Australia nearing oversupply of accountants

• Accounting jobs in Australia are now nearing its saturation point and this can be sad news for thousands of foreign accountants, including Malaysians.

Accountants is the biggest single occupation group that is in the list of needed professions for Australia. Nearly 7,000 were given permanent visas in 2011-2012.

Recently the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations report that Australia has now an adequate supply of accountants. For every job vacancy, an average of 30 applications are received.

According to the Labour Market Research Accountants 2011-12 report, the vast majority of applicants were considered by employers to be unsuitable, although large numbers held formal qualifications.

“Many lacked relevant experience or industry-specific knowledge. Other commonly cited reasons include inadequate qualifications and poor communication skills.”