Accounting Career Profile

Accounting: Adding Value to the Business

Nigel Neal, Strategy & Business Planning Manager, Lonely Planet Publications

Getting Close to the Business

Nigel Neal completed a commerce degree and worked in a host of roles at organisations as diverse as a futures exchange, an IT information company, a US investment bank, a global insurance company and global news company Reuters. From research analyst to country manager responsible for sales and strategy, to head of business planning, Nigel has been exposed to a wide variety of businesses and business practices.

Nigel currently works in the finance team at Lonely Planet Publications, reporting to the Chief Financial Officer. His role is to assist the Australian-based travel publishing company become more successful by assessing and then advising on commercial decisions. Nigel's specific focus is on the new media side of the business.

	Career Questions: What do accountants do? What do accountants do at Lonely Planet? Is there a type of person that makes a good accountant? How important is an accounting qualification? And what proportion of your team is from a Chartered Accounting background? What's the best thing about your job?

What do accountants do?

An accounting degree gives you a base to do anything you want to do. You not only get core accounting skills, but also an ability to understand the objectives of a business - usually to make money or to be successful in other ways - and you learn the methods to achieve these goals.

What do accountants do at Lonely Planet?

At Lonely Planet there's a really broad range of roles. The company has about 500 employees worldwide and we employ around 25 people in accounting or finance roles.

Jobs include Financial Accountants who provide the basis for financial reporting, ensuring that when the numbers are combined they are comparable across organisations. They also ensure that the processes and systems function so that the right information is collected, bills are paid and receipts get collected. Commercial Analysts, sometimes called Management Accountants, help the business understand what their budgets are, what they've already spent, and how different areas are performing. They also provide financial input into the assessment of initiatives and forecasting in general. There are also specialists in certain areas, such as tax, treasury and systems. A real variety of roles.

Is there a type of person that makes a good accountant? Accountants are as diverse as people anywhere. There are so many types of accounting, so people with different skills tend to gravitate to the areas they're good at. If you're detail-orientated you might get into the legal or tax side of things; following rules and having to interpret legislation. Or you might naturally be more analytical in nature and enjoy the broader or more strategic view of helping the business assess the financial impact of potential initiatives - these types of roles/people tend to gravitate to commercial management. As roles get more senior they often get broader in nature as responsibilities increase, with this greater or more holistic overview, these roles tend to command a higher price. People who can understand the objectives of a regulation or legislation and not just the rules themselves do well. Having said that, specialist roles in certain areas can also demand high salaries, much like any profession. Once the boring stuff is out of the way, you can add value to your business and get paid more! As with most roles you need to be flexible, there are some dead boring things you have to do when you're an accountant - but you need to get this stuff done in order to get to the more interesting work. Once the boring stuff is out of the way, you can prove yourself, add value to your business and get paid more to work on more interesting or more challenging work!

Most Popular Courses Bachelor of Accounting Certificate IV in Financial Services (Accounting) Diploma of Accounting Advanced Diploma of Accounting Certificate III in Financial Services (Accounts Clerical) Career Facts There are over 150,000 accountants in Australia. Jobs range from accounts to auditing to payroll to management. The property and business services sector employs 57% of all accountants.

How important is an accounting qualification? And what proportion of your team is from a chartered accounting background?

Every person in my team at Lonely Planet is from a chartered accounting background. It'd be rare for a place like Lonely Planet to employ someone in the Finance section without a formal accounting background and qualification; it's your ticket to work in the finance sector.

What's the best thing about your job?

Working at Lonely Planet, I spend my day with people from lots of different backgrounds, so it's always interesting work. It's very satisfying to be involved in decisions that are made - to be close to the business - adding value and giving advice about the best way to reach the company's objectives.

Back to top