LTSSL Auditor (221213, 221214) Qualification Question

[Bruce Edwards]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are on the verge of deciding to try to emigrate to NZ from the USA! My profession is internal auditing, compliance and information security related. I noted that the LTSSL list include internal auditor on the list. The requirements:

"External Auditor: Bachelor Degree (Level 7) qualification majoring in accountancy and membership or provisional membership with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA). Internal Auditor: Certified Internal Auditor."

Reading this will the full meaning of the punctuation (IMO), it says that Internal Auditor requires a Certified Internal Auditor credential. This I have. It implies no degree in accountancy is required (by meaning inferred from punctuation).

I have a BS degree in Industrial Management but not accountancy.

I would appreciate opinions on if I am reading the requirement correctly or if a degree in accountancy is also required for internal auditors.

Thank you four your thoughts. I look forward to becoming an active member of this community.

Sincerely,

Bruce

[JandM]

Hello, Bruce, and welcome to the forum.

Without having investigated this, just from straight reading of what you have quoted, I agree that your interpretation looks correct. Once NZ has woken up, there may be people around in the same line of work as you, who will be able to comment from a position of experience.

I wonder if you've had a look at ANZSCO? It may have a bearing. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...rmation/anzsco

[Duncan74]

I have a BS degree ...

Refreshingly honest


Sorry, being serious then I'd read it the same way, but I know from personal experience they are slaves to the precise letter of the rule. Really I'd suggest that you email them and aske them the specific question before you commit time and cash into the process.

[Janey]

from experience no you will need Accountancy qualification that allows you to join NZICA, I have a UK accountancy qualification and audit expereince which was not good enough!
your degree and a job would be good NZ are screaming for auditors so may accept you with the experience

[Bruce Edwards]

Thank you everyone. I will email them and find out officially. If it works without the accountancy degree we would have 130 points. If not, then my wife has a social work degree and experience and that is also on the LTSSL and using her as the primary we would have 110 or 115 points (depending on experience that counts). So, it looks pretty good for an invitation to apply in either case.

Anybody have any thoughts on if it makes a difference given the above on which one of us is the primary applicant?

[jkhosking]

Bruce,

I was in a similar position to you not that long ago, and after many phone calls to NZ Immigration (in NZ - not my local office in the UK) and loads of investigation, I decided to apply anyway! Result = PR.

However, I would say the difference between my case and yours is that I also hold a degree in Accountancy and not in Industrial Management.

I would say that you still stand a good chance though as:
- You should still be able to claim 50 points for your Industrial Management degree as Internal Audit is more than attesting to the accuracy of financial statements, and therefore in my opinion you can argue that you have a relevant degree on the basis that your qualification provides the necessary skills to improve processes and controls in other areas. The ANZSCO list, which supplements the LTSSL, states that internal audit examines, verifies, evaluates and reports on financial, operational and managerial processes, systems and outcomes to ensure financial and operational integrity and compliance, and assists in business process reviews, risk assessments, developing deliverables and reporting progress against outcomes. (See link: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@....ate+Treasurers )

- The LTSSL is misleading in it's requirement that you be registered with NZICA. This is highly unlikely that anyone would be registed with this accountancy body if they live outside the borders of NZ. While I thought this would be the barrier to my success, my case officer did not even mention this when my application was assessed.

- It is all down to your case officer, and if you build a relevant argument to support your audit experience, Im certain that you will be sucessful. (I have included an extract from my covering letter in the post below)

I hope that you find my comments helpful. When I was in a similar position to you, I searched and searched this forum and INZ's website for answers and found nothing.

All the best with your decision making, while the costs to apply are substantial, I think it is unlikely they will refuse your application outright on the basis that (a) you have experience that is listed on the LTSSL and (b) you have a degree (which you could argue is relevant to your experience).

See my relevant thread below:

http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19514

see also:

http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread....330#post233330

I arrive in Chch with my family in May this year......

