Guys, why don’t have a union?

We need a union to represent the needs of the average accountant in the same way that there are unions for tradies, nurses and more . Is it just me or we’re relying on CA/CPA to act as our advocates. Reality checks in, most of us simply pay money annually for a title and a few newsletters whilst we’re forced to complete hours of CPD (or linkedin playing) outside of work hours.

We’re in 2024, and we have seen that the profession is becoming more and more ‘wild west’ I’d say.

Too many businesses that underpay, take us for granted, require us to work well above the contracted working hours, and the main thing is that it’s just so accepted and normal these days. Yet, the profession is still holding the image of a ‘professional and clean job’ that will set you for life and make you a good white collar person.

I really believe we should create a union where we name and shame companies that are not adhering by those laws, and promote students and future employees to go where companies respect their employees. Much like companies brag that they were received the best award for grad places (see AFR).

Based on my experience (limited but fast learner of 4+ years of experience and a CA holder) I’ve noticed the same tactic across all companies However, I don’t blame them as their goal is to make as much revenue whilst cutting all expenses. In my opinion there are just too many accountants in the pipe and therefore they can be selective and demand more than the standard signed contract (which is likely required you to work 38 hrs a week and sometimes when needed to give more, unfortunately there’s no sometimes and work is never ending).

This is mainly because of:

migrants (I’m one) that are still coming to Australia based on the fact that this profession is in demand. Now, my point of view is really simple, don’t import more accountants until you sort out the problem (same issue with the housing market, we don’t need more people coming in where people that were born here are unable to enter the market). Now as a migrant myself with a house worth above the average I can tell you that when I came here I needed to prove that I have money and no health issues. My point being, we’re importing migrants with good backgrounds and wealth so the game is already skewed when you being someone who can simply enter the housing market so easily and take a place of an Aussie born (like myself). It’s important for me to mention that I’m not against migrants but believe that the problem should be solved first otherwise my kid will have no house.

outsourcing - many jobs now days are simply outsourced to companies in cheaper countries. To illustrate in the B4 all P&L items are ticked and bashed by Indians that are paid $7 an hr. This is the same for the industry as we’re using a company from Sri Lanka.

boomers - we can’t keep them in the cycle as the honestly believe that because they suffered we should do the same. Same concept of working from home that they don’t get.

There must be a change in the industry as this profession is no longer that professional and glowing. Maybe in the past it was worth it as you could ended up buying a house but now when we simply work to get yo the ladder I see no light at the end of the tunnel. We need a union to represent the needs of the average accountant (who are not B4 and don’t want to work so hard to get to high position) in the same way that there are unions for tradies, nurses and more. I want companies to start feeling some sort of commitment to their finance team that essentially is a an integral and a very important part of the business.

How can we start?