Letter from... Australia

Peta Tomlinson considers the poor image accountancy has among Australian students

Certain professions tend to evoke stereotypical images - the bearded boffin bent over the microscope (scientist), the kindly, elderly gent in the white coat (doctor) - most of them long outdated.

While we all know that today's professionals come in all kinds of guises, it seems that, among Australian youth, accountants remain the poor cousin when it comes to public perception.

This seems unfair: what other profession has made the quantum leap from backroom to boardroom in the space of a generation? It also doesn't make sense. Australia needs more accountants, yet despite rosy career prospects, enrolments have stabilised or decreased in recent years. University researchers trying to find out why say accountancy has an image problem.

According to Naomi Stuart, associate lecturer in accounting at Sydney's Charles Sturt University, accountants are still viewed by secondary students as 'daggy, cardigan-wearing number-crunchers'.

John Neilson, head of accounting at Curtin University, Perth, agrees. 'In the eyes of Australian high school students, accounting is not perceived to be a glamour subject,' he said. 'But that is not right... and we have to get that message across.'

Neilson points out that many students in Australian accountancy courses come from overseas - predominantly Mainland China. He says these students have recognised the demand for accountants worldwide, but the message has been lost on Australian secondary students who view courses such as marketing and information systems as more appealing. 'Accounting is seen as being dull and boring, and nothing could be further from the truth.'

Charllotte Ann Webbe, a trained accountant who now runs an image consultancy in Brisbane, concurs that in the eyes of young people, accountancy seems a staid profession.

'With that comes the stereotypical assumption of personality types: of accountants being left brain people who focus on numbers. This is an old perception which hasn't changed with time, and is not reflective of the dynamic young people who are now going into the profession.'

Perception takes a long time to change but, importantly, Webbe believes accountants want to change.

'My clients definitely want to upgrade their image. Accountants want to be more fashionable, to be dynamic and exciting so that they stand out from the crowd. People with wonderful style about them always look confident.'

It is not just a matter of updating one's wardrobe. In fact, clothing is the last thing Webbe looks at in her Charllotte Ann Image Academy makeovers. 'Our business plans are based on a firm's total image - the company goals, office design, ability to communicate and how people perceive them,' she said.

Webbe added that smaller accountancy firms 'can't be all things to all people'. They should be specific in their marketing and portray an image reflecting their target clientele. 'For firms targeting younger people, it's OK for them to have young, groovy accountants with the latest hairstyles and fashion. If their clients are multinational corporations, they would expect older accountants dressed in suits.'

Firms like BDO Kendalls are doing their bit to change what national human resources director, David Meagher, describes as 'a Monty Python perception' of accountants, saying continuous branding is needed to stamp out an outdated stigma.

During visits to high schools, BDO Kendalls' staff members point out that repetitive tasks are a thing of the past. 'We explain that number-crunching is now done by computers,' said Meagher. 'Today's accountants are more advisers and consultants. If students want to be in the boardrooms of the world, involved in high value transactions and important business decisions, then accounting is the career for them.'

The firm also appeals to graduates - the so-called Generations X and Y - through recruitment strategies promoting work-life balance. 'We employ people who not only focus on what they do academically, but have a passion and drive outside their working life,' he said. Outside interests bring lateral ideas to the thought process, Meagher explained. 'People learn a lot from those experiences.'

Further showing that there is more to life than work for accountants, the firm has introduced health and well-being programmes that include yoga classes, massages and a free daily breakfast for staff members.

Curtin University welcomes any initiative to help increase accounting enrolments, including its own Meet the Leaders programme where role models from the business community show secondary students where an accounting degree can take them. 'We demonstrate what a fantastic stepping stone this career choice can be,' said Neilson.

Peta Tomlinson is a freelance journalist who writes for the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.