Searching for accountant jobs abroad turns up a lot of confident claims that accountants are in demand everywhere. The data says something narrower and far more useful: the shortage is in audit, and the further you are from audit the less any of it applies to you.
Australia publishes the numbers that show it, and they are worth reading before you decide anything.
The fill rates, which are the real answer
Australia assesses occupations against a fill rate, and anything below 67 per cent counts as a shortage. Here is where accounting roles sit on the 2025-26 Skills Priority List:
| Role | Fill rate | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Internal audit | Around 40% | The deepest shortage in the profession. Six in ten vacancies unfilled |
| General accountant | Around 49% | In undersupply across most states and territories |
| External audit | Around 49% | Also in undersupply, and one of the roles recommended for the 2026 list |
| Taxation accountant | Around 55% | Still a shortage, and the closest of the four to being filled |
| Finance manager | Assessed as about right | Not a shortage. Supply roughly matches demand |
Two conclusions follow, and they point in opposite directions from the usual advice. If you are an auditor, particularly internal audit, you are in one of the scarcest professional groups in the developed world and should act like it. If you are a finance manager, the shortage argument is not available to you and you will be competing on ordinary terms.
Scale, for context: over 25,000 annual vacancies across the profession in Australia, driven by retirements, business growth and compliance demand. Chartered Accountants ANZ has recommended general accountants, taxation accountants and external auditors for the 2026 Occupation Shortage List, which is expected around October 2026.
Where you can actually go
| Country | Route and threshold | Position for accountants |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Core Skills Occupation List, 456 occupations. Core Skills Income Threshold AUD 79,423 from 1 July 2026 | The strongest case. Published shortage data, and accounting roles have been on the priority list persistently |
| Ireland | Critical Skills Employment Permit, EUR 40,904 with a relevant degree | A low bar by professional-salary standards, no labour market test for listed roles, and fast to residence |
| United Kingdom | Skilled Worker at GBP 41,700, or the interim Temporary Shortage List at GBP 33,400 or the going rate, whichever is higher | Financial technicians are among the roughly 50 TSL codes, but the list runs only to 31 December 2026 |
| Canada | Express Entry general rounds, clearing roughly 500 to 530 | Accounting is not one of the ten 2026 categories. You are in the general pool, which is a hard place to be |
The Irish figure deserves attention because it is genuinely low for a professional role. Note the second number though: if you are relying on experience rather than a relevant degree, the threshold is EUR 68,911, not EUR 40,904. That gap catches qualified accountants who came up through professional exams rather than a university accounting degree, which in this profession is a lot of people. See Ireland’s Critical Skills list and how the permit works.
The qualification matters more than the visa
Accountancy is not licensed the way medicine is, but in practice the professional body decides your value. An employer hiring across borders is asking one question: is this person’s qualification one we recognise and can put in front of a client or a regulator?
Which makes the sequence straightforward. Establish where your qualification stands with the destination’s professional body before you apply for anything, because that answer determines your salary band, and your salary band determines whether you clear the visa threshold. A qualification that converts through a mutual recognition arrangement is worth more than any immigration advice on this page.
And if you are close to audit but not in it, that is the conversion worth making. Moving from management accounting into internal audit takes you from a role assessed as adequately supplied to one filling at about 40 per cent. Very little else you can do in a year moves you as far.
What to do
- Work out which of the five roles you are. Auditor and finance manager are in completely different positions and the immigration systems can tell the difference.
- Check your professional qualification against the destination body and find out what converts, what needs exams, and how long that takes.
- In Ireland, establish which threshold applies to you, the degree one or the experience one. It is a EUR 28,000 difference.
- If the UK interests you, act during 2026. The Temporary Shortage List is interim and dated 31 December 2026.
- Do not rely on Canada’s pool unless your score is genuinely above 500 or you can reach a category another way, such as French.
Related: 15 European routes compared and the 2026 Express Entry categories. Browse finance and professional roles with visa sponsorship on our board.
Last checked September 2026. Fill rates are from the Australian Skills Priority List and are reassessed annually; the 2026 Occupation Shortage List is expected around October 2026. Irish thresholds rose on 1 March 2026 and rise again on a published roadmap.
