A Day in the Life

The team at CSA goes undercover and discovers what is involved in a day in
the life of some of the industrys professionals.

Welcome
Commerce Students Association
The Commerce Students Association are proud to present
our Day in the Life Guide 2015, where the CSA Executive
Committee has gone undercover to discover what is involved
in a day in the life of the industry professionals!
We asked each of the industry experts the following
questions below and within this guide we have revealed the
answers for you!

Questions:
1. Could you outline what a typical day at the office looks like for you?
2. Could you describe what the transition from tertiary studies to your
career was like for yourself?
3. What has been one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a
professional?
4. What particular quality of your profession do you enjoy the most?
5. If you could change one thing about your daily routine at the office,
what would it be?
6. If you could have one super power, what would it be?

Disclaimer
Material contained in his Guide is subject to copyright.
You may download, display and print and reproduce this material in its unaltered form only
(retaining this notice) for your personal and non-commercial use only.
All rights are reserved apart from use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968.
Contributed work may be the subject to respective copyrights.
Please contact the author for permission to reproduce any materials.
Although the editors and authors have taken every care in preparing and writing the CSA Online
Careers Handbook, they expressly disclaim and accept no liability for any errors, omissions,
misuse or misunderstandings on the part of any person who uses or relies upon it. The editors,
authors, the Commerce Students Association Inc. accept no responsibility for any damage, injury
or loss as a result of a person relying, wholly or in part, on any material included, omitted or implied
in this publication.
While we did our best to research and fact-check everything in this guide, there may be some
information that has changed. Please use this information as a guide only and seek expert advice if
you have any welfare issues of major concern. Students should always do their own research.
Some sections of the guide were written by other office-bearers and they included the information
they considered relevant to their departments. Please contact them or their departments directly if
you have any further questions or concerns.

A Thank You to Our Sponsors

Stephen Wait
Financial Planner
FPA

3. The most challenging thing in recent years

1. My day generally starts with checking of all

has been constant changes in legislation and

emails, followed by a management meeting with

uncertainty within the political arena as both sides

the owners of the practice. In this meeting we go

of the debate have different ideas. The other

over the previous days work, new appointments,

challenging point is the constant press over a small

and any issues that arose out of the workflow.

amount of people claiming to be advisers as this is

After the meeting we usually follow up any

always bad press and it always is written in a way

appointments that have been made (usually 1 or 2

that makes us all look bad.

per day) and prepare for them. These are generally

annual or half yearly reviews, each taking

4. The most satisfying part of Financial

approximately 1 to 1.5 hours per appointment. We

Planning is meeting clients and providing solutions

record any notes from the meeting and prepare

for their issues whether it is investing for retirement,

notes for a further Statement of Advice if required.

protecting their livelihood or assisting businesses

We also prepare forms for first appointments, send

with their requirements.

emails requesting information prior to our first

meeting and gather any visual material that may be
required for first time meetings.

5. If all the red tape that is required could be

I also spend a few hours a week studying as we

minimised in some way that would make the days

need to engage in continuous study to retain our

easier and you could look after and provide

qualification.

assistance to more clients.

2. The transition from tertiary studies was

6. Be able to promote our Profession in a

reasonable easy as I was studying Accountancy and

positive way and eliminate all the bad press while

continued to study through distance learning.

getting the bad apples to be pushed out of our

Profession.

Kural Akcamci
Financial advice assistant
1. The financial advice assistant position is
extremely busy. I must see workflow two days
ahead and prioritise my task. Typically I will place
all trades (especially term deposits) first thing in the
morning and begin responding to emails from
advisers and clients. I will finalise, consolidate and
peer review financial reports before handing over
any material to the financial advisors for today's
meeting. I will sit with the advisor and run through
what I have presented and ensure they understand
before the client meeting. After today's meeting are
sorted, I will begin to focus on tomorrow's meeting
by contacting stock brokers and external
administrators and asking for opinions and reports.
Once reports are returned I will update our wealth
management software and ensure our data is 100
per cent accurate. Throughout the day, I will have
ad hoc task such as contacting Clients to book
meeting, organising and booking room in the
building, preparing invoices, implementing
financial strategies for clients and contacting
superannuation funds to confirm the clients
position.
2. The transition was smooth. Companies
have processors and procedures clearly mapped out,
so following them avoids any errors.
My tertiary studies fully equipped me for the
workforce, especially knowing all the rules and
regulations.
I had to work on my professional communication a
bit, writing a simple email was different to the
complex essays at University. Once I dumbed
things down and had my work peer reviewed more

I picked it up easily and responded to emails

quicker.
3. Time. There will be afternoons were your
beyond capacity, phones are ringing, advisors
dumping staff on your desk and you have multiple
queries which are very serious. Managing a busy
workflow has not been easy and is a challenge.

