INTHEBLACK December - January 2022 - Magazine - Page 20
“Bear in mind that all
organisations are different and
have varying opportunities, and
the type of work and clients to
which you may be exposed.”
STRATEGIC CAREER MOVES
Finding the perfect fit
ANDREW ALLEMAND ASA, SV PARTNERS
20
DEC 2022
JAN 2023
“There were lots of secondment
opportunities, where you tried out different
departments, but it’s also very competitive
to get the department you want,” she
says. “It’s still competitive inside the Big
Four...it doesn’t stop once you are in, and
it doesn’t feel as easy to approach your
superiors, as it is much more hierarchical.”
THE INNER WORKINGS
Accountant Andrew Allemand ASA
started his career at a small practice and
moved to a big advisory firm, SV Partners
in Brisbane, where he is happily ensconced
as a manager in the voidable recovery and
forensic accounting teams.
He admits that his long-term goals could
“potentially have been achieved quicker”
if he had started at a bigger firm, but he
would not change a thing.
“I think I am better off for the
opportunities and experiences I was
provided with at a smaller and much more
specialised firm,” he says. “It allowed me to
gain invaluable experience with end-to-end
functions of all business operations.”
In particular, Allemand admires smaller
firms for operating at high levels of output
with limited resources.
“I recommend [this path] for any young
person seeking practical and broader
business skills and experience, as it grants
a new appreciation for the oil that fuels
the cogs that keep a business operating
smoothly,” he says.
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of
a small firm is the access you have to the
many components of the business, AJ notes.
“You speak to the client, and you get the
commercial reality of the business as well,”
AJ says. “You actually meet with the clients
and you raise invoices to provide quotes or
present proposals, whereas in a larger firm
you are sort of protected from that reality
at the beginning stages.”
INTHEBLACK CAREER, ELEVATED SPECIAL EDITION
In fact, this client connection was one of
the chief reasons AJ started his own firm.
“At least for me, I have found that you
can really see the difference you can make,”
he says. “You get involved with the business
owners and build a strong relationship.”
AJ says one of the potential downsides
of a bigger firm is that the work can
get “monotonous, and it becomes very
process-driven”.
“As a young accountant, you want to
be exposed to as many industries and
challenges as possible,” he says.
This resonates with Heng, who says that
her new role allows her to branch out into
other disciplines more freely.
“I felt, too, that my learning opportunities
at a Big Four were fairly limited, because
it was just me on the tax planning side,
and I didn’t really look at other aspects,
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