Regards

Justin

[jkhosking]

Work Experience

1. I have applied for this skilled migrant visa on the basis that my occupation is included on the Essential Skills in Demand List, (Long Term Skilled Shortage List), as I am a qualified accountant with 10 years + experience in internal and external audit, as well as in risk management.

2. I have a Bachelors degree level (level 7) qualification majoring in accountancy & audit which qualifies for 50 points as it is included on NZI’s list of recognised qualifications, namely University of South Africa.

3. I also have a further post graduate qualification, through the Association of Chartered Accountants, (ACCA), in the United Kingdom. I became a member of this Association in May 2004, which means that I am a qualified accountant. I have decided to not have this qualification assessed by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, as I already have sufficient points to apply as a skilled migrant – as this is a post graduate qualification, it would have only given me an additional 5 points.

4. ACCA is the largest accountancy body in the world, and has presence in Australia and New Zealand, see http://australia.accaglobal.com/ and this qualification is widely recognised by employers worldwide. It is therefore my intention to continue my membership with ACCA once I arrive in New Zealand.

6. I have included my ACCA membership certificate for your inspection.

7. Furthermore, as I have 10 years + experience in auditing and risk management, I meet the specifications set out within the Australia and NZ Standard Classification of Occupations list, and am therefore applying for my skilled migrant visa as an Auditor, (ANSCO codes 221213 & 221214).


8. I have set out below the evidence that has been included within my application to support the time spent with each of my employers where I gained my audit experience:

xx Plc; London UK
Financial Control Specialist (December 2005 to Current)

Evidence:
• Current employment contract;
• Existing role profile; and
• December 2008 payslip


xx LLP; London UK
Internal Auditor (July 2002 to November 2005)

Evidence:
• Letter, dated 21 November 2008, confirming that I was employed by xx as a Senior Associate within the Assurance department in London during the period specified above;
• Web page extracts summarising the Assurance function for information
• Role profile detailing the key roles and responsibilities of an Audit Senior (or Senior Associate).


Office of the xx; Cape Town South Africa
Auditor (November 1996 to June 2001)

Evidence:
• Letter, dated 17 November 2008, confirming that I was employed by the Office of the xx as an Auditor during the period specified above;
• Role profile detailing the key roles and responsibilities of an Auditor (Assistant Manager)

[Bruce Edwards]

Wow Justin,

I really appreciate the insight and wealth of info you provided. If we have a choice in the matter (meaning ability to find employment), we would love to live in the Christchurch area. I think it will be relatively easy for my wife to find a position as a social worker or marriage and famliy therapist (her specialty) and probably somewhat harder for me to find an equivalent position to my current one (Chief Information Security Officer - a compliance focused position - for a large University). I do have extnesive industry experience too, not just academia. I will be trying for audit, IT audit, information security, or compliance positions, hopefully managerial but staff will work it needed as I know credibility must be earned. My other internationally recognized credentials are CIA, CISA and CISM so I am hoping I would be a attractive candidate for those types of positions in NZ. Finally, I will have a MPH (Masters in Public Health with Management and Systems focus) before we move if accepted.

So, what are thoughts on finding good employment based on how you see NZ (and especially Christchurch)?

I truly appreciate your thoughts and those of the other readers.

Excelsior,

Bruce

[jkhosking]

Bruce,

As I am still in the UK, I don't have much experience to be able to comment on the job market in NZ as my only exposure has been through contacting several recruitment agencies, companies directly and reading threads on this site.

However, I have managed secure an audit role in Chch from June. I got this by sending out my CV to various employers directly. I found this far more effective than going via recruitment agencies, who were not very helpful. They all told me that I would need to be in NZ in order to attend interviews.

In my opinion, I would recommend submitting your EOI, as once your application is successful and you have PR/WTR you will at least be marketable in NZ! Finding employment from outside of NZ is hard enough without the added complexity of asking employers to support a work permit application.

I say jump on the rollercoaster and see where it takes you. You can continue searching for jobs even while your application is in the pool, as if you find employment, your application will be fast tracked.

However, Im certain there are many others on this site that are far more experienced to comment on the NZ job market.