Accountant (General)*** -ANZSCO : 221111

Unit Group 2211:Accountants

Description: Plan and provide accounting systems and services relating to taxation and the financial dealings of organizations and individuals, and advise on associated record-keeping and compliance requirements.

Skill Level: Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification (ANZSCO Skill Level 1).

Registration or licensing may be required.

Tasks

•     assisting in formulating budgetary and accounting policies
•     preparing financial statements for presentation to boards of directors, management, shareholders, and governing and statutory bodies
•     conducting financial investigations, preparing reports, undertaking audits and advising on matters such as the purchase and sale of businesses, mergers, capital financing, suspected fraud, insolvency and taxation
•     examining operating costs and organisations’ income and expenditure
•     providing assurance about the accuracy of information contained in financial reports and their compliance with statutory requirements
•     providing financial and taxation advice on business structures, plans and operations
•     preparing taxation returns for individuals and organisations
•     liaising with financial institutions and brokers to establish funds management arrangements
•     introducing and maintaining accounting systems, and advising on the selection and application of computer-based accounting systems
•     maintaining internal control systems
•     may appraise cash flow and financial risk of capital investment projects

A caveat is in place for this occupation, which excludes its use under the standard subclass 457 and 186 programme for any of the following:

clerical, book keeper and accounting clerk positions;
positions in businesses that have an annual turnover of less than $1M (AUD);
positions in businesses that have fewer than five employees. This caveat is designed to ensure that in the context of this occupation, the subclass 457 programme continues to be used for skill level 1 accountants positions only – that is, positions where the nominee will be involved in planning and providing accounting systems and services relating to the financial dealings of organisations and individuals, and advising on associated record-keeping and compliance requirements.
Note: This does not mean that other tasks cannot be completed by visa applicant nominated as an Accountant. To meet programme requirements, it is expected that only very limited/ad hoc time would, however, be spent doing other tasks, not listed in ANZSCO, that could be performed by a non-skilled employee. The standard subclass 457 programme is not considered appropriate to fill skill level 4 positions such as Accounts Clerk (ANZSCO 551111), Bookkeeper (ANZSCO 5512111), Cost Clerk (ANZSCO 551112) and Payroll Clerk (ANZSCO 551311), which are not currently included on the approved list of occupations and should be able to be sourced from the local labour market. Additional assessment may be warranted to ensure that the caveat does not apply where the officer has concerns that a significant amount of the nominee’s time will be spent on administrative and/or bookkeeping tasks (e.g. preparing documentation, keeping records and reconciling invoices/accounts), rather than providing advice on financial and taxation advice and preparing more complex documentation such as financial statements and tax returns

Other occupations in this Unit Group

•     221112 – Management Accountant
•     221113 – Taxation Accountant