Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance
Manager, Private Business, PwC
Zach landed a dream job with PwC after graduating, advising privately owned business on all aspects of their finances.
“I work on a variety of clients from small family owned business to large scale infrastructure projects, performing tasks such as financial statement preparation, cashflow forecasting, and data analysis and insight. The part that I enjoy the most about my job is definitely getting out and meeting with the clients; seeing how their business operates and what we can do to help,” he says.
Choosing to study Accounting at UC was an easy choice after enjoying the subject at high school, but Finance was a newly discovered passion after taking introductory Commerce courses.
“As long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed numbers and money so Accounting seemed like a natural fit for me. The finance side of things I decided to take on a whim after really enjoying the three weeks of finance that was built into the introductory Accounting course at UC. The compulsory courses are great because it lets you have a taste of everything – you might find something you like that you never knew existed.
“The atmosphere around campus was always really cool. There was always something going on and always somewhere to meet up with friends and study as a group, or just chill out. There a good range of courses and all of the lecturers are really helpful and approachable.”
Zach describes staying in the Rochester and Rutherford Hall for one year as one of his fondest memories of UC.
“It was a great place to make new friends and just be able to ease into uni without having the pressure and responsibilities involved with flatting – it was a good stepping stone between coming from home and flatting.
“You should seriously consider going in a hall during your first year – they’re a great way to ease into uni life and meet heaps of new people.”
One of his biggest highlights however was the opportunity to participate in the CFA Global Investment Research Challenge in 2013.
“We had to analyse a company’s stock price to see whether we thought it was fairly valued. While this involved a lot of work on top of an already full course load and many late nights, it was an invaluable experience in that we got to see what analysts do day-to-day, and also got to present to a panel of industry experts.”
Zach feels that his experiences at UC made him well prepared for his current role. After three years of practical experience at PwC, Zach gained his Chartered Accountant qualification with Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand (CAANZ).
He has since been a guest lecturer within UC’s advanced applied financial management course MFIN 670 to share his expertise with current students.
“Some of the courses at UC relate closely to what I do every day. In particular I’ve found that the tax courses at UC are really relevant to my work and are kept very up-to-date incorporating the latest changes in a constantly changing area.”
