Accounting Graduate Jobs in Melbourne

Victoria is home to over 26% of accounting jobs in Australia, with the majority of these located in Melbourne where a number of large accounting firms have offices. Melbourne is also home to the highest-ranking accounting school in the country, The University of Melbourne, and competition for graduate roles is therefore tough.

Unfortunately, offshoring and automation are reducing demand for graduate accounting positions and employers have become more selective, seeking graduates with technical skills and work experience, as well as good grades.

Types of graduate jobs/roles

Accountants are important for every industry and play an important role in business processes and issues. Graduate jobs can, therefore, be found in accounting practices, corporations, not-for-profit organisations, government departments and small to medium-sized businesses. However, for graduates, there is often little choice in what type of role or job they will go into so flexibility is important.

The most common graduate jobs/roles are in:

• Accounting
• Taxation
• Audit and Risk
• Corporate Reporting
• Internal Audit
• General Management.

Biggest employers

The big four accounting firms, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY, are the biggest employers of accounting graduates in Melbourne.

Large corporations with offices in Melbourne also hire a large number of accounting graduates. These include:

• Protiviti
• Procter and Gamble
• Ferrier Hodgson
• Stockland
• Capgemini
• Broadspectrum.

The Victorian Public Service GRADS program has an accounting and finance stream and employs approximately 30-40 accounting graduates per year.

Average graduate salaries

The average starting salary for graduate accounting roles in Melbourne is $42,000, although positions at the big four accounting firms can pay as much as $55,000. With accounting graduate salaries increasing in recent years, those in Melbourne remain less paid than those in Sydney, Canberra and Perth, where the average graduate accounting salary is $48,000.