualifications and how it allowed him to become a forensic
accountant. He stated that he completed a bachelor of commerce degree majoring in
accounting (K. Elsmore, personal communication, August 26, 2017). In his final year of
university, he did and vacationer program at Price Waterhouse Coopers and at Deloitte
stating that he gained very vital experience from working as a vacationer and was able to
land his first job due to the skills gained from this opportunity. He suggested that students
currently at university should do as many vacationer programmes as they can because this
allows students to gain insight of the workplace. Another important detail shared by Kain
was that after completing the bachelor of commerce degree, students are required to
study another eighteen months and work for 3 years to become a chartered accountant.

Reference

Elsmore, K. (2017, August 26). Personal Communication [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved

from
https://bblearn.griffith.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?cours
e_id=_61158_1&content_id=_3250838_1