Bachelor of Accounting

Attention that we will be recording tonight's session and taking part you are consenting to that recording being publicly available. We don't use anyone's names when we do q&a. So you will still have anonymity. However, just letting you know that it will be recorded and shared with attendees. So my name is Rachel and I have the pleasure of being the student recruitment manager here within the business school. And joining me this evening is Michelle Cook, the director of The Bachelor of accounting program, and Shavon Drewery, who is a partner at EY, who is one of our amazing sponsor organizations in the program. And we're also joined by a second year BAcc students, Bianca, and Tom, and alum, Edwin, who graduated in 2014, and works for the Coca Cola Company. In the background is Karen who works on the BAcc program as well. And we'll be answering any questions that you have throughout the session. Chances are that if you have already asked a question in the past, about BAcc current would have been the smiling face on the end of the email or the phone call, helping you out as well. Now I know everyone's incredibly well versed in zoom by now. However, just as a gentle reminder, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to type them into the q&a box. On your zoom control panel. We'll be answering some questions throughout the presentation. And leaving some time at the end for additional ones being an online event. Please do bear with us if there are any technical issues, we'll work to resolve them as soon as possible. But often the tried and true, logging out and logging back in again often resolves anything. Now today, we'll be covering exactly what the Bachelor of accounting is how the course works. Talking a little bit more about our sponsors, internships, career options, and of course, the application process. So getting into it. Michelle, one of the questions we get asked all the time is exactly what is the Bachelor of accounting? And how is it different from a Bachelor of Business with a major in accounting? Oh, I think you're on mute Michelle.

Oh, my goodness, you think that oh, my now have only been on Zoom for like 400 years haven't right. But I'm back. Sorry about that. I believe that the Bachelor of accounting program is just like a Bachelor of Business on steroids. So what I mean by that is that we cram a whole lot more into a very short time. And unlike the Bachelor of Business, we elect to do two different majors to specialize in. In the bachelor accounting, one of your majors must be in accounting itself. And that's because we, the aim of this course or the mission statement is to have built global leaders and business leaders throughout Australia using accounting as a foundation. And I'll go a bit more into that in a little second. Some of the other differences arm within the Bachelor of accounting program, you get two full time six month internships, and are fantastic sponsor organizations, you also get a tax free scholarship, very nice, up to about $54,000. And that's paid on a Wednesday, every second Wednesday at 10pm. See, the second is very happy about that as well. And we actually have some of the biggest bachelor of accounting program actually has the most sponsors of any Co Op program in Australia for the accounting section. So we have an amazing choice when it comes to internships. And lastly, unlike the Bachelor of Business, we don't just rely on ATARS. So we actually have an application process which we'll go into a little bit later. So we have interviews, etc. And before you might madly start typing, just to let you know, that we will go into in depth won't be Rachel for all these different sections as an introduction as to what the differences are. And we can ask why accounting? Well accounting, you know, that always is touted as the language of business, but it is accounting itself is like a Swiss army knife, you know the application or the Little Dipper knives. It is a Swiss army knife for business. You can go to any department and use any of those applications because of the flexibility and the knowledge that accounting gives you. You can move from accounting one day to marketing or any of the other sections of business but you cannot go the other way. And most industry leaders will have this sort of foundational knowledge as they go, and they start to get into the C suite.

Excellent. And it's interesting when you say it is kind of like the Swiss Army knife of business. Because I know often, before people actually study accounting, it kind of brings to mind people sitting there with a calculator and cheats and whatnot. But beyond that,

I was like, I was insane. You know, we're sort of like the doctors of business, with the doctors to industry. So we go in, and we prescribe we examined, and we rectify, and make sure that the business is healthy and functional, like that.

Bianca, what about you? What did you kind of think before you actually applied for the program about what accounting was? And how has that possibly changed now that you're in your second year?

I Yeah. So as Michelle and you wrote, we were just touching on, I thought accounting was like quite a niche degree to do. So I really thought that, you know, it meant you were just handling numbers all day, or my first idea about accounting was even just the people who did my Mom, dad's tax returns at the end of the financial year. But I've since I've actually started accounting, I've really realized that the main one of the main roles of an accountant is to use the numbers and make the numbers through formulas, then, and actually understand those and communicate, communicate what they actually mean to other people within the business, and particularly people that have a non financial background. And so that was more exciting for me, because now I'm able to say that an accountant role is actually crucial within every single aspect of a business, because they're the ones that understand the numbers. And at the end of the day, businesses run because they're able to make profit, and then use that to, in other to generate other avenues of profit. And so I think that the biggest misconception of an accountant is that all they do is just look at the numbers and report the numbers. And it's definitely a lot more than that, because no one can actually use the numbers without the advice and the account of being able to tell the story.

Excellent. And, Edwin, obviously, you've been from a high school student kind of mulling around your own ideas of what accounting is to studying the bachelor accounting to now 10 years graduating? Is there anything that you wanted to add to what Bianca said, based on your 10 years of work experience?

