Handbook

The UNSW Co-op Program is a scholarship program set up by industry and The University of New South Wales to provide financial support and industry training for selected undergraduate students. The UNSW Co-op Program is based on existing undergraduate programs at UNSW with the following special features:

• For high achieving students the UNSW Co-op Program offers an ideal combination of challenge and opportunity.
• Co-op students receive structured industrial training and gain valuable work experience with up to four different employers.
• On graduation, sponsors are always looking to recruit Co-op Scholars.
• UNSW academics and senior managers from industry and government have jointly planned Co-op requirements.
• Co-op scholars receive a scholarship for the duration of their Co-op Program.

Our accounting major equips graduates with a critical skillset to thrive in their careers, focusing on analysing and interpreting accounting information. Our graduates are highly employable and are known for their ability to advise, influence, and lead key business decisions.

Key areas of learning in our accounting major include: 

• Financial Management: Prepare and interpret business financial reporting in line with latest practices and standards, and analyse that information for insights on an organisation’s value, financial health, and prospects. (Courses include: ACCT2511, ACCT2542, ACCT3563, ACCT3601, and ACCT3610.) 
• Resource Management and Value Creation: Produce performance data, forecasts, and other information that informs strategic, operational, and commercial decisions. (Courses include: ACCT2522 and ACCT3583).  
• Assurance and risk: Enhance trustworthiness through assurance of business reporting, assessing fraud and other risks, to build confidence in organisational reporting and market data (Courses include: ACCT3708).  
• ESG and Responsible Financial Management: Integrate and effectively incorporate environmental, social, and governance information into business reporting and decision-making to assess, to promote greater accountability for sustainable and inclusive organisations and society (Courses include: ACCT3625). 

What career opportunities are there? 

Accounting is a highly transferrable skill set. Its value is by no means limited in application to pursuing a career in accounting. Its application is much broader. Our graduates are highly sought after for roles not just in accounting but also in consulting, corporate finance, business advisory, analytics, and investment banking, as well as in public and not-for-profit roles.  

Graduates are increasingly looking to start up their own businesses at some stage in their careers. Accounting equips budding entrepreneurs with a key advantage – understanding the financial levers that will ensure their business is both financially successful and sustainable.  

Accounting graduates also find themselves well-placed to take on leadership roles down the track. Business leaders with financial management knowledge are highly sought after. Research has shown that the most common pathway to CEO roles is through CFO and other financial leadership positions.  

There is a current major and long-term shortage of accounting professionals. Accounting majors from UNSW are highly sought after in these roles not just for their mastery of accounting, but also for their ability to inform and influence decisions that drive organisational success.  

Accounting is also a passport to international work and travel. If your ambition is to work and travel sometime after graduation, you can be confident that accounting will enable you to realise that ambition.