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Philippine Jobs For The Accountancy|Accounting Graduates

ceblogger — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:09:42 +0000

Congratulations, graduates! You’ve made it! This post is for the Accountancy/Accounting graduates who are (or who will be) looking for jobs after G-Day. To hurdle the 5-year B.S. Accountancy course is a feat in itself. I know it because I’ve been there more than a dozen years ago (though ours was a four-year course then). Congratulate yourselves too! You certainly deserve a feast.

So, what now after graduation? Should you start looking a job immediately knowing that accounting graduates are in demand these days? Or should you take the CPA Board exam first and worry about job-hunting later?

If you can’t wait another 6-8 months before earning your first hard-earned money, here’s a quick job-hunting guide for you:

Finding Jobs for the Accounting Graduates

1. Ready your resumes, application letter, Transcript of records and other credentials. Make 20 copies or more. However, make sure that you edited your application/covering letter for every company that you applied.
2. Check your department’s or alumni office’s bulletin board. Some prospective employers post announcement in the bulletin board. While you are preparing for graduation, or just visiting the school after graduation day, don’t forget to check these areas I mentioned above.
3. Follow leads. If you hear from classmates or from a professor that XYZ Company is hiring, go make some research and submit an application letter. Or submit an unsolicited application letter, and do the research later.
4. Do not wait for the job opportunity to come to you. Although these things happen, like when you are just hanging out in the Accounting Department office and a prospective employer suddenly came in looking for jobless graduates, and you just happened to be right there at the right moment. But generally, you have to act fast since it is a competitive job market out there.
5. Submit your resume on online job sites. Monster, Jobstreet and JobsDB are three leading online job site. The later two are very active in the Philippine Market, while Monster is a giant worldwide. There’s also Mytrababo.com, trabaho.com, applyna.com. jobjoints.com and mynimo.com. When you submit your resumes to these sites, simply put your best self.
6. Buy the Sunday newspaper. There you will find hundreds of ads for accounting staff and other jobs requiring Accountancy graduates. For Manila, I think it’s the Manila Bulletin which has more pages on job ads. For Cebu, it’s Sunstar.
7. Believe in yourself. If you don’t, probably no one else will.

When you are a fresh graduate, you don’t have really that much option. But you can choose the course of your career. Positions which are usually available for the new Accountancy Graduates are:

1. Audit Staff (external/internal)
2. Accountant (Junior/Senior)
3. Bookkeeper
4. Finance Analyst
5. Accounting Staff/Clerk/Assistant
6. Cost accounting staff

There are companies that consider the CPA license as a prerequisite to promotion. So, if you happen to be in that company and you desire to climb higher in the finance department, it is better that you take the CPA board exam. Check out my tips on passing the CPA Board Exam. The earlier you take the board, the better. Review centers usually commence their classes in June.

However, there are departments under finance that won’t necessarily need that CPA license in order to progress. Purchasing, Billing and Credit and Collection are examples of those.

If you are a Filipino accountancy graduate looking for a job in Cebu or Manila, I may be able to help you. I got friends who are occupying management positions, and I get to see their postings on our yahoo groups. Email me your resume at ceblogger(at)yahoo(dot)com. Newly passed CPAs are also welcome.

Now That You Have Passed the CPA Board Exam

ceblogger — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:11:34 +0000

Now that you have passed the CPA Board Exam, what’s next for you?

CELEBRATE

Passing the notoriously difficult CPA Board Exam is no easy feat and is a cause for a celebration. I know that some people will see their names in school banners, or even those in their municipalities. Some will even be feted in a parade. You have all the reasons to smile, and today is your day. Go out and celebrate with your friends and loved ones.

REGISTER

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced that registration for the issuance of Professional Identification Card (ID) and Certificate of Registration will start on Monday, October 27, 2008 but not later than November 19, 2008. Those who will register are required to bring the following: duly accomplished Oath Form or Panunumpa ng Propesyonal, current Community Tax Certificate (cedula), 2 pieces passport size picture (colored with white background and complete nametag), 2 pieces 1” x 1” picture (colored with white background and complete nametag), 2 sets of metered documentary stamps, and 1 short brown envelope with name and profession; and to pay the Initial Registration Fee of P600 and Annual Registration Fee of P450 for 2008-2011. Successful examinees should personally register and sign in the Roster of Registered Professionals.

The oathtaking ceremony of the successful examinees in the October 2008 CPA Board Exams as well as the previous ones who have not taken their Oath of Professional will be held before the Board on Monday, November 24, 2008 at 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Roxas Boulevard, Manila. For those located outside Manila, check your school or the nearest PICPA office for announcements.

