Prestigious accounting program marks 25 years

Twenty-five years ago few Australians had a mobile phone let alone an email address, portable computers were for people with strong arms, and for most accountants spreadsheets were actually that: large sheets of paper, not the vital piece of software they are today.

The UTS Bachelor of Accounting program is marking its 25th anniversary, having been established in 1989 as a unique partnership between UTS and the accounting industry.

The program was set up at the instigation of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants (now CPA Australia) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia (now Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, or CA). The two accounting bodies approached UTS about starting what's called a "co-operative education" degree program – one jointly operated by the university and industry – to attract and develop high-calibre students for careers in accounting. 

The prestigious program these days attracts 500-plus applications a year for about 35 places and has a graduate employment rate of 95 per cent. Today, as in 1990, every student selected receives a full scholarship and all complete internships with blue-chip industry sponsors. Among them, Lend Lease, Coca-Cola Amatil and Westpac have all been involved since the start; National Australia Bank/MLC, Allianz and PricewaterhouseCoopers have been on board more than 20 years. Fourteen sponsors have been connected with the program for more than a decade.

By the end of 2014, more than 700 students will have graduated from the program.

"This program is at the pinnacle of what UTS is all about – a tripartite relationship between the university, students and industry. It exhibits everything the university stands for," UTS Provost and Senior Vice-President Peter Booth – himself a fellow of CPA Australia and the ICAA – told a celebration of the 25-year milestone.

UTS is recognised in world rankings as a top 500 university globally – putting it in the top 3 per cent of universities – he told alumni who reunited for the occasion. Most recently UTS was ranked in the top 100 globally for business and economics in the new US News Best Global Universities ranking.

"You have contributed to that because that is partly determined by the standing and reputation of the graduates we generate," Professor Booth said.

Recognised at the event were program founder Derrick Docherty, the then president of CPA Australia, and founding course director Arie Sietsma.

"We were always looking for special people," recalls Arie Sietsma, who recently stepped down from the program steering committee after 25 years as a member. While many students come with high ATAR scores, the program had always looked beyond this to other qualities, including leadership potential. "We looked beyond the figures to pick out qualities in the students which are far more important than whatever grade they come in with," he said.

If leadership potential was what the programs' founders were looking for, they certainly found it, with alumni including Kate Goodman (managing director, Kimberly Clark Vietnam) and Courtenay Smith (group financial controller, Lend Lease).

"My degree made me curious about the world, as all good education should, and also taught me how to think – rather than what to think," said Adrian Coppini, who was in that first intake and is now General Manager of Strategy and Business Services, Wealth Management Advice, at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. 

A key attraction for Coppini was being able to complete the course in three years, including professional experience. He interned with Lend Lease and IBM, both companies consequently providing part-time work that he undertook in tandem with his studies. "The course sponsors were really good at giving students real work, more like graduate jobs than internships," he recalled. This sort of work experience meant Coppini was able to complete his CPA by age 21 – at the time the youngest ever to do so.

Coppini told the 25-year anniversary event that the program – and course director Arie Sietsma – embodied three ideas close to his heart: to have a thirst for experience and a curiosity about the world; to be deliberate about putting yourself in the right environment to grow; and to be able to pick an idea and back yourself.

"I walk to work and I walk past the new building for the Business School, [the Frank Gehry-designed Dr Chau Chak Wing Building] - a beautiful building – and what strikes you when a building is being built is how much time is spent actually building the foundations before you even see anything come out of the ground. For me, the BAcc was that foundational component. But, much like a building, you keep building, floor after floor – whether it's doing the CPA qualification, an MBA program, or even personally."

Fellow graduate Courtenay Smith, now on the program's steering committee, said the BAcc program wouldn't have existed without the 72 organisations – "a who's who of corporate Australia"– that had been sponsors over 25 years. The relationship was a real partnership that was not just about the financial support they provided for scholarships but also about the meaningful work experience they gave students and their contribution to keeping the program as relevant today as it was 25 years ago.

Coca-Cola Amatil, Lend Lease and Westpac received awards at the event for 25 years of sponsorship.