Remuneration advice

[Bodster]

Guys,

I am in the process of negotiating a secondment to Singapore with my employer, a Big Five accounting firm.  I am a tax consultant at the senior manager level (with 7 years experience).  I work mainly in M&A transactions.

I am just wondering is there anyone out there who can advise as to what remuneration package I should expect?  BTW, I am moving from Australia.  

[Ask and accountant..!]

if you are moving with a big firm then they should do it all for you - wasn't it the accountants that came up with the so called balance sheet approach in the first place? Take your net Aussie salary, deduct from it an amount to cover housing in Aus, times this by COL from Aus to Singapore (roughly 1.5X if you're moving from Sydney), add on a housing allowance here plus, depending on the company, other benefits such as flights home (cash or kind), schooling, perhaps car allowance etc. Gross this up for Singapore tax and you are away.

E.g. you earn A$150,000. After tax this is approx $90,000 (say). Take off say $20K for housing = $70,000 multiply the result by 1.5 (105), add housing (depending on family size 5-10K per month, say $5 for these purposes) = 165, plus flights, say $10K if there are two of you, plus schools, say $20K, car say $30K = approx $230K, gross up is approx. $.270

Clearly to the extent your employer either pays you net, or pays for housing direct, provides a car etc. then you need to adjust this figure. You may also want to try and get a pay rise for coming but this sometimes isn't easy!

BTW, don't think if you end up with less than this you are being screwed, you aren't. Many organisations only cost of living adjust the "goods and services" part of your pay, not the part they hypothetically allocate to savings, which is sort of fair enough.

Come on, your an accountant, you can figure it out!

[Sander]

I'm with a big 5 too.
What I know about the Oz-Sg wage parity is that they should pay you at least the numerical amount in S$ of what they pay you in A$, if not more.
And with the lower Singapore tax rate, you're already better off. (especially if you're moving from Sydney, where housing's not cheap too)
The only exception is that the price of alcohols here are outrageous.  
If you get housing allowance and all the pluses and an expat pay check, what's more to consider......
A short stint in Singapore is great.  But I won't say the same about living here for long term though.

[Bodster]

Sander

Thanks for that info.  

Are they all very much sweatshops re Big Five Firms in Singapore?   I have heard bizarre stories of unwitting auditors collapsing afetr 18-hours day!

[Sander]

Well in the audit department that's pretty much the case.  
Still I have to qualify that as a manager it should be easier for you to control your schedule and time spent at work.  I have seen managers who were "permanent features of the office"(meaning: regardless of the day and time that you came into the office, say, just to pick up your tennis gear on a weekend, they were there!!!) and also those ones who walked out of the office around 6pm 95% of the time.  
Generally the Singapore counterparts do work longer hours than those in Oz.  Mainly due to workload, work culture etc.  My buddy was with the Sg office before getting a transfer to Syd office, so we compare notes all the time.  
Of course, what you're going into will differ depending on which big 5 firm, your partner's/department's style etc. etc.
Would love to share more with you, so just shoot!!!

[Bodster]

Sander,

Thanks for that.  We should chat ...  I take it that you hail from down under as well....

Stuff I have heard:
(1)  Partners tend to be very stand-offish ... open dorr policy is unheard of;
(2)  They work you hard!
(3)  The local staff have a healthy suspicion of expats.
(4)  Pay is OK but not brilliant.  It is the tax that makes it worthwhile and the fact that it is the practice that one gets two months' bonuses.
(5)  There are plenty of Aussies around.

Thanks again.  

Cheerio,B

[Sander]

Bodster:

What I think:
(1) Standoffish partners: not necessarily true, to a certain extent.  Mine is open to new ideas and a chat most of the time, but then he's a pom.  Some other local partners (especially the younger and foreign-educated ones) are really open-minded and nice too.  But coming from Oz, you have to lower your expectation by 50%.
(2) How true!!!  Workloads are higher, definitely.  But I heard some people complained that Oz can be a little too slow, so maybe that's what you're looking for coming here.
(3) Maybe in the beginning.  Eventually (when you master your Singlish) you will see that they are just as nice as any colleagues anywhere in the world.
(4) True. Especially since Big 5 aren't so generous with expat package as the MNC's.

[Sander]

cont:
(5) Yep there's lots of Aussies and Kiwis around in the firm. No I'm not from down under, but I take that as a compliment.  

[T2K]

The effect which the exorbitant cost of alcohol has on one's budget cannot be understated.  Picking up a round of drinks will be the equivalent of a nice dinner for two in Sydney, actually picking up the bill for an entire night out is stunningly expensive.

One must consider such things...