Luton White

What position do you currently hold and where?

I am the Head of Finance and Company Secretary for the Royal Bank of Scotland plc in Australia.

What does your job involve?

I’m responsible for all of the accounting, tax compliance, regulatory reporting and company secretarial functions for the Australian arm of a global investment bank. I manage a team of qualified accountants with varying levels of experience and expertise ranging from those who are recently qualified to very experienced people. A large part of what we do supports the compliance and regulatory reporting for two Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) and other licensed entities. My role requires that I interact with regulators, the Australian Taxation Office, auditors, lawyers and other professional service providers. In order to be successful in this role I’ve drawn on 25 years’ experience as a Chartered Accountant working originally in audit but mostly in financial services.

What led you to choose UTS:Law for your studies?

One of my former colleagues enrolled to study law at UTS and he encouraged me to look into the JD program. I was very impressed by the postgraduate information session that I attended at the faculty. As I worked and lived nearby and wanted to minimise travel time, studying at UTS made the most sense. Considering all of these factors I decided to take the plunge.

Was your decision to study postgrad law to advance your current career path or a career change?

My decision to study was heavily influenced by a desire to become a barrister. With the benefit of hindsight this was a very ambitious objective, and even now near the end of my UTS studies, still a few rather large steps away from realisation. Nonetheless it remains my goal. Interestingly I’ve found that my studies have advanced my current career. I’ve increasingly been given tasks with a legal flavour whether to assist in-house counsel, or to participate in taxation and regulatory reviews. My recent appointment as Company Secretary was entirely attributable to my legal studies at UTS.

How do you see this degree advancing your career?

Now that I’m in my final year of studies I can attest to the incidental benefits of legal studies at UTS. I can read, write, think, and mange time better than my pre-law school self ever could. Some of the ancillary elements have been wonderful. I have really enjoyed the activities run alongside the curriculum particularly mooting and the advice writing competition. And the knowledge of the law itself that time spent at law school imparts? Priceless.

What was the most rewarding aspect of your degree? Why?

For me the most rewarding aspect of my degree has been engaging with my fellow students. I have found the UTS student cohort to be energised, engaged, informed and challenging. I have been fortunate to connect with some really impressive people.

What is the most useful or important thing you have learned from your studies at UTS?

I have learned how to read legislation and judgments. I use this skill on most days. The first judgment that I read was so densely worded and applied a way of thinking so alien that it literally made no sense to me no matter how many times I attempted to read it. Remarkably one day it all started to make sense.