Accru Felsers Graduate Programs & Internships

What it does:  Accru is a leading network of award-winning Australian Accounting Firms.

Mission:  Accru group is unified by a shared vision: to provide responsive, personalized, and proactive accounting, business advisory, and financial services to our clients.

Size and presence: Accru is a member of MGI Worldwide, one of the Top 20 international accounting networks of independent audit, tax, and accounting firms, which brings together the expertise of more than 5,000 professionals in over 260 locations around the world. 

Best known for: Our membership enables us to keep abreast of new and important developments while providing a seamless international service to any of our clients looking for support abroad. 

The good bits: Hands-on training Learning from others Very social team.

The not so good bits: No room for progression Very high staff turnover There are favorite members of staff, who are treated better than others

The Accru story

The Accru Felsers story begins in 1941. As we celebrate over 80 years in business, we look at key milestones that have shaped our international and niche capabilities and culture.

1941

30-year-old Viennese accountant Gerhard Felser establishes ‘Felsers Chartered Accountants’ in Sydney, after narrowly escaping wartime Europe to save his Jewish wife.

1940s – 1960s

Gerhard Felser builds a large clientele of European immigrant businesses and becomes Consul General for Austria. We retain close ties with Advantage Austria (the Austrian Trade Commission) today.

1977

Fellers is a founding member of the German-Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, established in Sydney to support German businesses in Australia. We remain active participants. Read about Accru Felser's 75 years serving German businesses here.

1984

Filters Managing Partner, John Westmacott, establishes an Australasian accounting network known as ‘CA Associates Australasia’.

1988

We join the global association CPA Associates International (CPAAI) and start using our international connections to help clients invest, export, and manufacture overseas.

1994

German-born partner Michael Kersch builds partnerships with Roedl & Partner, one of the largest accounting firms in Germany, and with Interest international business outsourcing specialists. He also reinvigorates relationships with the German & Austrian business communities.

1990s

Led by Michael, Felsers builds strong audit expertise for German-speaking, privately-owned multi-nationals with Australian operations. Rebecca Beitzel establishes a successful outsourced accounting division and Glenda Nixon builds our international tax services. We provide a full range of services for global businesses.

1999

Greg Newbury establishes Accru Financial Planning which grows into a high net wealth practice managing over $200 million in client funds.

The 2000s

Our experience with German clients in manufacturing, wholesale and high tech helps develop our strengths for local businesses in these industries. Some of the grandchildren of our original European clients have become lawyers, doctors, dentists, and pharmacists leading to a specialization in the legal and health sectors, led by Greg Newbury.

2004

Glenda Nixon becomes Managing Partner, having built a strong tax practice and industry profile – a progressive move for women in accounting at the time.

2006

The ‘CA Associates’ Australasian network, now a Top 30 firm with over 30 partners and 200 staff, is rebranded ‘Accru Chartered Accountants’. ‘Felsers’ becomes ‘Accru Felsers.’

2007

Brett Cox boosts our tax practice by bringing a wealth of tax advisory experience. Rebecca Beitzel leads our early move to utilize software convergence and cloud accounting. Over the last decade, our experience with high-tech clients and love of new technologies has led us to work with venture capitalists and exciting young businesses in digital media, artificial intelligence, fintech, and big data.

2010s

Accru Felsers begins working closely with CPAAI partner firms in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia to service clients expanding to those countries. Steven Zabeti leads diverse inbound engagements for Asian businesses, such as stock market listings, agribusiness investments, and property ventures.

2016 onwards

With our long-standing international partnerships and high caliber, of bilingual accountants, we continue to grow and support clients across the world. Our Sydney team speaks German, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Malay, and Tamil. Read more about Accru Felser's multicultural history and multilingual ability in Chartered Accountants ANZ Acuity magazine article “Speaking in Tongues” May 2016 and in CPAAI EMEA region newsletter June 2016.

Culture & vibe

We pride ourselves on being a great place to work. If you join Accru, you’ll find:

• very friendly Colleagues, get along well and help you out when you need it
• Plenty of good spirits, smiles, and laughter
• Social events and fun activities happening regularly
• Support, training, and mentoring to help you excel
• Close contact with partners and staff.

