Cadetships 2017 (4 Viewers)

[seremify007]

I've heard accounting especially is dying. It has a high chance of being automated in comparison to other degrees as well.
Are you guys sure running this degree is still a good idea?

I don't want to duplicate what others have said (eg bookkeeping vs professional accounting, the roles considered 'dying', etc) but instead, I'll share my own experience especially since the topic of automation and robotics is commonly brought up in this circle. The key thing here is not so much about the field of accounting 'dying', but rather, what the profession will entail in the future and how the skills you have today will change over time to meet the changing needs of the industry.

One of my recent projects was to help a client with building an automated reporting system by taking the various specific set of rules applicable to a certain type of regulatory reporting and defining the business rules in the target operating model, working closely with the IT platform vendor and helping develop a bespoke system which was efficient enough to run BAU and customisable in the longer term with an open script/programming language.

I don't have a programming background. I have an accounting background. I was able to use my knowledge gained from auditing these rules and knowing how they are pulled together to help the client with actually building this thing. In the future as rules change, new products are added, etc... there will be more tweaks/work required to keep it up to date, but ultimately the mundane part of this reporting of accounting/financial data will be automated.

I've done similar other projects lately which leverage various things I've learnt from audit (eg how to design a process with sufficient controls to address business risks in a process landscape within a target operating model) but it's these higher level activities which can only be done once you've had sufficient experience on the ground actually doing the leg work, and even then, that leg work will exist but just in different forms.

Just my 2c.

 

[Phaze]

Not all cadetship applications are open yet, but you can search around on job seeking sites (Ex. Seek). The one most people would be applying to is UBS and the Big 4 (But I don't think any of them are offering besides KPMG this year, don't quote me but)

- I don't think KPMG has offered cadetships for a while now. This may have changed in the last year?
- EY opens it's cadetship applications to Year 12 students and early uni students.
- PwC up until recently used to accept Year 12 applicants but now only accept those in their first year of a single undergraduate degree or in their second year of a double degree.
- Deloitte didn't offer cadetships a few years ago but seems as if they are now to first years. (Link)

 

[si2136]

UBS Cadetships Introduction Video

 

[ilikecats]

What's cadet

A cadet is an entry level job. It is generally targeted at school leavers. You work in a company whilst you also study a relevant degree. We predominantly talk about accounting and finance cadetships here.

Is being a cadet worth it

Without a doubt the answer is yes.

- You get relevant work experience and develop new relationships and skills that will put you ahead of others graduating with the same qualification. For (in most cases) 1 additional year at university, you will have 3 years more relevant experience at graduation than your peers. You'll be able to secure higher paying roles and progress in your career quicker.

- You will have a paid, secure job throughout your studies, that understand you need time off for exams etc. Most of the time, you'll also have a guaranteed job afterwards. Generally also you'll have a higher hourly rate than casual/part time roles in say retail or hospitality, that most students have.


My personal experience; I've had so many more opportunities than all my friends career wise. While I have taken longer to complete my studies (I started a whole extra degree!), I have gained so many more skills than you ever will at university, which has been instrumental for me getting a job after graduating.

I can afford to do things like go out and party or travel while I'm still young, but I know when I get back I have a secure job, or I have the experience and education necessary to find a position compared to people I went to uni with.

So many people I have worked with recently have had great respect for the fact I worked and studied. It shows you are driven, you are motivated, and you are more willing to put in everything you have. And so many more wished they had the opportunities I did.

It's never to early to start developing a career. But the longer you wait, the more people you'll need to compete with.

 

[-Senpai]

Nah I didn't mean it like that si. Its cos of automation and how you could automate a lot of what accountants do due to its repitive nature.
Read this-
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/what-should-you-study-to-stop-robots-stealing-your-job

Yeah that's definitely not going to affect a majority of other accounting divisions such as corporate insolvency or forensic accounting.

Reaper can vouch for me here - do you think it's possible to get a computer to conduct investigations into preference payments, etc.?

It's more on the side of technology supplementing the accountants rather than replacing them entirely ~

 

[Mathew587]

Yeah that's definitely not going to affect a majority of other accounting divisions such as corporate insolvency or forensic accounting.

Reaper can vouch for me here - do you think it's possible to get a computer to conduct investigations into preference payments, etc.?

It's more on the side of technology supplementing the accountants rather than replacing them entirely ~

74 years ago, the first computer was made and functioned pretty much like a calculator and helped the US army find nuclear trajectories.
42 years ago, the first personal computer came out and it was pretty shit. 2 years later, Apple release Apple I and that was less shit.
37 years ago, the Cray supercomputer was released and was one of the most powerfuls computers ever built and was featured in Jurassic Park
10 years ago, Apple released the Iphone.
This year they released the iWatch. It has the computational power of 300 Cray supercomputers.

