Middlesex University Business School has teamed up with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to offer third-year students the chance to join the professional body's 'Accelerate' scheme, signalling to prospective employers that they mean business.
Accreditations by industry bodies demonstrate that our programmes are of a professional standard and offer students access to expert knowledge. In the case of Accounting and Finance students our partnership with ACCA means they are entitled to the maximum exemptions that ACCA grants graduates, giving them a fast track to becoming professional accountants.
Now the new Accelerate scheme is taking these benefits to another level by not only further reducing exemption fees but enabling our third-year students to become full student members of ACCA for free, which gives them access to its online learning community and leading industry insight.
Emily Parrott, Business Relations Manager at ACCA, who visited Middlesex to introduce students to Accelerate, said: "With the Accelerate scheme, students can register in the third year so they can put 'ACCA Student Member' on their CV when they are looking for their graduate schemes and graduate jobs.
"This immediately shows employers that the student is looking to progress, that they are serious about a role in accountancy and finance, and that they have done their research and homework."
In addition, the scheme gives students access to ACCA's new jobs portal, ACCA.careers.com, as well as the chance to get involved in ACCA events. The opportunity to begin the journey into the accounting profession while still studying was the key motivation behind third-year BA Accounting and Finance student Danika Grierson's decision to enrol on the scheme.
"The main reason I signed up for the scheme is to save money on my professional qualifications, and it opens the door if I want to pursue doing the ACCA exams fully after finishing my course," she said.
With motivated students like Danika looking to the future, our commitment to schemes such as ACCA Accelerate is just one of the ways in which we are ensuring Business School students have the employability skills they need to succeed in industry after they graduate.
