You’ve spent years taking undergraduate tax courses and
finally scored yourself a graduate position. You’re ready to hit the ground
running, right?
Well, no actually. Most firms want
their new recruits to complete further studies within their first year, such as the Tax Institute’s CTA1Foundations, to bridge the significant gap between
academic principles and workplace practice.
We asked four senior staff members from
leading accounting and financial services firms, such as Barringtons, DKM Group,
Moore Stephens and Westcourt, to explain why they expect their early-career
staff members to undertake a tax course with a vocational focus.
Plugging the gaps
The taxation education provided at Australia’s
tertiary institutions is of a high standard, but no matter how prestigious the
university you went to or what grades you achieved, there is still plenty you
need to learn.
“Universities touch on many aspects of
tax in their degree courses,” says Anne Goode, associate director at Moore
Stephens. “Within a six-month study period the level of detail that can be
taught is limited. That’s why we enroll all our tax and business service
graduates in CTA1 Foundations. It’s a way to refresh the university course
material and complement the in-house training.”
More training equals faster advancement
If the thought of hitting the books five minutes
after graduating has you rolling your eyes, consider the fact that undertaking
a tax training course will allow you to take on challenging projects sooner
than might otherwise be possible.
“Getting graduates to do the Tax
Institute’s CTA1 Foundations gives them a general overview – or refresher – in
Australian tax law and reduces their write-offs and the consumption of existing
staff resources [in supervision] during their first six months on the job,”
says Ross Forrester, director at Westcourt. “Once they they’ve completed the
course they can move on from just the fundamental professional work to doing
simple research tasks.”
Leigh Dyson, senior manager at
Barringtons, echoes Forrester’s remarks. “Staff who have completed CTA1
Foundations have a much better understanding of the tax framework and key
provisions and don’t require as much supervision or to have basic concepts
explained to them. Once staff are enrolled in the course we can get them to
start doing compliance-based work, such as tax returns and BAS, which require
an understanding of key concepts.”
Boost your soft skills
“I can remember the days when a
textbook had so much value – now you can Google everything,” says Daleen Van
der Merwe, HR manager at DKM Group. “How do you differentiate yourself in that
environment? It’s about having skills.”
Van Der Merwe believes a tax training
course such as CTA1 Foundations can teach those skills, creating savvy,
sure-footed operators rather than uncertain newbies who are going to cause
“other team members’ time to be wasted fixing errors”.
Read about the importance of soft and hard skills.
Still need convincing about the wisdom
of signing up for a post-university Australian tax course? We’ll give the final
word to Ross Forrester: “CTA1 Foundations is not an intimidating course for
younger staff, but it is an effective one, allowing them to better operate in a
professional firm. And it sets them on a pathway to the CTA2A and CTA2B Advanced, which gives them
the knowledge needed for a professional advice firm.”
Looking for that competitive edge? Look
into completing The Tax Institute’s Programs, Single Subjects or Short-Courses.
