Senior Accountant - SME Business Services & Tax ( AU Dayshift - Remote)

Pear Tree.; Philippines; Remote; PHP 1,116,000 - 1,674,000; Full time

Job summary

Pear Tree. seeks a Senior Accountant for SME Business Services & Tax, handling end-to-end Australian year-end compliance for SMEs (up to $6M turnover). You will own portfolios, liaise with the Director, and contribute to AI bookkeeping initiatives.

The role combines technical work across companies, trusts and SMSFs with practical BAS/IAS, FBT, and corporate secretarial tasks, delivered remotely from the Philippines.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting/Accountancy.
• Strong working knowledge of Australian tax (income tax for companies, trusts, partnerships and individuals; Division 7A; trust taxation and UPEs; FBT; CGT; GST).
• Xero — hands-on experience.
• Excel (intermediate or higher).
• Excellent written and spoken English with minimal editing.

Responsibilities

• Prepare year-end financial statements and income tax returns for companies, trusts, partnerships, sole traders and individuals.
• Prepare trust returns, review distributions, track UPEs and beneficiary entitlements.
• Manage Division 7A and FBT tasks as they arise.
• Prepare BAS/IAS, GST reconciliations, PAYG instalment reviews, year-end STP and superannuation reconciliations.
• Handle SMSF work: annual financial statements, member statements, SMSF returns, audit packs and liaison with auditor.
• Manage corporate secretarial tasks (ASIC reviews, solvency resolutions, company changes).
• Lodge with ATO online services for agents: pre-lodgement checks, lodgement status, etc.
• Review Xero ledgers: reconciliations, journals, accruals, fixed assets and depreciation.
• Assist with Practice management: jobs, timesheets, budgets; monitor overruns.
• Draft information requests and client emails; routing via Director; maintain routine follow-ups.
• Prepare pre-30 June tax planning estimates and workpapers for Director review.
• Assist with AI bookkeeping implementation and rules development.

Skills

English proficiency

Xero experience

Excel (advanced)

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting

CPA/CA qualifications (Philippines or ANZ)

Tools

Xero Practice Manager (XPM)

BGL Simple Fund 360

BGL CAS 360

Practice Ignition

Job description

Position: Senior Accountant - SME Business Services & Tax

Salary : PHP 100,000 - 150,000 (Depending on experience)

Holidays : TBC

Working Hours & Conditions : Monday-Friday, 7:00 am-4:00 pm Philippine time. Full-time Independent Contractor.

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

The Client is a Brisbane-based, cloud-first accounting and tax practice operating since 2002. Registered Tax Agent and Xero partner. We deliver year-end accounts, company/trust/individual tax returns, BAS, SMSF compliance, bookkeeping, and overdue-lodgement catch-up work for SME clients, alongside Virtual CFO and cash flow advisory through our sister brand, Peer Group Advisory. Client acquisition runs through a proven digital marketing engine, and all work is delivered remotely.

ROLE OVERVIEW:

