How did you get into Accounting?
I first became a Chartered Accountant back in 2012 when I joined PwC. I joined their graduate scheme within their audit department, and I worked within their FTSE 100 audit companies in London. I did that for a number of years before transferring, internally, into their learning and education team, where I delivered the accounting training across the UK for most of their associates. I have been here at Pearson College for the last 2 and a half years. I started as an Accounting Tutor and now I’m the Programme Leader.

What’s the best thing about your subject?
I guess that it’s challenging! The one thing I would say about the profession is that it really opens up doors to a variety of opportunities. So though you’re studying Accounting, within that there are heaps of different roles, industries and companies that you can go into, as well as international opportunities.

I mean, I started as a Chartered Accountant and as an auditor and now I’m teaching and lecturing here at Pearson College London and I love teaching here. It has a very strong community feel and it is a very supportive environment. I love watching my students grow and develop over the years that they are with us, the skills that they learn and the opportunities that they get to be part of. It’s a really fun environment to be in and definitely something that I enjoy.

What can I do to stand out in my UCAS application to Pearson Business School?
We are looking for are people who are hard-working. It is a challenging course with some tough and technical content to get your head around, so we are looking for individuals who are prepared to put in the hard work and who have a willingness to learn.

We also are looking for people who aren’t afraid to ask questions when they don’t understand something. Of course, it is Accounting so we are thinking about financial fluency as well, and an appreciation for numbers. Also, when you become an Accountant, it is really important to have strong communication skills and be able to work as part of a team so, we are also looking for those wider skills as well.

What's the one thing you wish you knew when you were applying?
When we are looking at applications, we are looking at those who can demonstrate an awareness of the programme: what it entails, specific modules they are interested in, their reason for applying and can they demonstrate a keenness to want to study at Pearson Business School?

Definitely do your research. Make sure you are researching all the different programmes and universities/institutions around. In terms of knowing more about us, probably the best way to find out more is to come to an Open Day or one of our Taster Days. We run taster days for Accounting specifically, where you can come and be a part of what a typical seminar looks like for our students.

A bit more about Pearson is how we are different. Here in the Accounting programme it’s still very much industry-focused, so industry is at the heart of everything that we do. Our tutors have a variety of experience with professional accounting that they bring to the classrooms, so it makes the technical content come to life a lot more with more appropriate, relevant and real examples.

Should I say the same thing in my interview as I have written in my Personal Statement?
It’s important to be yourself. Especially when it comes to interviews, make sure you are yourself, make sure you are expressing your reasons and motivations for wanting to study. Can you use relevant or interesting examples? Make sure you are answering the questions, don’t go off on tangents and make sure you have researched the programme and you’re really happy with the course. The Accounting course here is also ACCA accredited, CIMA accredited and ICAEW accredited so this is also a great thing to mention and to research.