Our partners and managers encourage open communication, fairness, and flexibility. Whether it’s your career aspirations, study pressures, or a desire to work overseas, you’ll find people to talk to who will support you if they can.

To get more insight into our culture, read some of our team’s personal stories here.

Putting our values into practice

Our culture is built on three simple values:

• Support our clients
• Support our staff
• Support our community.

We continually put these into practice by encouraging:

• A passion for delivering excellent client service and helping our clients succeed
• Individual growth, by making the most of opportunities
• Good relationships built on open communication, mutual respect, and personal accountability
• High performance that is recognized and rewarded
• Diversity in people, skills, and ideas
• Giving back to our community
• Minimising our impact on the environment.

Strength from diversity

With around 200 staff from over 20 different nationalities, different generations, and social backgrounds working together, Accru is a very diverse workplace.

We understand that talent comes in many packages, and it helps us hire the best. Our people’s diversity is a key business strength and brings us many benefits:

• Different viewpoints, skills, experiences to devise innovative solutions and adapt to new situations
• Increased creativity and problem-solving as each person brings their way of thinking to a task
• An open-minded approach to new processes that profits the whole team and our clients
• Language skills which help us compete globally and communicate with our international clients.

Career prospects

Accru works with a great mix of clients. Our broad range of services includes tax and accounting, outsourcing, audit, financial planning, and human resources consultancy. Few accounting firms can match the diversity of work we offer, and you’ll get involved with a wide range of activities right from the start.

Because of our focus on small to mid-sized companies, you’ll work with key decision-makers and company owners sooner. You’ll gain valuable exposure by developing solutions to improve your business.

As part of a national network, you’ll have access to some of the best financial expertise and resources across Australia. And even greater opportunities are available through Accru’s international membership of MGI Worldwide, giving us an exchange program with firms in 64 countries.

Benefits

We strive to create a great organizational culture, by giving you:*

• Paid study leave and financial support for your CA/CPA studies
• Buddy system for new starters
• Open door to partners
• Human resources representative for support and career development
• Varied client contact
• Opportunities for interstate and overseas secondments
• Monthly staff training
• External training opportunities
• Social events
• Casual dress days
• Friendly environment 

Social Contributions

We encourage our staff to put forward charities they would like to support. This has led to teams from each office getting involved in causes that matter to them. Here’s a sample:

• Sydney “In Sydney, we donate the proceeds of our Melbourne Cup event to a charity chosen by our staff vote each year. Last year we raised over $12,000 for Westmead Children’s Hospital's mental health unit. We’re also big supporters of RSPCA Cupcake Day as our team includes both great cooks and animal lovers.”
• Melbourne “In Melbourne, employees may take a day of ‘charity leave’ each year to work with a charity. Our staff has recently spent fun and rewarding days supporting great causes like Foodbank Victoria, Very Special Kids Piggy Bank Appeal and the Wesley Mission. Accru Melbourne also has a World Vision sponsor child.”
• Adelaide “Here in Adelaide, we support Kick Start for Kids.
  This was set up by Ian Steele who recognized the problem of kids going to school without breakfast. All staff donates time by going to a school to organize breakfast for underprivileged kids. There are about 120 schools in Adelaide that participate in the program. Research has shown how much better kids perform after a hearty breakfast.”
• Hobart “Being from a small city our team often knows someone our support will benefit. Each of them receives a day of charity leaves each year where they can volunteer their time to support a cause that is close to their heart. We participate in fundraising events like Footy Colours Day and Make-A-Wish Foundation quiz night, hold events in response to natural disasters, and also donate over $15,000 of our expertise to not-for-profit organizations.”
• Perth “In Perth, we support the Royal Flying Doctors, a vital service for people who live or work in the outback and regional Australia. Individual staff members also make some great contributions to charities such as Oxfam and Ride for Cancer.”
• Brisbane “Each quarter our team members take turns to choose a cause they would like to support. We raise funds for charities by selling chocolates and chips! Some organizations we have recently supported include Love Your Sister and the RSPCA.”