This is a guest blog by Anna Crompton, BA (Hons) Business Studies with Finance and MSc International Accounting & Finance student at BU. Anna shares insight about her courses, and her reasons for choosing to study at BU for her Master’s degree.

I chose to study BA (Hons) Business Studies with Finance at BU for three main reasons: the university was close to home, the course had a compulsory placement year and, I went to an open day and the campus was amazing, the student accommodation was nicer than others I’d seen, and the staff were so helpful and seemed really passionate about the subject.

I graduated with a First Class Honours from my BA in 2020 and began my Master’s degree in MSc International Accounting & Finance, which I completed in September 2021, with Distinction.

I chose to complete my Master’s at BU because they’re such a supportive university! I also attended the Intensive Study Program (ISP) during September 2021 after my course with Erasmus+ and BU.

The MSc International Accounting & Finance course at BU provided very different skills from the BA I learnt at BU. For example, during my BA all deadlines consisted of reports and exams. However, during my Master’s degree I had to provide different styles of academic writing, I had to produce academic posters, conduct interviews to prospective clients, complete a case study, and finally conduct A LOT of group work!

This course really teaches you how to be a leader and how to manage others too.

Anna holding her dissertation

I really enjoyed the International Taxation unit, instead of writing a report about taxation, we were tasked with completing a complex and comprehensive case study, as part of the Designing Innovative Pedagogy for Complex Accountancy Topics (DIPCAT) program. An opportunity that does not come around often. This was such an enjoyable opportunity, made even more memorable when I got to attend the Tax Research Network (TRN) 2021 Annual Conference!

All these extra-curricular activities helped me secure my dream graduate position working at Honeywell Aerospace as a Graduate Project Analyst. By getting involved with extra-curricular activities it showed that I was not only a full-time student, but that I was a full-time student who attended many activities to better myself and help others, all whilst attending full-time education and obtaining top grades. BU really helped me by offering such competitive activities, that few universities do.