Diploma to degree

MOVING AHEAD: Leaving school after the sixth form, Kathryn Price has established herself as an accountant.

Like a lot of school leavers, Kathryn Price wasn't sure which tertiary programme she should do, but a good head for numbers got her on the pathway to higher qualifications and a career in accountancy.

Kathryn received a scholarship to study the New Zealand diploma in business at Unitec in 2000, which eventually led to the postgraduate diploma in professional accountancy (PGDipProfAcc) and a job with chartered accountancy firm Staples Rodway.

The former Waitakere College student says that she was good at mathematics, but wasn't keen on continuing with secondary school after sixth form. ``I have always been good with numbers but I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to study. The scholarship made the choice easier and doing the diploma meant I could get into the bachelor of business (BBus).''

BBus students gain an understanding of the different business disciplines before deciding on a major. After completing the diploma and then working for a year, Kathryn returned to Unitec to do the degree and chose to major in accountancy.

She says that it gave her a good grounding before entering the profession. It was hands-on, learning how to do journal entries, financial and management accounting, and learning about tax issues.

Another year of study is required for membership in the Institute of Chartered Accountants New Zealand (ICANZ) and Kathryn chose to do the PGDipProfAcc rather than a fourth year of undergraduate study. "It meant I could get more specialised in my areas of interest, like tax, information systems, and financial and management accounting.

The tutors had a lot of experience and some were chartered accountants themselves.''

They also encouraged students to ask and answer questions in lectures, she says. ``You have to be able to question and answer people to be an accountant and it was an advantage being able to work on these skills in the lectures.''

While completing the postgraduate diploma, Kathryn was recruited by Staples Rodway and started as a graduate accountant this year. She was also the first person to graduate from the PGDipProfAcc programme, receiving her qualification at Unitec's April ceremony.

Kathryn says she enjoys the variety of work in her new job. "Chartered accountancy firms work for lots of different industries, so I'm getting exposure to different businesses and I'm learning about a range of business structures.

"It's a great place to start my career and I get lots of support and training.''

There are also opportunities for travel, she says, with many firms sending their graduate accountants on exchanges with overseas companies to gain international experience.

It takes three years' experience and the ICANZ exams to become a chartered accountant. "They get paid more and have the recognition, so I'm just concentrating on the next three years and not looking too far ahead.''