WRONG!
There is a huge difference between working in the "accounts department" (i.e. accounts payable, bookkeeping) and working as a real "accountant".
1. You are not an "accountant" until you are CPA or CA qualified anyways so you should not be called one until you are fully qualified. The title "accountant" is used so flippantly that in many cases it is used quite misleadingly by dodgey firms to describe many "accounts" jobs which involve nothing more than "filing, filing and filing. bas, myob, and report to ato..." - which is all bookkeeping and not accounting at all.
Actually, the CPA Australia put forward a motion a few years back to have the word "accountant" legislated in the same way that you can't call yourself a "doctor" if you are not one but for some reason this motion was blocked by the CA.
2. Doing "accounts" work such as filing, filing and filing, bas, myob, and report to ato, etc. is NOT the work of an accountant as to become CPA or CA qualified now-a-days you need to fulfill a mentor program where you have to show workplace evidence of what you do in your job and the accounting bodies will not accept you if you are working in accounts or bookeeping type roles.
Anyone can work in the accounts department doing filing, bas returns, etc. you dont even need an accounting degree - in fact you dont even need a degree period to do such a job and a TAFE diploma would even be overkill for such a job.
3. Real accounting work involves advisory work be it internally or externally. E.g. management accountants advise senior management of the firm on financial position and strategy, tax accountants advise on tax strategy, etc. Jobs where you are paying company bills, filing, bas, ato returns, printing out reports, posting journals etc. are NOT accounting but bookeeping.
Many people working in "accounts" department like to tell their friends that they are accountants when they are not, adding to the misconception and confusion.
