BAcc 2008 Applicants to 2009 entry (3 Viewers)

[steph:an:ie]

Re: BAcc 2008...

hey everyone, i'm considering the BAcc course too. just a quick question, i noticed there's a repeated push from the 'bean counters' to a different type of accounting. what sort of environment does uts provide and what kind of accounting is promoted today?


*yay* first post

 

[201055]

Re: BAcc 2008...

Are the internships really hard? Like, I can imagine that as a first year, you wouldn't exactly have much information and knowledge to apply, other than, dare I say, debits and credits?

Also, is it necessary to do any post graduate courses? My mum's hell bent on me doing an MBA or something that sounds prestigious...

The internship is certainly challenging. I found that much of the theoretical stuff I've learnt in the first half-year of uni nearly all went out of the window- It's no longer about understanding debits and credits, its now about evaluating a particular internal accounting system, or performing reasonableness tests on accounts to ensure no significant changes have occurred.

So the knowledge gap was an issue, but you do get great support from the workplace, and you just had to commit yourself into understanding as much as you can, asking questions, asking for the chance to try something new. That's why they say: "You learn more in your six months internship than a whole 3 years of uni." But it was intensive, and my deepest sympathies to those who are going for a cadetship

No, whether you choose to do a post-grad course is your own choice. Many Bacc graduates have taken up a graduate job with one of our sponsors, then returned to uni to complete a post-grad. Others have arranged with sponsors to study post-grad and work part-time.

 

[201055]

Re: BAcc 2008...

hey everyone, i'm considering the BAcc course too. just a quick question, i noticed there's a repeated push from the 'bean counters' to a different type of accounting. what sort of environment does uts provide and what kind of accounting is promoted today?


*yay* first post

Grats on first post

I can only assume you're asking what kind of environment does the uts Bacc course provide, and that is an intensive, work hard play hard culture. You are technically completing a 3 year theory + 1 year work placement course all within 3 years, there are fasttrack periods (coming in to uni earlier to complete an extra subject in two weeks), and there is significant commitment required in terms of promoting the BaCC course. But being orientated with a close knit group of 20-30 people right from the start, there's plenty of social functions and activities throughout the year... and celebrating 36 birthdays is always interesting.

The sort of accounting promoted today is one which is no longer about number-crunching, sitting behind a desk 9-5, hopelessly buried under mountains of paper. Technology has made all that redundant. What makes an acountant important today is their ability to understand the data they are reading, analysis its effects and report it succinctly to your manager/ shareholders. So today accounting is more about getting out of the office (maybe on location at clients), discussing with them their systems, accounts and processes, coming up with your own evaluations, professional opinions and recommendations. As an accountant today, your knowledge and professional opinions are more highly valued than your ability to add.

 

[steph:an:ie]

Re: BAcc 2008...

okay, i have no idea how you highlight certain parts to respond to, or real knowledge of forums whatsoever. moving on from my ignorance of forums, during the 6 months work placement, do you just go to your work placement 5 days a week like a regular job, or half-uni/half-work. how does it operate?

 

[3li]

Re: BAcc 2008...

okay, i have no idea how you highlight certain parts to respond to, or real knowledge of forums whatsoever. moving on from my ignorance of forums, during the 6 months work placement, do you just go to your work placement 5 days a week like a regular job, or half-uni/half-work. how does it operate?

just press quote instead of reply

yea u work 5 days a week like a regular job, and uni once a week at night. part time.

in ur second year its full time uni, and u can spread this across 2/3/4 days

typically its spread across 2, leaving the other 3 for work (many with sponsor palces) or entertainment

 

[Allan vB]

Re: BAcc 2008...

Long time no BAcc posting for Allan... So, I've been working on my portfolio and my application form which will be ready soon... I'm having a bit of trouble with the last part about my accounting interests... Any pointers?

 

[3li]

Re: BAcc 2008...

for beginners - do a wikipedia on what accounting entails

for intermediate - describe the areas of accounting that interest you

for advanced - describe the specific roles you can see yourself in 5 years from now (e.g. financial accountant, risk management, pricing analyst, all sorts of other stuff) as a result of accounting and why this work interests you.

 

[Allan vB]

Re: BAcc 2008...

So... who will be going to the Information night at UTS? I certainly will be going - with my friend Heather (She's not much into the hole accounting thing though). What sort of topics do they talk about on the night?

I have been looking ont accounting and what it entails. Finance interests me much more and accounting can help me get there (right?). Would it be wrong to state, on my app. form that I would be using the course to further my prospects in the field of finance and financial accounting?

 

[steph:an:ie]

Re: BAcc 2008...

application form part b says you can fill it in soft copy, to be sent in if yu're selected for interview, but i have the latest version of Adobe and it says that i can't save it.

any suggestions?

help much appreciated, thanks.

