Sixth-formers take on accountancy challenge at Sussex
Pupils from schools in the south-east took on the role of accountants at a competition hosted by the University of Sussex.
A team of sixth form students presenting their recommendations to judges at the ICAEW BASE competition
Sixth-formers had to analyse a business case study at the competition, which took place in Bramber House
The regional heat of the Business Accounting and Skills Education (BASE) competition required 12 teams of sixth form students to analyse a business case study before making recommendations to a set of judges acting as company directors.
Uckfield Community Technology College won the competition, with Bexhill College taking second place. The team from Uckfield will now go through to the national finals of the competition, run by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Pupils taking part in the event, held in Bramber House last month, were judged by a number of chartered accountants including Mark Fisher from Sussex’s School of Business, Management and Economics (BMEc).
Mr Fisher, Senior Teaching Fellow in Accounting, said: “I was impressed by the levels of enthusiasm and the quality of work from the students – hopefully some of them have been inspired by this event to become accountants.”
The teams of sixth-formers also received mentoring from accounting professionals on the day – one of whom was another member of BMEc, Susan Smith.
Ms Smith, a Teaching Fellow in Accounting who also helped to organise the competition at Sussex, commented: “Having this event on campus is a way of showcasing what our university is like, and gives potential Sussex students the chance to meet members of the Accounting and Finance team like myself.
“I think the competition went fantastically. I’m amazed at how well the pupils picked up on the key points, how quickly they developed relevant answers, and how professional and polished their presentations were at the end of a relatively short period of time.”
The University also partners with the ICAEW to provide events for current Sussex students. Last year the accountancy body ran a ‘speed networking’ event on campus, where students engaged in a number of short meetings with potential employers from the local area; this resulted in at least one student being offered a training contract with a local firm.