CIMA Australia part qualified

salary survey 2009

 CIMA Salary Survey 2009 - Australia

Foreword 1
Executive Summary 2
Main Findings 3
Salaries and bonuses 3
Sector 4
Job roles 4
Recruitment and retention 5
Importance of benefits 5
Promotion prospects 6
Working hoours 6
Career motivators 7
skill sets 7
Geographical mobility 8
Economic future 9
One word to describe success 10
Technical information 11
Further Information 11
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Foreword
Welcome to the Australian results from the Chartered Institute
of Management Accountants’ (CIMA’s) inaugural global salary
survey. The results contained within this report have been created
to provide you with a snapshot of the trends faced by the business
leaders of tomorrow – CIMA’s Australian student base.
The world has faced a tough 12 months and has seen Finance
Directors thrust centre stage as organisations around the world
look to weather the storms ahead. The role of the professional
management accountant has never been more critical to the economy’s success, so it is
encouraging to note that 2008 saw CIMA recruit its highest ever number of students.
As the world’s leading and largest professional body of management accountants, CIMA
is this year celebrating its 90th anniversary. The Institute has lived through various
recessions and upheavals, including the great depression of the 1930s. Experience tells us
that bad times also bring opportunities and vital lessons that will benefit us in the future.
This report, which focuses on CIMA students in Australia, identifies a number of important
trends. The average salary package for students working in Australia is AUS$90,700 per
annum with nearly four fifths of students saying they are extremely satisfied, or satisfied,
with their salary.
CIMA students appear to be masters of their own destiny. Although three quarters of
Australian students are confident that they will be able to keep their current job for the
next 12 months, 63% anticipate that they will change jobs with 27% of these looking to
move overseas.
As CFOs around the world look to build long-term strategies alongside managing the
challenges of day-to-day operations in the current economic climate, CIMA students are
very much in demand. Their ability to work at the heart of an organisation to help drive its
success coupled with the international scope of the qualification makes them the number
one choice for business. On every level.
Please read on for a more detailed insight into what makes our Australian students tick. I
hope you find it an interesting read.

Charles Tilley
Chief Executive
CIMA
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Executive summary
In September 2008 the Australian government was called to spend its AUS$21.7 billion
(£9.8 billion) budget surplus to ease the effects of the global economic slowdown.
National Senate leader Barnaby Joyce (a former accountant) said the spare infrastructure
funds capital should be used to offset the impacts of falling house prices and drops in
individual’s superannuation accounts, according to the Associated Press.
Organisations are having to ensure a delicate but crucial balance between short term
survival and securing their long term future. While there is enormous pressure to cut costs,
investing in the training and development of the financial business leaders of the future
has never been more important. With this in mind CIMA sought to gauge its students’
views of the current climate and understand their salary levels and aspirations.
In February 2009 CIMA launched its first ever global salary survey for students. A total
of 2,093 people contributed to the survey of which 35 were in Australia, establishing
a benchmark of current and future salary potential for CIMA students. This report
summarises the results of this survey, with a particular focus on Australia. The report looks
at the salaries and bonuses paid to CIMA students throughout Australia and how these
vary according to factors such as sector and size of business. It then goes on to examine
recruitment and retention issues and identifies the geographical mobility of CIMA Part
Qualified. Finally, it touches upon views on the future economy.

Overview
The average CIMA students’ annual salary is AUS$90,700.
The average bonus is AUS$6,300 across all students.
But 46% are not expecting to receive on target earnings bonuses at all in 2009. For the
54% expecting a bonus, the average is AUS$11,600.
The vast majority are happy with their salary, nearly four fifths (77%) being extremely
satisfied or satisfied.
A similarly high proportion are happy with their benefits (80%).
Only one out of the four most desired package benefits are studying supports, i.e. study
leave. Pensions, bonuses and flexible hours are the other key factors.
The future
An optimistic 48%, consider their promotion prospects to be good or excellent.
The key job motivator is work life balance/flexibility (34%), with a good working
environment not far behind (23%). This is in contrast to other countries who have ranked
these factors a lot lower.
Leadership (74%) and personal development (54%) are the main focus for skills
development in the next 12 months.
Around three quarters of CIMA students are absolutely or fairly confident that they will
keep their job in the next 12 months.
Of all the countries surveyed, Australia has had the highest number of immigrants in the
last 12 months as 29% of respondents had come from another country.
Over the next 12 months 37% of respondents plan to remain with their current employer,
46% will look for employment with other employers within Australia, while 17% will
search abroad.
A freeze on recruitment (57%) and freeze on salaries (46%) are the most readily
anticipated affects of the recession.
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Main findings
Salaries and bonuses

• The average basic gross annual salary is AUS$90,700 plus AUS$6,300 bonus,
producing a total average package of AUS$97,000.
• The average is pushed up by a small proportion of individuals earning a basic salary
of over AUS$150,000 per annum (3%). A further 23% earn between $110,000 -
$149,999.
• Bonuses again vary, with an average of AUS$11,600 for those expecting to receive one.
46% will not be getting an on target earnings bonus in 2009, showing a high degree of
polarisation in the data.
• After Malaysia, Australia has the highest proportion of students with five years
plus work experience (40%). As a consequence it has a high proportion of
students employed but not studying (40% compared to 22% globally) and it is the
only country targeted in the survey who did not receive responses from those under 25
years old - 77% of Australian respondents were between 25 to 34 years old.
• Nearly three fifths of students live in Sydney (57%), followed by Perth (23%) and
Melbourne (14%).