 

[Allan vB]

Re: BAcc 2008...

application form part b says you can fill it in soft copy, to be sent in if yu're selected for interview, but i have the latest version of Adobe and it says that i can't save it.

any suggestions?

help much appreciated, thanks.

You can't save it, you must print out the final copy there and then, and hand it in to someone at your school for the bottom section (I'm using the principal). Then, the school will fax it through to UTS. Couldn't be simpler! It's a bit annoying though - not being able to save it as you go and all... I've been filling it out on a printed hard copy to enter on Adobe when I'm done.

 

[201055]

Re: BAcc 2008...

Haha yes, you have to print the final copy and submit it via fax.

From experience, you may receive an email saying the second half of the fax was not clear enough, and that they want you to resend via email; don't panic, its just so the interviewers can see clearly what you have written down.

 

[leung1234567890]

Re: BAcc 2008...

Just wondering,,, for those who actually got accepted for the Bacc scholarship (such as 201055), what sort of extra curricular activities did you guys do and what UAI?

Also, around how many people actually do make it to the interviews?

 

[3li]

Re: BAcc 2008...

Just wondering,,, for those who actually got accepted for the Bacc scholarship (such as 201055), what sort of extra curricular activities did you guys do and what UAI?

Also, around how many people actually do make it to the interviews?

haha u got the same last name as 201055
um around 40 get in, last year just a bit over 40
i got in 2 years ago
i did some stuff for school and outside of school
i got 99,25

i think 700+ applied and about half of that get an interview i mite be wrong

 

[Allan vB]

Re: BAcc 2008...

I emailed Gareth Prosser last year and he said that they usually get about 700-800 people applying and then about 200-300 get an interview. Hopefully, I'll be one of those - maybe even one of the 40 or so...

 

[Allan vB]

Re: BAcc 2008...

Scholarship aside, how much does the entire three-year course cost? As in HECS, et cetera...

 

[3li]

Re: BAcc 2008...

its about 6-7k if u pay upfront a lil bit more if u pay later

 

[redom]

Re: BAcc 2008...

Just wondering,,, for those who actually got accepted for the Bacc scholarship (such as 201055), what sort of extra curricular activities did you guys do and what UAI?

Also, around how many people actually do make it to the interviews?

Hmm im a first year, and there were originally 41 of us selected.
Hmm extra curriculars-the normal sorta highschool stuff-sport, debating, prefect....i didn't really do anything too fancy.
in terms of uai, i dont want to give you all the wrong impression...BACC is definately more about people and personality rather then the UAI...you dont need a 99er or anything like that to be a serious contender...more so an allrounder!

dont be too worried if your not going to get a spectacular UAI...and if you are, all the better! =]

 

[201055]

Re: BAcc 2008...

Regarding the selection process....

In 2007, 700-800 applications were received for 1st round alone. Around 400 is invited to come in for an interview. Out of that, around 30 offers are sent out at that time.

A further 10 offers is sent out after the 2nd round interviews.

 

[zdzislaw]

Re: BAcc 2008...

My interests are in law, yet I feel that BAcc will provide a solid framework on which to build a steady career. Is this wrong?

Also, Mathematics is 'assumed' but are you totally screwed if you haven't done it? I did prelim but dropped it in yr 12 not because i was bad at it but because i had too many units btw

 

[201055]

Re: BAcc 2008...

My interests are in law, yet I feel that BAcc will provide a solid framework on which to build a steady career. Is this wrong?

Also, Mathematics is 'assumed' but are you totally screwed if you haven't done it? I did prelim but dropped it in yr 12 not because i was bad at it but because i had too many units btw

You can still choose to do BaCC even if your interests lie in law, as long as you still hold some interest in the commerce field as well. While your first major must be in Accounting, your second major/ sub-major/ electives can be across most faculties. In my class (2nd-year) several have chosen law as this second major. (And doesn't have to relate to business- eg.criminal law, international law, etc.)

So if you are not definite that law is the career choice for you, then getting into BaCC at least gives you a further 3 years to test out what both business and law offer- and then you can make your choice of which path to pursue.

Choosing BaCC will definitely put you at an advantage on heading towards a fasttracked, steady career- That's why we always promote we have a historic 100% graduate recruitment rate. Your position in BaCC is being funded by sponsors who clearly has interest in employing you in the future, and there is an acute shortage of skilled accountants in the market.

Mathematics is assumed in the 'Accounting' context, not in the BaCC selection process. There are a few in BaCC who actually didn't do any maths at all. In your 1st year of uni all the high-school maths are re-taught again anyway, and any more complicated maths to be used in the actual workplace (Eg. derivatives and bonds) are stuff you wouldn't have learnt for your HSC. But in saying so, of course having some HSC maths knowledge will make your life a little easier during uni.