Accounting and Finance students from the University of West London at an ACCA speed networking event
Accounting and Finance students from the University of West London at an ACCA speed networking event

UWL Accounting students gain career insights and opportunities at ACCA's Speed Networking event

Intro

Sixteen Accounting students from UWL's Claude Littner Business School attended the Speed Networking Event organised by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) at its London Head Office recently. The students were from the various levels of the ACCA-accredited BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance course as well as from the ACCA-embedded MA Strategic Financial Management course. 

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The event started off with an employability workshop, where students were provided with valuable guidance on crafting a strong CV, including tips on tailoring it to highlight key skills and achievements that are essential to an accounting and finance role. ACCA’s employability experts also shared advice on approaching interviews with confidence, including being aware of one’s body language and effectively answering challenging questions. 

This was followed by a panel discussion with some employers, after which the students had the opportunity to meet representatives from KPMG Crown Dependencies, British Airways, the Ministry of Defence, Moracle, Balfour Beaty, Grant Thornton Channel Islands, Bradbury, Government Finance Function, Graduate Recruitment Bureau and Christiansons’ Limited. Students were able to discuss internship and job placement opportunities within these companies. 

Accounting and Finance students from the University of West London at an ACCA speed networking event

Shafinaz Shaikh, Level 6 Accounting student and Chair of UWL’s Finance Society, commented: 

This was a great opportunity to speak directly with recruiters and business owners from both large and medium-sized firms and engage in meaningful conversations about career paths and expectations. The CV and interview skills session was incredibly helpful, covering everything from pre-interview preparation to handling follow-up responses. The event allowed me to exchange ideas with students from other universities and explore potential collaborations.” 

Ayesha Kashif, Level 5 Accounting student and CLBS Student Rep for the Students' Union, also shared her experience: 

This event was immensely insightful as we got the opportunity to talk to and learn directly from employers and finance professionals. They gave a thorough run down of their day-to-day operations and I was fully equipped to successfully apply the accounting and finance knowledge that I have learnt. I would encourage all students to participate in such events in the future!” 

Dr Dinusha Weerawardane, Head of Subject for Accounting and Finance, said: 

I am delighted that so many of our students were invited by ACCA to attend this event. It was an excellent experience for them to network and have one-to-one conversations with a variety of employers. Two of our students were able to secure jobs from the previous iteration of this event in February, and hopefully more will follow from this round.”

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