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks, Rachel. So yeah, I echo what Bianca just shared that the common perception of accounting is it's purely number crunching. And looking at numbers. And absolutely, the numbers are important. But what's more important is the story that the numbers tell and therefore what's the decision to make from that. I think the other perception of accounting is there's just one stream as well. So people typically think of accounting as financial accounting, which is a critical part of accounting knowledge, and it's a foundation and important pillar. But there's also the second pillar around what we call management accounting. And that's where there's a lot of commercial and analysis to make critical business decisions. And it's a lot more strategic as well. So really partnering with whether it's your clients, your customer teams, your sales teams to understand the numbers come up with commercial propositions problem solve together to reach an optimum outcome for yourself and for the company and for the customer as well. Think from an industry perspective, when we look at the role of chief financial officers and where accounting is headed in the last 10 years, at least, it's definitely moved towards being more strategic when we look at the role of the CFO or chief financial officer. It encompasses the numbers, the financials, but it also extends into other areas such as investor relations, sustainability in some organizations, strategy and acquisition. So it's a very holistic type of role. And having that accounting foundational knowledge can set you up for success if that's where you want to end up one day.

Thank you. Now, Michelle, just before we go into, you know, the kind of cost structure and whatnot. We this is no doubt and incredibly competitive course. So you've mentioned it's not just about ATAR, and we will go into application requirements. First, but what is it that you're specifically looking for from our students?

Well, we do expect a lot from our students, both incoming and also present students, we have, we look for those whose because it is an intense course, we look way past academic ability, we also look at developing students who are developing themselves to the highest standards, both professionally, and also personally. At UTS we have a very, very, very strong belief in social impact and social justice. So part of our, I suppose, expectation of students is that they also always, like contribute in a socially adjust fashion to each other, to our communities, and also to generally do the university in giving back. So we do expect them to be active members of the university in societies, and many have executive roles across the university as well. And also to make a good social impact, because what we're trying to create is ethically compassionate industry leaders, and they were very so that is some of the things we look for in students and the qualities we look for in students themselves. We look for gratitude, people who are humble, and also really willing to accept the privilege because it is a privilege to be in this program.

Absolutely. 100%. And is there a academic requirement for current students to maintain a particular GPA as they go through the course

There is, so we do realize that students have lives. So we do expect a credit average across all subjects. So credit is 65. And above, so very attainable while still maintaining other things in your life.

Excellent. Now, Tom, as we've just heard, we expect a credit average, we do expect and you know, anticipate that a lot of our students are involved in multitude of other activities and hobbies. And then obviously, in first and third year, you've got internships. You're sitting here smiling. So how do you find the workload? You haven't crumbled? How do you manage all of that?

Yeah, thanks, Rachel. Um, I think one thing to just preface is coming into university, it's not going to be the same workload as year 12. I think that's a big relief, for everyone to hear that I know, for me going into university, I was really hoping that it wouldn't be year 12 all over again. And I think one of the beautiful things about the program, and whilst it is challenging, it's a healthy challenge. And you have such a strong support network around you. And it really is something that will become evident when you come to this program, is it's the people around you that really care about you guys improving each other and helping each other. So for example, during fast track, so fast track is like an intensive summer program at the start of the course during January, it started early in January. And whilst before I began it, I was a bit nervous, I was like, Oh, this is going to be really big workload, like am I going to still be able to see my friends in the holidays? I think all those worries were quelled immediately, because immediately you just realize the strong community. So like, we would go to class, and then we would study together after class or we would go to the beach, we would go out for drinks. Yeah. So I think the workload is really manageable because of the people that you have around you. And it is very, very achievable to have a healthy balance. All you need to do is look at the students in it, like the endless activities that people are involved in, and are still able to cope with the workload. So yeah, definitely very manageable.

I think you, you made a really interesting point, which is about the collegiality between bachelor of accounting students, because I know a lot of people tuning in tonight are in year 12, where at some schools, there's a lot of pressure to come first in extension, you know, extension, English, and first into unit maths and whatnot. But there really isn't that pressure at uni. And as you say, everyone's really keen to kind of support each other. You're all in the same boat. And that can often be a really refreshing change from high school. Bianca, what about yourself? How do you kind of manage your time when assignments are piling up? And exams are looming?

Yeah, so as Michelle was mentioning, and Tom, the students in our course, are very well rounded. So we do have assessments and many of us work, part time jobs or participated in the extracurricular societies that UTS offers as well. So one of the main things I do to manage my time is what most of you are probably already doing a new 12 Just having a simple timetable. But one of the major benefits in the course as you were just mentioning Rachel the 
collegiality is the fact that you have people to ask and a big cohort of friends to make sure to keep you on track to make sure that you're doing okay. And you can help other people as well. But just having the peers because sometimes in the university, even in high school, you might find that little bit intimidating to ask the teacher or ask the tutor for a little bit of help, and you're struggling. But having that group of peers around you to ask questions makes it your time, makes your use of time a lot more effective, because instead of sitting on problems or questions that you have, that might, you know, encourage you to procrastinate a little bit, because you just don't know what you're doing. Are you able to just immediately have that network of friends that you can ask for help. And then you're, you can use your time a lot more effectively. So I think definitely taking advantage of the network that BAcc offers is a really good way to manage your time bit more effectively.