4. The adrenalin rush when a client is coming

into the office in one hour and no reports or
paperwork is ready. There has been no quite day,
you will never get bored.
5. Sending out letters, writing up addresses on
express post envelops is so simple and time
consuming but necessary. I would change the
process of getting this outsourced.
6. We don't know what the future holds
because people make decisions.
A persons decision impacts the economy, even if
marginal.
So reading minds would be a handy super power.

Mark Malhi
Advanced Financial
Planner
BCom (Fin) BBus (Mktg) AdvDip (FP)
Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac
Financial Planning)
(Retail Segment Head Office Brisbane)

1. A typical day in the office starts with a

morning meeting to discuss the day that was and also
discussing the day ahead. The meeting attendees are
all staff of the branch (20); we discuss clients booked
to come in, appointments to follow up, opportunities
to call, and introductions to make whilst in the
branch, workflow pipeline and expected or targeting
revenue. After our meeting I spend an hour following
up client enquiries via email or implementing work
for client. I then purposely turn off my emails and
silent my phone where for the next 4 hours I spend
in meetings back to back (45 mins per meeting). If
there is an empty slot, I spend time preparing for the
next meeting (considering strategies and running
modelling). Towards the end of the day I usually like
to walk around the branch, say hello to my referral
partners, catch up, provide feedback, training; I then
return back to my desk and spend the afternoon
writing financial plans until around 630pm every day.
2. The transition from studies to my career was
extremely difficult. I was enrolled full time at
university whilst working full time at Westpac in a
teller role. Working to further my role into a career
whilst jugging my studies was a challenge for 4 years.
The transition to financial planning however was
extremely easy, as the experience and studies were
all completed and simply put the stars aligned

3. The biggest challenge as professional is

making the right choices; after some time you end up
in a position that you hold many qualifications, years
of experience and many successes. With this position;
promotions, new companies, new departments, new
segments and relationship with managers soon
become more and more effecting to the big picture
for the long term. Learning to say no and say yes at
the correct time in life is difficult to master. Knowing
what the best next step forward for yourself and your
family is difficult at times.
4. The quality of my profession I enjoy the most
is simply that Im in a position to make positive
changes in peoples life in relation to financial
matters. Money being such an emotional concept,
you soon realise that changes to someones finances
soon changes all aspects of their extended life. The
position has provided me with the REAL
understanding of the words Integrity, honesty and
respect.

5. Spend less time re-training staff. The bank

can be a high turnover environment; as many people
are being promoted and moving up in the system. As
an adviser we rely on referral partners and business
partners to provide us with clients. These people
need training on soft and hard skills. At times it can
be draining hearing yourself explain the same
concept over and over and over and over for the last
6 years.
6. Time travel! invest at the best times! For
myself and my clients!

Natalie Dimcevski
Senior Consultant Indirect
Tax
CA

3. Once of the biggest challenges I have faced as a

1. There is no typical day at the office! My daily

tasks range from completing compliance type
work, writing advice on GST and/or stamp duty
implications, participating in training sessions or
having internal or client meetings. However, the
only part of my day that remains consistent is
starting off the day with a nice coffee with

professional would have to be juggling my work

commitments with my post-graduate study
(Chartered Accountants Program) and ensuring
I maintain a healthy work-life balance. I believe
the key to achieving this is being organised and
communicating work deadlines with your
managers and peers.

colleagues!
4. I enjoy interacting with clients and providing
2. I completed an internship year during my degree
and therefore transitioned from university to fulltime work earlier than my graduate year. I found

advice as to how they can improve their business.

This aspect of the profession allows me to
engage with clients and apply technical analysis.

the transition challenging as I went from 12

contact hours a week to 37.5 hours! My personal
routine changed significantly, however with time,
my career at EY became the new norm. The
transition from university to my role as a tax

5. Sitting down all day! I try to ensure I go for a

walk at lunch time and break up the day with
regular breaks so that I am not sitting at my desk
for long periods of time.

consultant was positive as I was able to apply the

knowledge I attained from university into a
practical setting. My role has also encouraged me
to take on more responsibility and manage my
time and work commitments.