CAREER

A week after the results is out, or when the ‘from ear to ear smile’ had normalized, you have to compete with your fellow passers and start looking for a job. You don’t actually have to worry. Be confident. Job opportunities for CPAs are aplenty. You can still sit down, reflect and map out your career this early. You have to choose what sector of the profession you want to try first in your career. Let me give you an idea of what they are.

The Public Practice sector. I don’t know how attractive this is to you but it was to me and most of my batchmates back in college. It is in this sector that you get to apply most, if not all, you learned in the review and in the 5 years of schooling. Plenty dream of joining the big accounting firms in Makati, as they consider them as the springboard for success in public practice and in the corporate world. But these firms are choosy, taking in only those considered as the “Best and the Brightest”. The topnotchers and those who graduated with honors from reputable schools are most likely to be pursued and get hired first. But it does not mean that when you are not a topnotcher, you have a lesser chance. October is the start of the busy season and they are mass hiring. If you really desire to join the public practice sector, go try your best and submit your application letter and resume to the top firms as soon as possible. There are also other small and medium-sized firms that are in need of staff. A season or two in these smaller firms are also worthwhile experience.

The Government. There are so many opportunities for CPAs in the government sector. You can apply in your municipality, or in the regional or head offices of government agencies like COA, DOF and the DBM.

Commerce and Industry. The BPO and the multinational companies are the most attractive. The pay is higher and there are opportunities of traveling abroad. There are also local companies that offer similar benefits. Other CPAs also prefer to start their careers in the internal audit department, because they get to learn fast about the various facets of the business, and they think it is another way to fast track one’s career in the corporate world. In many cases, there is truth to that.

The Academe or the Education Sector. If you have that gift of teaching, then this is for you. Some, even employed in other sectors, teach part-time because of their love for teaching. Check out vacancies in your school.

OTHERS

There are those who pursue further studies, taking up either MBA or Law. CPAs have an advantage because there are subjects which were already taken up and covered in the undergraduate years.

Another option is to work abroad, whether temporarily or immigration. Opportunities are not only available here in the Philippines but in other countries as well. But then, some years (at least five) of working experience are required.

Now that you have passed the CPA board exam, what’s next? You don’t actually have to throttle your mind at this time with the very broad opportunities awaiting you. Go, and just celebrate first. And don’t forget to thank God for your answered prayers.

Again, my congratulations to those who have passed!

Latest results here: May 2009 CPA Board exam results and list of passers

Filipino Accountants Abroad

ceblogger — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:34:26 +0000

I got this nagging email from a friend and an ex-colleague who now lives in Canada saying that I should submit my resume as soon as possible. In my curiosity, I tried to look up the recruitment agency for professionals seeking accounting jobs offshore. Seems like a credible one. I also dug my files to check on the calling card a friend brought with him when he went to work in the Grand Cayman Islands a couple of years ago. There surely are plenty of accounting jobs abroad. He once said that there are plenty of young Filipino accountants in the Caribbeans. He even wished to go back there someday.

Another offshore accounting job opportunity popped out in my email this morning: An accounting job in the UAE. I checked where they got my email, and I found out that Monster is the source. I almost forgot that I have a resume in there. This afternoon, I updated my files.

The other day, I happened to chat with another ex-colleague who worked at one of the big four accounting firms in Chicago. She has now transferred to a new company in Texas. I asked her about life in the auditing firm. She said that it was very very stressful and was glad with her new-found job. She added that she hopes to come back to the Philippines someday.

Yesterday, from out of nowhere, a message popped out from my YM. This time it’s from another ex-colleague who works at a big four firm in Australia. “I miss the Philippines!” she said. “No one takes care of us here when we get sick”. I can just imagine the loneliness in the foreign land.

“But what inspires you to seek greener pasture abroad despite leaving behind your family?” I asked that friend who worked in the Grand Caymans. “It’s the desire to give my family a better life” was his simple reply. This was also the same reply I got from another friend who worked in Angola as an accountant of a logging company. He braved the malaria and the terrorist attacks.

I know that there are only few CPAs produced by our country every year. With a board passing percentage of under 25%, it’s one of the hardest and one of the least desired by graduating high school students. IT and Nursing are the most tempting these days. Our company and its affiliates are also having a hard time recruiting accounting graduates. It seems like demand has exceeded supply of accountants. With the globalization of our accounting standards, we can easily keep up with the world’s best. In the near future, more countries will need and hire more Filipino accountants.