News and Events

Advance your Career with a Postgraduate Specialist Business Degree

The Faculty of the Professions will be holding an information session to explain more about the suite of postgraduate programs offered by the Business School. This session has been designed to help you make informed career choices and to illustrate how a postgraduate qualification in Accounting, Finance, Marketing or Performance Management may fit into preparing you for the demand of today's marketplace.

This session provides the opportunity to find out:

• What qualifications are required for admission into the postgraduate business programs
• What options and pathways are available to you
• How you may receive exemptions and advanced standings towards a program
• More information on the programs we offer

Lecturers from various fields of study will be on site to provide advice and answer questions you may have regarding program and course choice.

Information Session

• Napier Building (bmp 141kB), Rm G03, North Terrace Campus
• Wednesday 21st May at 6pm
• Duration: approximately one hour
• Refreshments provided

To book, please contact Alexandra Jovanovic (8303 5591). RSVP by 15th of May for your chance to win a $100 book voucher. Winner drawn on the night.

From 25 to 29 March 2008, four representatives of the University of Adelaide Business School will compete in the McGill Management International Case Competition (‘MMICC’) in Montreal, Canada. They comprise the Macquarie Capital team.

The MMICC is a business case competition hosted by the Desautels Faculty of Management of McGill University and held annually in Montreal. The first MMICC was held in March 2001. Since then, the case competition has quickly grown to become one of the very best and prestigious of its kind worldwide. Today, the MMICC is a convergence point for both the academic and business worlds, and the event has now become a unique forum for Management students from around the world.

The Macquarie Capital team will be up against 11 of the most distinguished international business schools in the world to analyse and present a cross-functional business case for a panel of judges composed of accomplished professionals. Participants in the past have included Harvard University, the London School of Economics and the Wharton School of Business. This year, the competition includes the Copenhagen Business School, and the National University of Singapore. This is the first time an Australian university has been invited to the MMICC and also the first team to represent the newly formed Adelaide Business School which came into existence on the 1st January 2008 through the merger of the School of Commerce and the Adelaide Graduate School of Business.

The case competition itself consists of twelve teams of four students, who each have 24 hours to solve and present a multi-disciplinary case of Ivy-league calibre, to a judging panel composed of top executives and esteemed representatives from a variety of firms. The general focus of the MMICC is on globalisation and innovation, and the cases require knowledge of all topics in business management.

The Macquarie Capital team would not have been able to participate in this competition, and represent both the University of Adelaide and Australia on the world stage without the support of its sponsors.
These include:
• Macquarie Capital
• Clayton Utz
• Treasury (Commonwealth)
• University of Adelaide Business School

A new University of Adelaide Business School has been formed as a result of a merger between the School of Commerce and the Adelaide Graduate School of Business. The creation of this new school represents the continuation of the commitment of the University of Adelaide to ensuring it impacts effectively on the community it interacts with. The merger is part of an ongoing change process which involves significant investment in new facilities for the School and for students, and in accreditation. 

The Business School has also moved to its new location in 10 Pulteney St. A launch date for the new school will be announced shortly along with a new website.

At the recent AIESEC National Conference, AIESEC Adelaide University recently received the Local Committee of the Year award for the 2006/2007 year for producing the most consistent and solid subsystems and exchange results for this time duration. They were chosen amongst 12 other AIESEC university chapters located across Australia. Congratulations!

Associate Professor Bryan Howieson was part of a cross University 6 person team that has won a Carrick Institute Grant for $217,000 to investigate ‘Enhancing Assessment Feedback Practices in Accounting Education: Issues, Obstacles and Reforms’.

Michael Goudas recently won an Adelaide Priority (Honours) Scholarship to undertake his Honours degree in Commerce (Finance). Michael is investigating if a significant relationship exists between product-market competition and corporate payout policy. He was eligible for consideration for the scholarship as he is undertaking a program in a discipline area of special significance to the University and to South Australia.

Angelo De Blasio and Joel Kass were recently awarded full scholarships by the Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales. Angelo and Joel are both studying for their Commerce (Honours) degrees in the Marketing disciple - Angelo is researching the purchasing decisions of Australian consumers, while Joel is studying the effectiveness and ethicality of fear in advertising.

The scholarships gives Angelo and Joel the opportunity to obtain feedback on their Hons research-in-progress, mingle with some of the best Honours students around the country and NZ, meet/ the UNSW Business faculties and get exposed to several associated business advisors and corporate executives in Sydney.

Claire Sherman spoke at a recent public seminar exploring the ethics and philosophy of marketing. The seminar, "Sex, Beer and Marketing Ethics", brought together three people with a unique experience of marketing to address the subject from vastly different perspectives.

Claire was joined by Tim Cooper of Coopers Brewery and Steven Ogden from St Peter's Cathedral. Each spoke on the topic followed by a panel discussion.

Adelaide is “Ahead of the curve for an international business school” according to Professor Hasan Pirkul.