Excellent. And, Edwin, how did you find that this set you up for full time work?

Sure. So I think reflecting on my time and back, it was gain a lot of soft skills during the program. So definitely you go through university, you learn the subjects in accounting and your chosen second major or sub major. But you do gain a lot of soft skills around. And for me, the most important was prioritization. So during my time, it was University, business society. So there's a lot of societies you can join, catching up with friends, the full time internships that Michelle talked about. And if you're interested as well, you can take part time work at sponsor organizations, depending on how the internship pans out, so there's a lot of opportunity available, but what's most important is how do you prioritize your time between everything? And then how do you manage your time between everything. And that's very much like what happens in in the workplace. And when I reflect on the transition from school, to university, it was a big transition, it's very different way of learning. You're meeting new friends, it's almost a reset, and you start again, and then when you leave university and enter the workforce, it's a transition again, but the experiences you gain through the internships through the cohort of friends that you go through university with the prioritization, prioritization and balancing of what you're doing in terms of study, and life is quite a good transition into the workplace. And our record, the transition into work was actually quite easier, relatively speaking. So you definitely gain the right skill set to set you up for for the workplace, and then that continues to build, as you gain more experience at work as well. Excellent,

fantastic. It's good to know that Yeah, well, it does grow that foundation is, is still very much there. So I've seen some questions come through about the cost structure. And you know, there is obviously a compulsory major in accounting, but you can really tailor it depending on your own interests. It doesn't always have to be accounting and finance all those kinds of subjects. Michelle, can you talk us through a bit how the course is structured and where that flexibility comes in? Oop, you're on mute again.

slow learner, everyone. So in the beginning, you actually do as I think Tom and Bianca mentioned, you do fast track. So that means you just do two subjects in six weeks. And why we do that in the summer is to allow you time to get time in your in your in the course structure to do your internships. So and then as you go into normal session with other students, you will then do five subjects, but they're the basic core subjects for all business school students. In the second session, at that time, you will do your first internship. And then in second year you do subject so when you look at all these words, you know, account accounting major specialist subject subjects, what we're talking about, if you do a major, it is actually eight. So eight subjects within that major. So you would do eight accounting subjects, which lays a really fantastic foundation knowledge when you do your internships. And of course, when you go out into industry, during then choose, this is where the flexibility starts coming in. And second year, you can choose whether you're going to do another major and look at all the majors and majors you can do. Or and that day, we'll do eight subjects in that course. Or you can decide that you'd like to do two sub majors. So you do four subjects on any of those sections. The other way to do it, very exciting, is you could do as sub major four subjects in one area, and then you could leave the rest and do for electives in any area, and many BAcc's will actually do those four electives overseas. So they might go to another sister school, whether they'll be in the UK, US Asia, it's their choice, they apply and then they will finish university overseas should they wish or of course you could do other electives as you choose. And we really do encourage you to really pursue your learning passions. So it makes you a much more developed person, if you want to take, you know, Mandarin, or as an elective or what it really explore your mind. And that's what the university actually gives you. It gives you the opportunity to pursue what you would like to do and develop. I think and so that's sort of the basic core. So first year, quite structured. Second year, you would choose your majors, and go into those third year with as well as doing some of the subjects, you can also do your second internship, and then progress to either going on exchange to finish or completing your majors and sub majors.

And I think one thing I really want to emphasize is what you said that first year is pretty much chosen for you. So for those of you looking at this thinking, Oh, well, I don't even know what business analytics is or what HR involves. That first year is very much your chance to try before you buy to experience those different areas of business. We are under no circumstances expect those of you in year 12 To be jotting down exactly what your course is going to look like. Bianca, did you have any idea how you wanted to structure your degree before you officially kicked off?

Absolutely not. I had no idea. I honestly still don't even know what it is that I actually really want to specialize in in terms of my actual career. So I personally chose the sub major in the four electives, because I'm thinking about potentially going overseas on exchange. But I think that's one of the best things about the BAcc course is that you're not actually expected to know what you want to do. And that's why it offers you so many different opportunities. And it really gives you the ability to figure that out. And so I'm only halfway through my second year. So I've still got my second internship to go. And my first internship was extremely helpful in figuring out that I interned at Westpac and so it was really helpful in figuring out that I kind of liked the banking space. So I'm, I'm still figuring it out. But I think the more opportunities you get that are offered through BAcc is helping you to figure it out. But you're definitely not expected to know, at all what you actually want to do.

Excellent. And Edwin, what about yourself, how did you choose to structure your degree.