A founding role in a growing Australian practice. You will own year-end compliance for your own portfolio of Australian SME clients (turnover up to $6M) - companies, trusts, partnerships, individuals and SMSFs - working directly with the Director, not through layers of managers. Real technical work across companies, trusts and SMSFs, not data entry. All ATO lodgements are reviewed and lodged by the Director as a registered tax agent.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Prepare year-end financial statements and income tax returns for companies, trusts, partnerships, sole traders and individuals
• Trusts: prepare trust returns, review distribution resolutions, track unpaid present entitlements (UPEs) and beneficiary entitlements
• Division 7A and FBT as they arise (occasional): Div 7A loan identification, minimum yearly repayments and loan schedules; annual FBT returns and workpapers
• Prepare BAS/IAS, GST reconciliations, PAYG instalment reviews, year-end STP and superannuation reconciliations
• SMSF (BGL Simple Fund 360): annual financial statements, member statements, SMSF annual returns, audit packs and liaison with the independent auditor
• Corporate secretarial (BGL CAS 360): ASIC annual reviews, solvency resolutions, company changes and registers
• ATO online services for agents: pre-lodgement checks - ICA/ITA balances, lodgement status, prefill data, outstanding obligations and lodgement program reporting
• Xero ledger review and clean-up: bank reconciliations, journals, accruals, fixed asset registers and depreciation
• Practice management: help set up and run Xero Practice Manager (XPM, being implemented) - jobs, statuses, daily timesheets and job budgets; flag overruns early
• Practice Ignition: prepare annual compliance proposals and engagement renewals for Director approval
• Draft information requests and client query emails for Director approval; once established, send routine written follow-ups from the practice email under the firm's name. All calls, meetings, pricing and advice remain with the Director / Practice Manager
• Prepare pre-30 June tax planning estimates and workpapers for Director review
• AI bookkeeping (from month 3, once core work is established): help implement and run AI-assisted bookkeeping/transaction coding - build rules, review exceptions, document the process and measure time saved
• Maintain a standard, documented workpaper file for every job

Requirements

Essential

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Accountancy
• Strong working knowledge of Australian tax: income tax for companies, trusts, partnerships and individuals; Division 7A; trust taxation and UPEs (incl. awareness of s100A); FBT; CGT; GST
• Xero - hands-on
• Excel (intermediate+)
• Excellent written and spoken English - able to draft client-facing emails with minimal editing

Desirable

• Xero Practice Manager (XPM) - experience highly regarded; we are implementing it
• BGL Simple Fund 360 - SMSF compliance
• BGL CAS 360 - ASIC corporate secretarial
• CPA (Philippines), or CA/CPA ANZ - completed or in progress
• Practice Ignition
• Exposure to AI or automation tools in bookkeeping

Experience (Essential)

• 5+ years preparing Australian individual, company and trust returns in public practice
• SME business services - clients with turnover up to approx. $6M
• Independently completed full year-end compliance for companies, trusts and individuals
• Working knowledge of Division 7A and FBT - occasional in this role, but must be able to handle them competently when they arise
• Managed own job list and timesheets in XPM or a similar practice management system

Advantage

• SMSF compliance in BGL Simple Fund 360 - annual financials, member statements, SMSF returns and audit packs
• ASIC corporate secretarial in BGL CAS 360
• Supervising, reviewing or training junior staff
• Real estate agency or other service-business clients
• Div 7A, trust distributions and UPEs, and CGT
• XPM and Xero Workpapers
• BGL Simple Fund 360 is a plus

Competencies

• Autonomous - takes a job from source records to review-ready without hand-holding
• High attention to detail; self-reviews before submitting
• Raises issues early and asks precise questions rather than guessing
• Deadline discipline through peak lodgement periods
• Process-minded - documents steps and suggests efficiency improvements
• Curious about technology and willing to adopt AI tools
• Integrity and strict confidentiality with client data
• Coachable - acts on review feedback and does not repeat review points

Benefits

What's in it for you?

• Founding team member: the first hire in an offshore team planned to grow to approx. 5 - you help build it, not just join it
• Clear pathway to Tax Manager: formal promotion review at 12 months against defined criteria
• Work directly with the Director - fast feedback, real mentoring and visibility of your work
• Remote role - work from home anywhere in the Philippines
• Varied, technical work: companies, trusts, SMSF and corporate secretarial, with Div 7A and FBT as they arise - build a well-rounded Australian tax skill set
• Modern cloud stack (Xero, Xero Practice Manager (being implemented), BGL Simple Fund 360, BGL CAS 360, Practice Ignition) and hands-on involvement in rolling out AI bookkeeping - skills that put you ahead of the market
• A growing practice: new clients every week from a proven marketing engine, so your role and responsibilities grow with it
• Stable, established firm - operating since 2002
• Competitive, above-market package for the right candidate