The point is that computer are advancing at a ridiculous rate not only that, you would have probs heard that Google's deepmind AI bet the world leading Go player. There are more possible combination in Go then there are atoms in the universe (10^80 in the universe compared to ~2.082 × 10^170)
If you think a computer can beat a human in such a complex game but won't replace humans in accounting, you're most likely mistaken.
But hey, there's always a chance that it won't.

 

[ilikecats]

I'm going to be a fun old lady one day. I'm just old enough to "remember when" so one day some poor child is going to come to me for their stories of growing up.

When I started high school (so like 2006, not that long ago, only 11 years!), assignments were submitted on CD or Floppy disks, if not paper copy only. USBs were over $50 for a GB so nobody really could afford them.

By the time I started uni (2012), CDs no longer existed and we were all about those cheap USBs for storing data. 1-2 GB were reasonably priced, but 6 and 8 GB were rather pricy still.

I'm now in my last year at university, USBs are all but dead and we're all about the cloud now.

I also remember shit like dial up, going to the video store to rent tapes, September 11, the 2000 Olympics, Y2K and starting school in the 90s. Ive even got vague memories of a Princess Diana dying. People at my old workplace were bloody impressed when I could use a fax machine and one of those slider things they used to use on credit cards. I'm just old enough to remember this stuff. Negative, I also vividly remember the fashion trends of the mid 2000s.


Sorry for the slight side rant, but, I can be old when I want to!

 

[seremify007]

Yeah that's definitely not going to affect a majority of other accounting divisions such as corporate insolvency or forensic accounting.

Reaper can vouch for me here - do you think it's possible to get a computer to conduct investigations into preference payments, etc.?

It's more on the side of technology supplementing the accountants rather than replacing them entirely ~

I agree there's always a human aspect to a lot of the more advanced/sophisticated roles, but the real question is what will that role be in the future... there is definitely a push towards automation of everything, and as much as you think that a role is impossible to outsource, the reality is if you were able to train a graduate/trainee to do it, it's something which could potentially be automated to a degree depending on how much judgement is given, or how much you are willing to build an appropriate algorithm which gives sufficient coverage or accuracy over what you would've done otherwise.

 

[InsoulvencyReaper]

Yeah that's definitely not going to affect a majority of other accounting divisions such as corporate insolvency or forensic accounting.

Reaper can vouch for me here - do you think it's possible to get a computer to conduct investigations into preference payments, etc.?

It's more on the side of technology supplementing the accountants rather than replacing them entirely ~

That would have to be some sophisticated software lol.

Most times they just look like ordinary transactions [emoji23]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[si2136]

Charted Account Cadetship Information Evening - 17th of May

 

[aidan059]

Looks like PwC are doing cadetships again this year for high school leavers called "Higher Apprenticeship Program" applications opening late April 2017

http://www.pwc.com.au/student-careers/higher-apprenticeship-program.html

 

[aidan059]

Anyone know if BDO are doing cadetships? all I can find is a program for 1st & 2nd year uni students

 

[si2136]

Anyone know if BDO are doing cadetships? all I can find is a program for 1st & 2nd year uni students

Not this year.

 

[Phaze]

Looks like PwC are doing cadetships again this year for high school leavers called "Higher Apprenticeship Program" applications opening late April 2017

http://www.pwc.com.au/student-careers/higher-apprenticeship-program.html

I think the Higher Apprenticeship Program is a new / different program. PwC did cadetships last year as well, 2015 was the only year they didn't run the traineeship program in recent years.

Traineeship Link: http://www.pwc.com.au/student-careers/trainee.html

 

[aidan059]

Not this year.

Actually I contacted them and she replied that they are, but they haven't posted any information yet as they're dealing with grads first. She said applications will open late May.

 

[aidan059]

I think the Higher Apprenticeship Program is a new / different program. PwC did cadetships last year as well, 2015 was the only year they didn't run the traineeship program in recent years.

Traineeship Link: http://www.pwc.com.au/student-careers/trainee.html

But trainee requires you to be 2nd or 3rd year of uni, I thought this thread is just for high school leavers cadetships

 

[si2136]

Actually I contacted them and she replied that they are, but they haven't posted any information yet as they're dealing with grads first. She said applications will open late May.

I guess you're right, because it is quite early with the grad applications and stuff. Usually they open during May and do the interviews in the hols.

It's good to see a fellow HSC 2017er interested in cadetships. Hard to the competitiveness these days.

 

[Phaze]

But trainee requires you to be 2nd or 3rd year of uni, I thought this thread is just for high school leavers cadetships

The traineeship program is the cadetship program, PwC has always labelled it differently. Up until last year it was open to high school leavers as well but they've changed it so you apply in your 1st or 2nd year year of uni and start work in your 2nd or 3rd year. It's ultimately still the same because if you did apply as a high school leaver for the PwC traineeship program you wouldn't start work until you completed your 1st year of uni.

 

[si2136]

Are there any Law cadetships floating around?

Pitcher Partners is open on the 16th of May.

 

[strawberrye]

Are there any Law cadetships floating around?

Pitcher Partners is open on the 16th of May.

Law cadetships are extremely rare and almost unheard of.