So I did a major in accounting, and finance, actually. So I my first internship was at Macquarie group, which is a bank, and I really enjoyed that experience. And that's why I chose the finance major. Even though post BAcc, I took a role within the Coca Cola system. So I didn't actually pursue what I thought I wanted to do when I was in university. But in saying that it's a good reflection in terms of having those majors in particularly for accounting. It enabled me to choose an alternate career path to what I had in mind. And then I took a role at Coca Cola in a finance and accounting role. And, and that is, you know, opened doors since then. So even though I chose a major in finance, I actually don't use it very much in my day to day in saying that, though, the was having both that accounting and finance major, are quite complimentary for what I've done in my previous roles in in both accounting and in strategy and in acquisition. So it was a complimentary major, but like I say, it didn't lead me to the career path that I thought I wanted to do in university.

Excellent. And that's the thing, it is all about that kind of self discovery and how it flows through and ultimately where you go. Now, one thing that we have touched on is that uni life is so much more than just what goes on in the classroom. The social component is incredibly important. And Michelle, I know internally at UTS there's a lot of talk about like the BAcc family and how valueable that is for our students, you were able to talk a little more about the close knit nature of our student cohort. Absolutely.

So, and you know, it's funny, when they start, I always say to them, you will know each other for life, you'll be going to each other's weddings, and people say, I've got my friends. So just to let you know, you can still keep your other friends, it just that I think they do a lot together. And it's quite amazing to get together with a really like a group of 30 or more people who also like minded. And also, as Tom and Bianca did mention, and help the constant help from each other. And support in quite an intense program, I think brings people very, very close together as well. So not only are they and we do go to the family attends, but we It doesn't get any better. It's not. It's very good. It's very nice. But so they are a tight group. And we also try and do a lot of things around that. So we have a mentor program, it's called we've got your BAcc, where we have the edge, first year has a buddy to help them along. And of course, that continues up a tree of buddies so that they can always get advice. We have wellness days, we have camps, the tomorrow, I believe, is the BAcc ball. So they will be having their ball tomorrow, which will be very, very exciting. You can see Bianca smiling a lot because she's helped organize it with Tom. And we do lots of things, I think not only to support you academically, but also to support you personally, and support your mental health. Because we believe those things are so important. So in that way, we are very, I suppose, like, we're very committed to making sure that your progress through uni is as enjoyable as possible, and that you get the most growth and friendships as possible. And it's much easier in BAcc because there's only like 37 of them. But in the Bachelor business, there's hundreds, so you can find very close relationships.

Excellent. And Tom, so we've heard even just from yourself about how important that social aspect is. But Rewinding back to your very first week of Fast Track. How was it for you coming from high school where you're in year 12? You got your jersey, your big fish in a small pond? How did you find adjusting and making friends?

Yeah, look, I think I think the perfect way to describe it is through camp. So on your first day of BAcc, you arrive at UTS, and the beautiful building that's behind both of yourselves. And you go into a room, you meet Michelle and Carr and and you get split up into groups of four. Now these groups of four, they make up your car trip down to camp. So essentially how it works is each little car gets designated their own little roles. So for example, my car, we had to get all the meats for the barbecue for the first day of camp. And so you drive down to camp in the kangaroo Valley, and you're in a house with 36 new faces. It sounds quite daunting. But trust me, it is such a wonderful experience. It really throws you in the deep end. But you come out of camp feeling like you've known these people for years. And I think what's really telling is the owner of the property where we go to a guy called Sandy, lovely guy. He always says to Michelle, how shocked is that the people who come didn't actually know each other before they arrived. And I think it's like the bonding activities you do. Like we'd go on hikes, we'd go canoeing would make rafts. We'd cook together. And yeah, it was just a wonderful experience. And then as Michelle touched on, I think it's the continuous events throughout the year that really build this strong network. And it is so evident when you look at the program and you look at the people within it. How you make lifelong friends. And I was lucky enough to have a friend who did the course with me. But the friendships that I have made in this course are just amazing. Yeah, I've really loved that experience.

Excellent. And, Edwin, you're 10 years graduated. Are you still in touch with those from your cohort?

Actually, yes, so everything Michels that is true with Post University we've kept in touch, socially, attending everyone's weddings at this time, as well. So there really are lifelong friendships that you make from the BAcc family and even friends from different year groups as well. So I still keep in touch with many of you know, friends that have made in the groups above and below as well. So it's really a cohesive group. And I think that's yeah, one of the beauties of this program that is very unique.

Well, we think that's a really important part of their professional development, and also engaged in other companies and companies getting to know them in preparation for grad recruitment. So we do lots of events, both socially and also in a more structured fashion. So they can get to know not only the companies that but usually the C suite of those companies. So as you can see, we have, as I said, I mentioned before, we do have the most sponsor organizations of an accounting coop in Australia, very proud of that, actually, and we thank the sponsors so much. But so we do things like we have a, a BAcc and sponsor organization, Career Expo, we have things like guest lectures, where often partners like Shavon, and the C suite will come and speak to the students themselves, about the companies about their journeys, and all the things they do. So that happens once a week in session one for first years. And then we try and organize. And then of course, companies will put on industry evenings for us as well, where we have the opportunity to go and meet them in their workplace.

