Bachelor of Commerce Graduate Profiles

Alexander Ovchar completed his Bachelor of Commerce (Corporate Finance) in 2006 and will be undertaking an internship at a leading European investment bank in Sydney over the summer of 2006/07.  He is currently completing his law degree and is employed as a research assistant to a barrister.

A Corporate Finance major is an exiting and versatile qualification that opens a myriad of opportunities in areas of finance, commerce and law.  Traditional paths include employment in close proximity to the market, such as sales, trading, and equity research and management, as well as employment in corporate finance advisory, which involves work on mergers, acquisitions and equity capital raisings.  I found some skills, like strategic financial reasoning, applicable and useful in my employment with ‘Big Four’ accounting firms and large commercial law firms, however they are a prerequisite for corporate finance advisory divisions of international investment banks.  This major is particularly well suited in a double major with Accounting, or in a double degree with Law.

George Georgiadis completed his Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) in 2005 and is in his final year of his Bachelor of Laws.  He has been an active contributor to student life and has been president of both the Commerce Students’ Association and Law Students’ Society.  He has been employed by leading accounting and legal firms.

A commerce degree is an ideal foundation for a career in professional services or business.  The core subjects build a basic level of financial literacy and professional skills necessary to survive and excel in any modern workplace.  Accounting, though often thought of as one of the more boring streams, opens up an incredibly broad range of careers.  Accounting information is commonly dealt with in financial and legal circles, as well as the more traditional spheres such as audit, taxation and business services.  After having worked part time in both leading accounting and law firms I am now poised for an exciting and diverse career.

I am currently working with Cobham Australia, an airline and aerospace group with a national base of operations and a Head Office at Adelaide Airport. My role is as a Market Analyst, in charge of the strategic planning cycle, market awareness and research.

My Commerce degree has been a fundamental component of my success to date, not merely for the specific knowledge I have gained, but also for the way in which my studies have opened my mind to greater possibilities and changed the way I think. In my current role I frequently apply knowledge of strategy, economics, marketing and consumer behaviour, but it is the professionalism in written and verbal communication and the ability to think with clarity that is most important to me.

I hope to travel to the to the US and possibly start a MBA at Harvard in the next few years, but I may yet end up studying in Australia. My goal is to maintain my strong connection with business strategy in the progressively more senior roles I will take on in the future.

My advice for current/prospective students is to be clear in your own mind what you want to achieve during and after university. Focus on your goals and recognise that many steps you take, particularly the early ones, may not lead you in a straight line to where you want to be. Always add value in whatever you are doing, and if you can't, then get out and do something else.