Backroom makeover

By ANGELA McCARTHY

Q: What's the definition of an accountant?

A: Someone who solves a problem you didn't know you had in a way you don't understand.

Q: How many accountants does it take to change a light bulb?

A: How much money do you have?

The jokes say it all - mention the word "accountant" and the stereotype springs to mind of a pedantic book-keeper lacking charisma and sitting in a grey suit behind an obsessively tidy desk.

But the stereotype is hugely out of touch with today's business reality: accountants have come out of the back room and turned into highly desirable creatures.

I've known this for quite some time - I'm married to an accountant, although it did take two or three weeks for the windsurfing party person to admit to it.

But now specialist agencies such as Robert Half Finance and Accounting are warning New Zealand businesses that they face a shortage of professionals with the right skills - which means a combination of technical, communication and people skills.

Robert Half Australasian managing director David Jones describes accountants as a unique breed - and not because of the stereotypes.

"They bring to senior management the ability to structure and they tend to have a better brain for planning."

A survey by the agency showed that earlier this year one in six New Zealand firms was intending to hire finance professionals, while none was intending to reduce the number they employed.

And Phoenix Recruitment managing director Jenny Durno credits them with even more importance: "If entrepreneurs are the backbone of New Zealand, then accountants are the body brace."

Accountancy is a great profession, says Nigel Milton, partner for chartered accountants BDO Spicers, where he has worked for 11 years, the past five as partner.

Milton's enthusiasm is palpable as he describes his role down the phone. "We work with our clients, not for them. We take pride in helping our clients grow and do feel like we're part of the business."

As a modern chartered accountant (CA) Milton, 31, is involved in the cut and thrust of the business world.

Some clients are entrepreneurs running with ideas to make millions, others may be family businesses wanting to organise succession planning.

His job description includes handling mergers and acquisitions, business planning, business start-ups, litigation support services, risk management, raising finance for angel investors, venture capitalists. Slightly more than bean counting.

"It is a role that has expanded greatly in the past 10 years," says Milton.

"The modern chartered accounting firm has become a knowledge pool for entrepreneurs seeking business advice, so modern accountants must be proactive. Because client expectations are higher, strong business acumen is important."



And far from being full of tedious back-room tasks, accountancy has opened up opportunities for Michelle Enright to work in an area she is passionate about - sport.

Now finance manager for the New Zealand Academy of Sport, Enright previously worked as finance manager for Netball New Zealand.

Her career has involved planning for next year's Athens Olympics and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006. When working for Netball New Zealand she handled the financial side of hosting the netball world championships.

"I can feel the difference in my sense of the role, because I'm passionate about what we do," Enright says. "Ages ago I worked for NZ Pepsi. It was great fun because we were starting up in New Zealand but I didn't drink the stuff so I didn't have that long-term commitment."

As a company accountant Enright enjoys her crucial role in helping the business grow, rather than working with a range of clients.

"I find it more rewarding sharing the highs and lows of one organisation," says Enright, who has also worked as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the country's largest chartered accountancy firms.

Erica Lendrum, financial accounting manager for Coca-Cola Amatil (NZ), scoffs at the concept of accountancy been boring.

"I think many businesses now see more clearly the benefit that accountants can add to everyday business and that they offer not only valuable business skills and disciplines, but also their skills as individuals.

"In my mind today's accountant is only limited by the boundaries they set for themselves."

In her role, for example, she is involved with management, systems implementation and many business processes.

Robert Half Finance and Accounting New Zealand manager Kim Smith says the accountant's role has changed significantly in recent years into one of a knowledge services professional.

"It has moved away from processing and calculating data and is now more focused on analysing information and helping to chart the course of a company's future."

The skills and experience now in demand are international experience, strategic analysis, technical abilities, professional certifications and communication skills.

And Gill Cox executive director of Advanced Business Education, the provider of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand's professional competency programme, says communication skills are vital for today's professionals. "Accountants have to be able to tell other people what the technical stuff actually means."

Durno agrees. "As well as understanding numbers, accountants need to be able to help other people to understand them," she says. "It is about more than speaking English. We've got clients who turn down A+ students because they can't present themselves and their ideas properly."

The push for accountants to develop a strong layer of communication and business skills alongside their technical base becomes clear when looking at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand (ICANZ) professional competency programme.

To gain the CA internationally recognised qualification, accountants need four years of approved tertiary education behind them and then must do the ICANZ professional competence programme.

They can enter the first part of the programme after one year's practical experience, then enter the second programme after two years' professional experience.

The final six-hour exam is an open-book case-study-based exam with a strict word limit. "This means it isn't a brain dumping exercise," explains Cox. "We want to see how candidates can structure knowledge and professionally present solutions to issues."

The programme emphasises communication, teamwork, problem identification and solutions and business ethics.

Cox finds some accountants surprised by the emphasis on business teams and decision making, rather than data collection.

"Accountants these days have to be proactive, and able to plan, interpret, predict and communicate," says Cox. "To do well you also need a passion about your role in business."



Lendrum, who returned to New Zealand to do her CA study after a stint overseas in a commercial environment, decided she needed the qualification if she wanted to move forward in the profession.





And her stint overseas points to one of the reasons New Zealand has a high demand for accountants - which is most acute in provincial areas, as young professionals gravitate to the cities looking for breadth of opportunity.

Milton says the tendency for Kiwi accountants to head overseas once they have their CA qualification leads to shortages of suitably qualified chartered accountants in public practice with between three and six years' experience.

"Unfortunately once accountants leave public practice after doing their overseas experience they do not return," he says. "In Britain there are more commercial jobs and dollars earned, and when they return they want to stay in the corporate world where they perceive there are more dollars to be earned."

Also, points out Robert Half's Jones, many New Zealand head offices have now moved to Australia.

Cox agrees shortages are exacerbated by newly qualified CAs leaving New Zealand, but says they do gain valuable life and business experience overseas.

"However, today they seem to stay away longer than in the past. While many return, some now seem to be favouring Australia, attracted by the bigger pay packets and opportunities afforded by a larger economy."

It is, after all, a global market for such desirable professionals.