Excellent. And Bianca, how did you find that? You know, last year in first year, coming from HSC, too, all of a sudden, you're sitting in a classroom with representatives from some of the biggest corporate names in Australia or even internationally? How did you find that,

um, I still soak it in today, I can't believe that I'm sitting in the offices with like these really, really important important people who've had such a long career and made such an impact. I think that's why we're so lucky that we actually have the opportunity to meet them and talk to them and discover a bit more about what they've done to get where they are, and get advice from them, which helps us with our own careers. I think the networking events is something that none of us take for granted, that's for sure. It's a really privileged opportunity that we get to actually go out in the workplaces and get firsthand experience that we can actually apply within our every day. Our theory during our uni experience, I think it makes also the learning that we do during uni a lot more valuable. But also gives that extra element of excitement, where we can actually see where we might end up one day, as we walk around the big offices in our, in our corporate attire. I feel like a bit like adults for the day. It's definitely a lot of fun and breaks up the learning and study at uni.

Excellent. And Shavon EY has been such a huge supporter of the program for many, many years. Why did EY decide to come on board and support a course like this? Yes.

Thanks for having me today. Firstly, sorry, I've lost my voice over the last four hours. It's been a really, excuse me, rapid decline. So if I had to clear my throat a few times, I apologize. But no, you're right. Look, we've worked with the program for such a very long time. And we actually have at EY, a huge number of bachelor accounting alumni, including one who is a partner. Um, so it's really nice for me to be able to sit here today and say not only have we had such a history with the organization, but we still have a number of those alumni with us today. But to go back and answer your question, you know, we came on board many, many years ago for a few reason. at EY, we work with all the biggest companies in the world. And we spend lots of our time helping solve their problems, you know, solving their financial problems, but also solving their operational problems. How are they going to grow in the future? What are they going to do? You know, if one part is a bit blocked because of government or anything else? What else can they do to continue that growth journey? And we want and we need the best graduates to help us solve these problems. And we want the best people to be working with our biggest clients. And we have seen time and time and time again through this program that the caliber of graduates is exceptionally high. And so that was one of the reasons we initially came on board because we want to work with companies but we want the best people as part of our organization, you know, helping us make the world a better place for the future. And look over time as we continue to support this program. And we were working with these incredibly well rounded students we could just see that the caliber continued to improve so it's is an incredible program. And we will continue to sponsor and stay connected to it.

Fantastic. And yeah, again, as a university, we're just so grateful for your support. And on a personal level, I'm so grateful for you for tuning in when you've lost your voice. So any questions I throw to you, please feel free to keep them. So, obviously, we've spoken a little bit about the internships, it is such a huge component of the degree and graduating with a year of full time work experience really gives our students a competitive advantage when it does come time to apply for grad roles. Michelle, we've heard a bit about there's one in first year, there's one in third year, how exactly do the internships work.

So as you know, there's a six month internship. So how that works, is that I'm actually talking to first year as of right now about where they get their placement. So just to clarify, you go to two different organizations, completely different organizations for both of your internships. And this really differentiates the BAcc degree from the cadetship. So that you're going to actually have a taste of two different types of segments in industry. So you might go to Shavon. At in the big four, or you might go to banking. And because we have such a spread of sponsors, the choices are quite huge. So from then, after they've gotten the guest lectures, students will then put a preference in about which sectors they'd like to go to. And then we have one on one discussions about where they might get placed. So they're very excited, because firstly, we'll get their placements next Friday, not this Friday, Friday after. And as in their third year, they do another six months, full time placement for work training. And they will do go through exactly the same process, we had the one on ones, but they must go to a completely different sector of industry. And that's really important, because that gives them a really good taste of what they may like, or they might unlock. Because as Bianca was saying, we don't expect you to know what you want to do yet, because you don't even know what's out there. So it gives you that opportunity to at least try before you buy, as they say and, and really look at how amazing and diverse accounting it's rigid truly is.

Fantastic. Shavon sometimes the word internship brings to mind an exhausted intern photocopying making coffee, all that kind of thing. Not quite the case at all. Would you be able to talk us through the type of work that our students actually do? And how that kind of differs with the first year internship compared to the third year one?

