Highlights:
A day in the life
Employee Profile - Chris Hanna
Chris Hanna
Senior Accountant, Business Advisory, Adelaide
What is your typical day?
People
often consider an accountant to just be a bean counter, but since being at
William Buck I am yet to count a single bean! Being an Accountant in William
Buck's Business Advisory division means the tasks I perform on a day to day
basis can often vary. These tasks include but are not limited to: Compliance
work (Accounts and Tax Returns), Management Accounting (monthly and quarterly),
Activity Statements and a variety of other tasks for clients. I have also spent
a number of months on secondment at a leading manufacturing plant in South
Australia, which was a great experience!
This variety ensures that no two days at William Buck are the same and keeps
the role interesting and fulfilling.
Explain your team & team's work ethic
At William Buck Adelaide, our Business Advisory division is based on a team structure. Our teams consist of between 4-8 members depending on requirements. Each team has a mix of experience levels and qualifications allowing for each member to gain knowledge from one another.
The firm is really flexible with work and study commitments and I often have lunch with team mates and attend social functions outside of the office environment.What has been your career progression?
So far, so good! Since beginning at William Buck in January of 2005, I have progressed from Graduate to Senior Accountant. In this time I have completed the Applied Taxation course with Merit offered by the Taxation Institute of Australia. I have also completed the Financial Accounting & Reporting module as part of the CA Program through the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and enjoy the challenges that are being presented as I continue studying the program. Little bit nerdy I suppose!
Any hobbies?
Outside of work and studying, I enjoy playing a variety of sports including football and golf. I also like having dinner and a drink with family and friends for any occasion and often need no occasion at all. I have recently become a father for the first to little Xavier, which my partner Jasmin and I are extremely excited about.
Employee Profile - Tien Tran
What is your typical day?
Over 3 years ago when I started at William Buck in the Business Advisory team, I had no experience in accounting except for what I had learnt studying my commerce degree at University. The great part of working in this team is that it allows you to start off with the fundamentals of accounting as opposed to jumping into something more specialised.
We help clients to grow in a number of different industries by really getting to know their business. We prepare end of year financial accounts, income tax returns and periodic management accounts. We also advise clients on potential tax benefits, minimising exposure to task risks, group restructuring and how to improve their business based on their current financial results.
Explain your team & team's work ethic
My team, Team Echo, currently comprises of a partner, 3 senior accountants, 2 graduates and our executive assistant. Each of us brings a different set of skills and qualifications to the team and we work well together to achieve the best results for our clients. While we work extremely hard, we also have a lot of fun and socialise together regularly.
In a social sense, the Sydney office as a whole is the biggest team. We get along with each other very well and regularly have lunch, drinks after work and other social events such as days at the races, lawn bowls and parties. That's the best part of being here.
What has been your career progression?
I started off at William Buck in January 2006 as a Graduate Accountant in the Business Advisory division and after 3 years on a steep learning curve, I am now a Senior Accountant having also completed my CA program through the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
My career progression over the past years has definitely been a challenging experience for me and has required a lot of self discipline in terms of work, study and social life. Overall, however, the time has passed really quickly and now when I look back on it, I strongly believe it has been a very rewarding experience.
Any hobbies?
I definitely enjoy my weekends. Outside of work I enjoy spending time with family and friends, going for dinner and drinks and (when the weather is nice) I love going to the beach for a swim.
Employee Profile - Patrick Conway
What is your typical day?
I work as a supervisor for one of our 4 business advisory teams. Our core objective is the preparation financial statements, income tax returns and business activity statements. The exciting part of my day comes when we are required to help our clients with matters outside of the compliance area, such as helping them plan their cash flows, prepare budgets, general value add to their business and any other tax planning issues the client has. Client requests can sometimes be challenging, and it is my responsibility to see these tasks are carried out professionally and confidentially by either myself or other members of my team.Explain your team & team's work ethic
Our team consists of a 6 members, with a director, supervisor, accountant, 2 graduates and an undergraduate all contributing. The mix of experience in our team allows the younger members of our team to benefit greatly from the experience other members have. Our team is very flexible and are always willing to put in an extra effort in order to get the job done. We also enjoy each other's company away from the office and have had many social team building functions to strengthen our professional relationships.
What has been your career progression?
I began work with a small firm where I commenced as a graduate accountant. After 3 years in business we merged with William Buck in July 2007 and I have never looked back. I am currently a supervisor at WB and have been fully qualified for about 1 year. I believe there are many opportunities at William Buck to fast track your career progression if you are willing to work hard enough.
Any hobbies?
Outside of the office I enjoy playing and watching a variety of sports, including cricket, football and soccer. On the weekends I like to relax with family and friends, enjoying a few drinks after the rigours of a hectic week.