6. Seeing into the future - this would assist me in

managing my workflow and accepting new
client engagements accordingly!

Terry Brooks
Manager- Forensic
Investigation Division
Professional Standards Command Victoria
Police

* The analysis of data collected ( usually under a

My role is to manage and lead a unit which
undertakes forensic accounting as part of criminal

Crimes Act warrant) and which includes such

things as bank statements, land titles, etc.

investigations and includes a staff member who also

conducts IT forensic tasks. In addition to the forensic
duties, my unit provides business advising and
management services to the professional Standards
Department.

My staff is comprised of an assistant accountant, a

business/financial analyst and an IT forensic expert.
We work closely with police investigators usually at
the rank of Detective Sergeant.

1. A typical day involves:

* The preparation of financial profiles of persons and
or entities that are subject to investigation. A profile
is basically the identification of the person or entity
including age and address details. From there a
profile will seek to establish assets and liabilities that
are important to the investigation.

* Depending on the nature of an investigation I

will from time to time draft a sworn statement for
possible use in court proceedings and where I will
give sworn evidence as an expert witness.

* As required, the provision of advice to other

managers and staff on business matters of the
Department

including

reports

on

budget

performance.

2. My transition was from a post graduate course

undertaken in my early thirties. I had previously
completed a degree in languages and had work
experience. From this study I commenced work
with a firm in Melbourne working in their
consulting Division. Initially my skills were used
in business development and planning however I
received work in the forensic area which I enjoyed.
Over time this work grew and I undertook to learn
as much as I could about forensics.

In 2003, I gained employment in Victoria Police

where I have been able to specialise in this area.

3. Forensic work in the criminal area can be

challenging in the sense that there are confronting
matters to be investigated. My biggest challenge
was to investigate and provide evidence in a
matter that involved serious criminal behaviour
which resulted in a person being jailed for more
than 10 years.

4. I enjoy the ability to work in an area where I feel

the outcome of my work is a better society and
also that my work contributes to an elevated level
of social justice. In one particular job, my work
assisted in proving the innocence of a person. In
another task, I assisted in proving that a person
was still alive (they were subsequently located) by
monitoring their bank accounts this I think was
a comfort to the family who feared that this person
had suicided.

5. Reduce the quantity of e-mail traffic which on an

average day takes in excess of 1.5 hours.

6. Create a never ending budget!!(There is never

enough money in the public sector).

Prue May
Senior Accountant
Assurance
EY

1. I dont really have a typical day, it changes

every week depending on which client Im at and
the time of year.But normally Id arrive at the
clients office in the morning, catch-up with my
team and check on the status of our work or issues.
Id work on my allocated tasks for the day/week,
review the work of junior staff, check-in with the
manager/partner to give them a status update and
get feedback on my work, meet with the client and
give them an update on how we are going and
what information we are waiting on or issues that
weve identified.Occasionally, Ill have to go into
the EY office for meetings with other teams for
planning, dial in to a conference call or attend a
recruitment event. Oh and lots of e-mails!
2. It was quite easy for me, EY provide a lot of
training when we first start - There is no assumed
knowledge so they start from the basics, which is
really good. Our training includes things like
technical training but also soft skills such as
presentation skills and interpersonal skills. We
also get allocated a buddy when we start which is
generally someone who is a year above you.
Theyre there to answer any questions you have
along the way, its really helpful having someone
to talk to that was in the same position 12 months
ago, because they generally had the same issues
that you do.

The only thing I really struggled with was getting

used to getting up early! I never had early classes at
uni so that was a bit of a shock to the system, but
after a couple of weeks you settle into a routine and
it gets easier.
3. A particularly challenging project I worked on was
when I was part of a team on a first year audit client.
This particular client was not only new to the firm,
but new to audit altogether. This required a lot of
consultation between us and the client not only to
understand their needs and issues, but also to
educate them on processes and specific accounting
standards relevant to their business. This
interaction taught me the value of building
relationships with clients, open communication and
how to remain professional in all interactions.
4. It is constantly challenging and changing. I get to
work on different clients from a vast array of
industries, with different people from all over the
world. One day I could be talking to a CFO and the
next Ill be meeting with a warehouse manager.
Each industry presents its own set of challenges
5. The time I start! I am definitely not a morning
person!
6. To be able to read minds. People seem to expect
that we can, so it would be handy to actually be able
to do it! Or to be able to fly I hate sitting in peak
hour traffic.

