What's your job about?
Mazars is a global accounting firm with offices around the world that specialise in audit, tax and advisory services. Mazars in Australia has seen significant growth in recent years and now boasts over 300 employees and 4 offices.
Currently, I am a recent Graduate at our North Sydney office working in the Audit and Assurance team. Simply, the purpose of auditors is to form an opinion on whether the information presented in financial reports give a true and fair reflection of a company. In my role, I assist the team in the audit and preparation of financial statements and other assurance engagements which involves understanding our client’s business, communicating with key stakeholders and most importantly the testing of account balances.
What's your background?
Born and raised in Sydney, I attended my local primary and high schools before attending Macquarie University after completing my HSC in 2016. During high school and university, I worked at my local McDonald’s and some temporary jobs during semester breaks which provided the opportunity to develop teamwork, communication and leadership skills with the added bonus of earning some money to spend.
I initially applied to the graduate program in 2020 but due to the lockdown, it was postponed until a time in which people were working in the office again as to not degrade the experience and training opportunities. Fortunately, I received an invitation to interview in March 2021 and went through the process of interviewing and meeting with members of HR and the audit team. I was successful and joined the A-Team in April and have been there since.
In my free time, I enjoy all things sport and have played in various teams over the years through school and local clubs. Recently, you would have been able to catch me scoring goals for the Mazars lunchtime soccer competition against other companies in the North Sydney area.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes, I had no prior accounting experience when I started. Due to the nature of the audit, there is a lot of teamwork, planning and communication involved which are key skills that can be found in almost any job and transferred over to audit. A degree in accounting is definitely the ideal background when starting as it provides a strong base understanding of accounting principles which is combined with on-the-job training from your colleagues.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The diverse range of clients that the firm audits provide exposure to businesses of different sizes across various industries. In my short time at Mazars, I have had the opportunity to work across insurance, technology, biotech and luxury retail businesses which range in size from small to the Australian operations of globally recognised brands. Additionally, the information and people auditors are privy to is cool and part of my interest in what a career offers in the audit.
What are the limitations of your job?
Due to the nature of the audit, it will inevitably be busier during certain periods of the year due to numerous clients having the same year-end such as 30 June or 31 December. However, the other side is there are quieter periods as well. Additionally, there is an element of travelling to client sites to perform testing/stocktakes which ultimately will be based on where your client is located.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student…
Firstly, take advantage of the information available out there such as sites like GradAustralia, forum pages and university careers/accounting societies who will have career fairs or guest speakers come out to discuss their careers which can be useful in deciding what type of firm or role is right for you.
Secondly, don’t be discouraged from applying to jobs. You are more than likely going to be rejected from a job at some point but it’s not the end of the world, each application is an opportunity to learn and improve your interviewing technique for the next one.
Finally, get involved with as much as you can regardless of if it's work, uni or related to your hobbies.