Yeah, for sure. But Rachel, it is funny you say that, because I was much older than all the students on this call today. But when I did start as a graduate, I actually, it's been some time photocopy. But um, the world has changed a lot since then. Right? You know, everything's online. And that's just such a simple thing to say. But when I was a graduate, it was not the case, you know, we did a lot of work manually, we used to mark up our papers, and you know, you had to have certain colors for your papers here and there. It's completely different these days. So look, what what you can expect from from an internship at EY, is that you spend all your time working with teams. So you don't go to the same place every day, you don't go to one office for six months instead at the same desk. That's not the case. So in audit, we work with a number of different clients. So your six month time, if you came to EY, it would be spent working with a number of different clients and teams. So you might spend six weeks with one team. So where Edwin is Coca Cola, that's one of our larger clients, we might have a team be there for eight weeks, because it's such a big company, it takes a while to get through that audit and results. So as a graduate or not even at the graduate rather, but as an intern, you might spend eight weeks going out to coca cola every day, maybe you'd have one day a week and Ey offices, but you'd spend time meeting those clients. And when you're out there with your team, you're working through the results of that company, you know, trying to understand how did they achieve the results? They did? Are those results? Have they accounted for them in accordance with the accounting standards correctly? Yeah, you're you're doing something different with different companies, you know, week on week, and I think particularly our BAcc students love that because they've worked in a fast paced environment and they enjoy doing something different and kind of learning from different companies. But fundamentally, you need it and you need to spend lots and lots of time rather understanding your clients business. You need to know how their business works. to know, how should they account for something and how have they accounted for it and what has happened during the year. So as an example, one of my clients is the NRL, the National Rugby League, and I'm sure most of you on the call would have heard of that game. And personally, I love sports. So it's something you know, it's a, it's an organization I love to work with, and I understand the game very well. But you know, as a partner, I spend lots of time with my team, both with my team, and with the C suite and executive leaders of that organization understanding, you know, the contracts they have, how, what does the contract with Foxtel look like? How does that work? You know, what different components of that contracts are there? How does that flow into their financial results. So, my team will be working with the NRL to understand all the different agreements they have, so that they can clearly understand how that kind of flows through to the financials. So, you know, between first year and third year, we really have a broadly similar experience, in that you do spend time with different you know, different teams and different clients. Week Six by 30, though, that the the interns have learned to be more, you know, over that first internship and through their second year, so we do kind of challenge them a little bit more with the work that we give them. But they're supported every day with their teams and with people around them. So definitely, definitely a change from when I was a grad, but I'm really they spend lots of time applying their mind and working through our clients problems.

Fantastic. And again, I don't want to hammer too much on this point. But just that example, you gave about the NRL being a major client and working with them and understanding all the nuances of their organization. It's just so far from that, you know, accountants sit in a quiet room with a calculator stereotype. It's, it's, I'm so glad you spoke to that example, as well. Yeah. Tom, so we heard from Bianca that a bit about her internship in first year, what about yourself? Who did you intern with? How did you find it?

Yeah, thank you. Um, so I interned at a company called Cuscal. And they're a payments provider. So essentially, every time you use your phone, or your credit card to pay for a coffee, or they're the people behind the scenes, doing all the work, to make sure the money transfers between the two banks. And look, I had a wonderful time, it was such a great experience. I think one key takeaway I had from it was what you learned in your internships is really accelerated. So it's all great learning everything in university. But I think when you go into your internship, you really learned like, because you're putting into practice what you've learned in university, the learning curve accelerates so much. And that becomes really apparent when you finish your internship. And you go back to uni, and you've got these new set of skills that you've acquired. Yeah, it's really telling. And, like, I think the staff that you get to get involved in is also something amazing. So my company made me feel really welcome. They always put on really fun events, I put myself out there, I tried to meet as many people as I could. So yeah, I think the internship is always great. And it's also how you make it. So it is your approach and your attitude as to what you want to get out of your internship. That is the true determinant of what it's going to be like.

Absolutely, 100%. Now, we've spoken a lot about what accounting is what it involves all of that. I've been, you know, keeping an eye on the on the questions that Karan has been frantically answering in the background. But how do you actually apply? It's, as you mentioned, it's not just about your ATAR. It's not just about submitting that UAC application, how to students apply. So