• On average CIMA students annual salary is AUS$90,700

• The average bonus is AUS$6,300 across all respondents
• 46% don’t expect to receive an on target earnings bonus in 2009
• For the 54% expecting a bonus the average is AUS$11,600
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Sector
CIMA is important to the broad base of Australian industry with the banking, finance and
accountancy sector having the highest proportion of CIMA students (26%), followed by
natural resources, energy / fuel (14%) and manufacturing and engineering (11%).
Given the low base numbers it is difficult to make comparisons across the sectors.
The majority work in companies that employ 500 or more staff internationally (71%).

Job roles
In terms of fitting into the business, organisational structure is traditional, as 80% of
respondents sit in the finance division. A further 9% reside in the operations division and
6% in strategy.
CIMA students most commonly report their job title as finance or business analyst or
management accountant (17% each), and finance manager (11%) demonstrating the
strategic and diverse nature of many students’ roles.
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Recruitment and retention
Benefits importance
The vast majority are happy with their salary, nearly four fifths (77%) being extremely
satisfied or satisfied. A similarly high proportion are happy with their benefits (80%).
Support with study via a range of methods is not as important for Australian students
as those from other countries, instead flexible hours is of key importance. Pensions are
also important along with bonuses and study leave. On this occasion no one is receiving
bonuses as part of their standard benefits package which may be particularly disappointing
for students as this is the joint second most important factor. As with other countries,
expectations are not being met for pay rise or bonus as an incentive for passing exams,
only 3% receive the latter, no one the former, but they score 3.8 out of 5 in terms of
importance.
Encouragingly, contribution/payment of CIMA fees is the most common benefit received
by students, given to around one half of people.
None of the benefits suggested were scored as unimportant, i.e. less than 2.5 out of 5.
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Promotion prospects
By and large Australian students consider their promotion prospects to be as excellent
or good as other countries (48%). Along with India, Australia has the lowest proportion
anticipating poor prospects (11% in India compared to 15% in Australia), indicating a
positive future outlook.
Working hours
A 41-50 hour week is most commonly worked (40%) by Australian students, followed by
31% doing 35–40 hours. Only 9% work less than 35 hours a week.
Nearly, a third of students are under pressure to increase their workload outside normal
hours.
Increased workload can often be as a result of career progression, with 55% of those
anticipating increased hours taking on increased responsibilities or a more pressurised
position. A change in role was also a key reason (45%). However, the effect of the
recession may well already be starting to be felt as understaffing/lack of resources was the
next most common reason (36%).
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Career motivators
Australians may well be one of the most satisfied countries with their salary and benefits,
as none claim to be driven by promotion prospects or benefits packages. They are also the
most likely of all countries to say that a good work life balance/flexibility is key (34%),
with a good working environment not far behind (23%).

Skill sets
CIMA students are well aware their future careers will need them to be good at elements
other than just technical accountancy. As one might expect with a slightly older group
of students, soft skills are higher on the agenda than technical accounting skills, with
leadership skills by far being the most important for them (74%). Personal development
(e.g. career planning, time management) (54%) is also a key focus.
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Geographical mobility
Australia has seen the largest immigration of all the countries surveyed, with 29% of
respondents having moved to the country within the last 12 months. People have largely
moved from the UK, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Nearly two thirds of students (63%) intend to change jobs in the next two years. For the
majority of people moving, they expect to do so within one to two years.
The vast majority of potential movers (73%) will stay within Australia for their next
position. Nevertheless, with 27% of those planning to move intending to go outside
Australia, the geographical mobility of the CIMA qualification is demonstrated. They
appear equally likely to stay within their current industry sector as not, when moving.
All respondents moving abroad are likely to move because of friends and family, while
experiencing a different culture and learning a new language are also drivers.
The most popular overseas destination is the UK, along with the USA and Sinagapore.
9

Economic future
Around three quarters of CIMA students are absolutely or fairly confident that they will
keep their job in the next 12 months.
The majority of people feel the credit crunch will last between one and two years (34%),
with a similar proportion (29%) anticipating a slightly shorter time period of 13 to 18
months. No respondents expect it to last less than seven months.

During the current economic downturn, respondents expect their organisation to take a
number of specific actions; most principally to freeze recruitment (57%), freeze salaries
(46%) and cut budgets or have a fall in the overall profitability of business (43%).
10

One word to describe success...

The size of the font reflects the number of times the word was
spontaneously mentioned.

Integrity

Innovation
Position
Determination Balance

Dedication Wisdom
Qualified

Influence
11
Technical information
Data collection for the CIMA Global Student Salary Survey 2009 was carried out by CIMA
itself online during the period 28 January to 22 February 2009. The data was subsequently
rim weighted (by Redshift Research) by CIMA student level to ensure the profile of the
survey sample accurately represents all CIMA students working in industry.
13,061 CIMA students globally were selected and invited to participate (UK, Ireland, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India, Hong Kong and Australia) – a total of 2,093 completed
the study globally (16% response rate), with 35 respondents from Australia. Basic
responses were as follows:

Further Information
For further information on technical matters relating to this survey, contact
yourvoice@cimaglobal.com

Both the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and Redshift Research are
Market Research Society Company Partners. The organisations abide by the Market
Research Society’s Code of Conduct and the Data Protection Act.