James Barca
Tax Consultant
EY

3. I think for me its constantly evaluating what is

1. No day is the same at EY, but at a high level, a

day could involve several client meetings,
research, sourcing work, drafting of advice,
working on client proposals, keeping up to date
with news and current events, networking,
learning and development and social functions.

best for me and my career. The world is full of so

many opportunities and trying to work out where
the best place for me to make the most of those
opportunities was and is quite difficult. But in
saying that, I think starting my career at EY has
definitely put me in the best place to make that
evaluation, as the possibilities from here really are

2. My transition was a bit different than most

endless.

graduates. I started work two years before I

graduated and finished my studies whilst working
full time, then upon graduating, I took a graduate

4. I like the variety and the exposure that EY

presents to me at such an early stage in my career.

role here at EY. Having to work full time and

study was tough, but it gave me a really good
insight into what working at a firm like EY would
be like in terms of the expectations placed on you,

5. Commuting, if someone could invent some sort of

device to get me to and from work instantly, Id
be very happy.

and how to manage several different things at

once, including (and most importantly) my time.
I do think though that the hardest part was
adjusting to getting up so early every morning, it
took about 6 months for me to get used to that!

6. Probably given my previous answer, it would

have to teleportation or Tony Stark level genius
so I can invent that device.

Sarah Ng
Marketing
TGA Graduate

1. A typical day in the office - there's never one!

4. I love managing a business and managing people

Being part of a start-up means what it's always all

- the ability to interact with so many stakeholders

hands on deck to take the initiative to get things

and build positive relationships is what gets me

done. On a regular day, my role involves me

bouncing out of bed in the mornings raring to go.

waking up, brainstorming ideas on how to engage

with university students and grow the business,

5. I would definitely ensure I get daily lunch breaks

creating a project plan on Asana, and working

- when I am really passionate about the work I'm

with the rest of that team to make these ideas

doing, the hours blitz by and I never seem to grab

happen

any lunch. Or perhaps - unwitting diet plan!

2. Transitioning

from

University

through

to

6. Super speed! There is always so much to get done,

professional life was a confusing time - in

the ability to do things faster would be absolutely

University you had a timetable and a list of work

amazing.

you needed to do and read to get good grades.

When you're at work, there's no prescribed
timetable or lists to do well - it's all about how you
push yourself to achieve things in the workplace.

3. Everything that you need to complete today or in

the next week is always due yesterday. The
biggest challenge at work is being able to
prioritize to make sure that the important bits get
done first!

Mark Cooper
Training Manager
Seed Training Group

1. It is always exciting for me to come to

work every morning as I enjoy training the

struggle for me to get used to for the first 12

months after graduation.

aspiring accountant trainees. I usually start the

morning with preparing all the case studies and
materials that the trainees will be needing and
sometimes conduct inductions whenever we have
new trainees starting. Since the training is very
practical and on a one-on-one basis, I have to
assign the trainers to the trainees to make sure the

3. Being an advanced user of Excel has certainly has

its pros and cons. Knowing how to work
efficiently and being allowed to do so at work is
another thing. Thus, I had always been limited by
management in how I can apply my knowledge to
work. They feared what they didnt understand.

latter are getting the attention and guidance they

require. I would then go through various case
studies with the trainees and assist whenever they
come across difficult tasks. And if I manage to
have any free time in between, its always for
research and development of our course material.

4. Integrity despite some major corporate

collapses, the accounting profession is still held in
high esteem by the general public.

5. It would be my lunch breaks as I always try my

level best to help the trainees with any questions

2. Transition

from

university

to

full

time

employment was a real challenge for me. It was

the time that I came to a sudden realisation that
university hasnt fully prepared me for life in the
workforce. The multitude of knowledge I
acquired during my study wasnt what I needed to
know as a graduate accountant. It, of course, was
useful, but not until the much later in my career.
Additionally, the change from 12 contact hours
weekly to 38 hour working week was a real

they have even doing my lunchbreak and

sometimes this means having only 5-10 minutes
to eat.
6. Teleportation This would be definitely save me
time commuting to work.