to apply the first stage one, you would just fill out a online application form. In that online application form we want to see, as you've heard, we're looking for all rounders. So what have you done? What can you show us that you've done? It's not just academic success, we're looking for your leadership qualities. And remember, being a prefect is not just being a leader, you can be a leader in your community, you can be a leader in your school, you can be a leader in your family. So think about it in that way. We also look for things like you know, do you do you have any part time work? Have you engineered the workforce in any way? And anything is great. So sometimes people will say, Oh, I only work at Bunnings. That's amazing. That's it. That's fantastic. So really be proud of your achievements. We want to see people who maybe have a volunteering experience, bring the whole of you into that application. And we also most importantly, we want to Seeing interest in accounting, that's very, very important. Because our degree is based in accounting. And I say that because always follow your dreams. I know most of you wouldn't even know what accounting is as yet. But, but if you're passionate about business, show that in your application, show it in an application, we're not looking for investment banking, we didn't go down that path. But there's other avenues you can follow, if that's the path you'd like to go in. So have a little think about it. And then after that application process, after you put that in online application processing, with your statement about your interest in accounting, then we will also look for, then we'll say, maybe we might offer you an interview in November. Now the interview is in November, we have an old miners, fourth to the seventh, that's it the fourth to the seventh of November. So applications for this round will be in on 17th of May, you will then get notified to say that you have got the opportunity of an interview, and an assessment are in the in that November timeframe. And you would then book in a time with us. Now the other question I get all the time is, why is there a second round. So the reason for that is that in October, I believe it around October 11, you will the second round closes, it's it's altogether the same. Altogether, the same is exactly the same marking criteria for your online application. Everything is mirrored. So it's not more favorably looked at if you apply in first round or second round, it's up to your time. But the interesting thing in first round is that if you do get an interview, and you get you might get an early entry, at least you know, there's still the opportunity to get into BAcc without and then you can commit at a later stage. And what I say to you is Do not be scared of the process. It is not a punitive process. It's actually quite a developmental process, which is really fantastic. So after that, when we go to interview, you have you have a group task. So you sit in fours, solve the problem, present your solutions, and then you go and you'd be lovely people and have a chat with some of our sponsors. And from there, you might get a conditional offer. If you get a conditional offer, if I say for example, I've got 37 places, and we give out 50 conditional offers, then we'll take the top 37 ATARS. So that can be in that range of those offers that were given during that time. So my advice to you is when people say, What's the ATAR range? Well, what's the ATAR I go? I don't know, I have no idea. Because, but what I would do is try and do your very best to get as an a high ATAR as possible, remembering that what we're looking for is nice people, but not even nice people, people who can communicate with others, people who like work well in teams, that's why we have the group assessments. So think about it as human 101. Not ATAR 101. Yeah, and then try your very best to get sort of a higher, sort of a higher mark in that. But all interviews are then held together during that timeframe. And from there, as I said, we wait for the release of ATARS, and then we give the actual offer for BAcc.

Excellent. And Bianca from a student's perspective. If you can rewind two years down the track, how did you find the process of applying and then coming in and interviewing?

Um, yeah, so I actually heard about the program because one of the previous students came and visited my school and gave a little talk about what BAcc was. And I think I didn't, I had no idea what I wanted to do at uni at all at that stage. But when I heard them speak, I was like, You know what that actually sounds like something I'd be really interested in. And then when I looked through the application process I started with so you have the written application initially, which is what you have to submit in either the first or the second round. And I think the questions that you have to answer and filling out your kind of CV type of section of the application is where I realized that was actually something I wanted to do. As Michelle mentioned, it's really important that you actually do have an interest in accounting. Because if if you're interested in this degree, then you're going to do as well as you possibly can and you're going to enjoy it and you're going to find it easier because it's going to be something that you actually want to study I think there's a big, because it's a scholarship. It's quite exciting and you get internship experience. And so sometimes that whole part of the course can become a bit more intriguing. And you start to kind of forget about actually what the course is for. But I think if if you enjoy filling out that application, and it's something that excites you, and you find it interesting, looking up a bit more about accounting and what it actually offers, as you answer that question, then I think you know that this is something that I this is a program that actually is for you. And then in terms of the interview, the interview process with the individual and the group interview, I had never done a group interview before I've had a part time job. So I, you know, you kind of know what to I kind of was aware of what to expect in the individual interview. But walking into a group interview, I found quite daunting, because I had, I had no idea what to expect. I didn't even know that like, it was a we had to answer a problem question I kind of just walked in fresh. And I think, regardless of whether I had actually made it into the program, or not, I think, give it your best shot, because it's a really big learning experience. And it's a really important learning curve. And I know, when I've had to apply for a part time job that I've recently taken up this year, they did sort of a group scenario like that. And I know even when you go into grad recruitment after your degree, many of the grad recruitments have group interview type stages. So I think this is a really, really important learning curve that you should just take the opportunity to partake in. If this is a if the accounting area is something that you're you're really looking forward to don't don't get impostor syndrome and think that everyone here is so much smarter than me and how such is gonna get such a good ATAR because you guys have all worked so hard throughout your HSC and you're going to get the best result that you can. So treat the group interview, like a learning experience, and you never know what the outcome is going to be.

Absolutely fantastic. And I love that you admitted that you did find it daunting, because I think there's nothing more scary as a prospective student than just hearing Oh, went in was a breeze nailed, it was totally fine. But it is normal to feel intimidated and nervous. But it is what you get out of it. That's just invaluable. Now, Bianca, you just kind of took the next question out of my mouth, which was, while we wait for some additional questions from the audience to come in. What would each of you say to someone in year 12? Who's watching right now, there's been a whole host of amazing advice from all of you. But if it was just one thing, what would it be? And, Edwin, I'll start with you.

Sure. So I'd say number one is, I think look after yourself as well, year 12 is a really tough time you're going through exams, you're going through intense pressure. And you're going through thinking about the future. Be clear, you know, have give some thought of what you want to do. But make sure you look after and monitor your, your situation, your mindset, how you're managing through exams. And that's just the most important thing. And then second is just believe in yourself. You know, if you might be thinking, going through this presentation, I probably got no chance. A lot of people probably had that same thought I had that same thought. And you just never know. So give it your best shot.

