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Cost Clerks

ANZSCO ID 551112

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Overview

Snapshot

Employed
7,600
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
88%
Female Share
23%
Average age
42
About this data

Summary

Cost Clerks calculate and investigate the cost of wages, materials, overheads and other operating expenses.

Tasks

  • Calculates, analyses and investigates the costs of proposed expenditure, wages and standard costs.

  • Prepares bank reconciliations.

  • Allocates expenditure to specified budget accounts.

  • Summarises expenditure and receipts.

  • Prepares records of standard costs and values for items such as raw materials and packaging supplies.

  • Records cost variations and contract price movements.

  • Compiles cost data for preparation of operating budgets, and profit and loss calculations.

  • Investigates the costs of proposed expenditures, quotations and estimates.

  • Prepares reports of total costs, inventory adjustments and selling prices and profits.

Characteristics

Job Type
Clerical And Administrative Workers
Skill Level
Lower skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
5511 Accounting Clerks
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Administrative
  • Enterprising
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Accounting Clerks, under the outlook section.

Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 88% of people employed as Cost Clerks work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 22 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 43 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.

Industries

Main industries

1
Construction
36.8%
2
Manufacturing
24.5%
3
Other Services
6.1%
4
Public Administration and Safety
5.3%
5
Other industries
21.0%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

26.1% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

23.9% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

24.0% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

6.8% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

15.0% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

1.3% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.5% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

2.4% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Cost Clerks All Jobs Average
NSW 26.1 31.6
VIC 23.9 25.6
QLD 24.0 20.0
SA 6.8 7.0
WA 15.0 10.8
TAS 1.3 2.0
NT 0.5 1.0
ACT 2.4 1.9


  • Around 67% of Cost Clerks live in capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 62%.

    Western Australia and Queensland have a large share of employment relative to their population size.

    The regions with the largest share of workers are:

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.

Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
42
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
23%
All Jobs Average is 48%

  • The median age of Cost Clerks is 42 years. This is similar to the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 35 to 44 years.

    Females make up 23% of the workforce. This is 25 percentage points below the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Cost Clerks All Jobs Average
15-19 0.6 5.0
20-24 5.6 9.3
25-34 24.4 22.9
35-44 25.0 22.0
45-54 23.0 21.6
55-59 9.2 9.0
60-64 7.2 6.0
65 and Over 4.9 4.2
Median Age 42 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.

Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Formal qualifications are not essential to work as a Cost Clerk. Although some workers have a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification or university degree in engineering and construction.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Financial Services VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Cost Clerks All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 6.2 10.1
Bachelor degree 20.6 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 13.7 11.6
Certificate III/IV 33.4 21.1
Year 12 15.8 18.1
Year 11 3.7 4.8
Year 10 and below 6.7 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.

Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Accounting Clerks who can work well with others, communicate as part of a team and have good computer literacy.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 52%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 48%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 45%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 45%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 43%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 43%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 41%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 41%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 41%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 41%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 41%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

  • 41%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 41%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 39%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 32%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 32%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 30%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 29%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 29%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 27%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 70%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 51%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 47%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 46%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 46%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 41%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 32%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 22%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.

  • 21%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 19%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 19%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 17%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 15%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 13%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 13%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 8%

    Geography

    Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.

  • 8%

    Transportation

    Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.

  • 7%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • 6%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 6%

    Biology

    Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.

Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 52%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 52%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 50%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 45%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 45%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 43%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 43%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 43%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 43%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 43%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 43%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 43%

    Mathematics

    Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.

  • 43%

    Working with numbers

    Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.

  • 43%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 39%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 32%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 32%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 30%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 30%

    Speed of recognition

    Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 29%

    Memorization

    Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 70%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 64%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 61%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 56%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 56%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 54%

    Providing office support

    Doing day-to-day office work such as filing and processing paperwork.

  • 54%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 52%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 49%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 49%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 47%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

  • 47%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 46%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 45%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 45%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 41%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 40%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 40%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 28%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 25%

    Leading and encouraging a team

    Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 100%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 71%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 43%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 33%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 33%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 14%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.

  • 67%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 57%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 57%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 43%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 43%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 38%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:

  • 99%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 99%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 94%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 93%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 93%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 93%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 86%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 85%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 84%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 81%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 78%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 78%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 78%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 76%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 74%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 71%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 70%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

  • 67%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 67%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 63%

    Using your hands to handle, control, or feel

    Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-3021.02 - Billing, Cost, and Rate Clerks.

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