With my final week of study abroad I was so excited to go to Sydney, Australia. I had already had an amazing time in New Zealand and couldn’t wait to see what Australia was like and what similarities or differences it had compared to New Zealand and America. Comparably, I found it could almost be a great mix between the two. Sydney definitely had what seemed more built up infrastructure than New Zealand, but still had nature’s beauty all around and the people seemed very similar as well. My final thoughts about conducting business in New Zealand and Australia, at least compared to the United States, is that it does seem like they value more work-life balance over there. Additionally, it seems like they operate on a smaller scale though, in that their major companies are not as big or profitable as ones in the United States. I think these two things do definitely correlate, but all in all they do seem happy with the lives they have. Another thing that was talked about quite a bit in Australia was how they are trying to move closer to getting all renewable energy, which for such a naturally beautiful country like Australia is a great thing. Another thing I learned for both countries is they care a lot about retirement. They take money out of paychecks early on so everyone can have pay once they retire, and yes this is similar to what happens in the United States but I think it is unique that the governments themselves do this, you can tell over there they put a lot of thought into what they think the elderly should rightfully deserve. The practice of accounting seemed similar once you are in the workforce, but leading up to one’s career seemed very different and seems to take longer than one getting the CPA in America. Overall, I had an amazing experience in Australia and New Zealand, if I could do it again I definitely would as I learned so much about business, culture, and the government over there while also getting to have such a fun and unforgettable time.