Excellent, fantastic and Shavon What about you?
Yes, for me, I would just say be your authentic self, be yourself. You know, like the guys have explained to you today. You spent so much time with the people in that program. You know, spend so much time with Michelle and Carr and and the people who are leading that program and teaching you through the interview stage. You know, you get to that stage. They just want to see who you are, they want to understand who you are what you're about. So be yourself because you're gonna have to be yourself every single day when you show up, you know to that course. So that would be my I wanted

excellent 100% and Tom, what about you?

Yeah, look, this is something so my little sister she's currently studying in year 12 as well. And this is something I always tell her is just put everything in context. Of course try your hardest in year 12 And do try and work towards your best ATAR but that number doesn't define you, Michelle and Cara and are looking at you as people Whole rounded people who are engaged in a whole bunch of different awesome things. It's not just your ATAR. So yeah, just give it your best shot. But don't get too worked up in the end result. You've obviously worked really hard and you deserve it. So yeah.

Excellent. And Bianca, as I said, You already gave some fantastic advice. But was there anything else you wanted to add?

Just quick, just short. Just enjoy yourself. Because time goes so quickly. And University is so different to high school. It's equally as exciting and fun, and you make just as many friends and it's great. But don't, don't miss out on all the opportunities and fun that you have still have left in high school worrying about your future, because you're gonna miss everything that you do get to experience being young and in year 12. And not maybe some of you might not have a job yet. So just enjoy being in the present. And don't don't skip over the present just to worry about your

great advice. And you know, a one question for Bianca, you and Thomas. How many people once you've got into uni have actually asked you what your ATAR was?

Not a single one? Yeah, I think my three best friends asked me the day after the HSC. Because obviously, they are my best friends. How did you go? Other than and my family Other than that, not a single person?

It's kind of like a socially banned question. No, no one really asks it. So you're really not defined by your ATAR? Like most people have probably forgotten their ATAR by this point. Yeah, yep.

Exactly. Well, I'm so glad that you both pointed that out. Because there really is that perception that, you know, once that ATAR comes out, it'll be marked on your forehead for the rest of time. But as you said, you know, you've been through it, and it is that kind of taboo subject where someone would get kind of sidetracked a little bit for asking now. So, as I've said before, you know, if you do want to add some questions in we do have a couple more minutes. But, Karen, again, I hope your fingers are okay, because you've been responding so quickly to all of these questions that have come in. But one that I just wanted to touch on with you, Michelle, because, as you said, there is a lot of questions around round one applications versus round two. In the event that someone is unsuccessful in round one, can they apply again in round two?

No, they can't. Yep excellent, because its a criteria we put on? Exactly.

And another question that kind of follows through from that is, if they think that, you know, their grades will go up later in the year, would your advice be to wait until round 2

just apply? Really give yourself the chance? I think everyone everyone's that is so true. And I went to ask BAccs where on the first day, not one of them would thought that they would get in so interesting. And that all they did was give themselves a chance. I always say it's like winning the lotto. You know, people talk about it, but they don't buy the ticket. So, apply, see where it gets you always grab opportunity. You just never ever know. So and I'm really, really looking forward to reading your applications, and hopefully seeing you in January.

Excellent. And one last question that's come up. And I'm glad it's come up organically because it is quite a bragging right, that we do have for the BAcc program, which is what is the graduate employment rate like and how does that generally stack up to other accounting programs?

It's 100%. We have 100% graduate employment. We're very, very lucky. That that sponsor organizations give BAcc preferential grad recruitment. So we get very early before the general cohort goes, and the sponsors will open a special section for BAcc only, and they apply to the sponsors that they have, we'd like to go to so amazing privilege, because we're talking some of the biggest companies in the world and Australia that opened their doors to them before they actually open applications to the rest of the population.

And I think because obviously as director of the program, you oversee all of our students who are graduating so, you know, sometimes there can be a little bit of inaccuracy in graduate reporting data because there can be you know, different definitions of what full time employment is. But you oversee every single graduate, you know, where they're going aged. And it's such a such a feather in the program's cap that we do have those graduate employment rates.

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Well, we've actually gone one minute over time. So in the interest of not keeping everyone too much longer, I just wanted to say, thank you so much to all of our panelists, Bianca, Tom Edwin, and of course to Shavon not just for her time while sake but also for all the fantastic support that EY have provided the program. And thank you everyone so much for attending. We really hope that you found this session useful. If you do have any further questions, and if you do, we would encourage you to get in touch. You can email coop.ed@uts.edu.au You can get in touch with us on our social channels. And of course we'd love for you to come visit us on Open Day which is Saturday the 31st of August. But thank you so much for those of you that are in year 12 All the very, very best with your HSC we would love to see you and your applications coming in and have a lovely remainder of the night. Thank you so much everyone.