Professor Pirkul, Dean of the School of Management, University of Texas, visited the Faculty throughout March 27 - 28 in his role as mentor for the AACSB Accreditation project.

Vanessa Scott, David Lam, James Krurmey-Quinn and Tom Reddecliffe are four of the twelve students from the School who gained a place in the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia CA Achiever Work Experience program. A total of 1,140 students from across Australia applied for 190 places in a highly competitive selection process.

'As many accounting students may know, the ICAA offers a vocational work experience opportunity, known as the ‘CA Achiever program’ which places undergraduates at a firm, allowing them to explore the business opportunities within the accounting field. Over the summer vacation I was lucky enough to work for four weeks at Brentnalls SA, an accounting firm located in Hindmarsh.

Primarily, my placement at Brentnalls  provided me with exposure to the type of (basic) practical work completed at an accounting practice, such as the preparation of individual income tax returns and reconciliation journals (which are used by client’s to reconcile their MYOB accounts with those kept at the firm). The work experience also offered valuable insight into an accounting office environment. I was able to confirm (much to my relief) that I am working towards a career I will find enjoyable and rewarding. Furthermore, the opportunity to converse with like-minded peers who had already achieved the aims I aspire to was an excellent way to gain knowledge (of how to go about meeting such goals) and also a great way to forge business connections.

Finally, one key point to consider is that the program’s recognition with employers is an excellent way to distinguish oneself from the norm, and stand out form the crowd in the short term, furthering potential career prospects. The CA achiever program was thoroughly enjoyable and, in my opinion a beneficial experience that I would strongly recommend to all first year accounting students.' - Vanessa Scott

'My CA Achiever placement with Ernst and Young was an excellent experience. As one of the “Big Four”, EY was able to provide me with a variety of tasks spanning three different divisions for various large-scale clients.

During my first week, I was with the AABT team working on an audit project for Futuris Ltd. The next week, I was in the TAS (Transaction Advisory Services) division. Although my tasks were mainly limited to research on the various clients, I did learn the importance of research and was able to gain some insight into its various uses, such as in corporate restructuring and handling mergers and acquisitions. During my final week, I was placed in the Tax division. The division handled mostly corporate tax issues and I found the tasks very interesting as they involved a combination of both commercial and legal skills, such as researching legislation and case law.

In all three divisions, I was encouraged by, and benefitted from the knowledge, skills and experience of my workmates, each of whom was intelligent, resourceful and friendly. Over the three weeks, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and gained valuable experience working in large firm environment, performing tasks for variety of large corporate clients and getting a feel for the accounting world beyond the stereotypical image of the accountant just punching numbers and double checking figures.' - David Lam

"Participating in the CA Achiever Program has opened my eyes to the accounting workforce.  It has given me the opportunity to engage in activities which I would otherwise have experienced only at the end of my degree.  It is unique in that it enables first year students to ‘try before you buy’ insomuch as there is still the opportunity to change degree major should there be a disastrous or lacklustre experience.  Being placed at McGrathNicol, predominately dealing in corporate recovery, gave me a rudimentary knowledge of the processes involved in the often lively area of insolvency.  Fortunately for me, the team for which I worked and the tasks undertaken were always interesting; even if this were otherwise, the pay was also encouraging. The CA program has been an invaluable in renewing my focus for the future and on the positions for which I would like to apply at the end of my degree.  Such an experience can only ever be advantageous, so why not give it a go?" - James Krurmey-Quinn

During my first year studying a B.A. in Commerce at the University of Adelaide I was quite unsure where I wanted to take my career. Compounding this was an uncertainty surrounding where my education could take me. It became increasingly evident to me that the only way I was going to find out where my degree could take me was by applying it in a business sense one way or another. Fortunately, the University of Adelaide exposed me to several professional organisations that could help me find my feet and provide me with an opportunity to gain work experience in a professional firm. One such organisation was the Institute of Chartered Accountants who offered me the opportunity to gain work experience through their Achiever Work Placement Program.

Applicants were required to outline in a submission to the Institute of Chartered Accountants why they wanted a career in accounting and where they thought it could take them. Following this, successful applicants participated in a group activity which allowed them to put their personalities on show. Participants were then given the opportunity to meet with a prospective employer and a representative from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in a formal interview. Whether or not successful through this process it provides first year students with the opportunity to develop their interview skills and learn effective techniques for marketing themselves to a prospective employer.

As a successful applicant I was assigned to an employer who was deemed to best match my personality and skill set. Fortunately in my case this was the high profile, big 4 firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers. During my time with the firm I was exposed to people at all levels of the business who provided me with the opportunity to actively participate in their current engagements. For example, I participated in the audit of a local subsidiary of an international wine producer, a feasibility study for the State Government, and the preparation of taxation advice for several local and international companies.

The experience I gained through the program was second to none and has since landed me with an undergraduate traineeship position with PricewaterhouseCoopers. I would without hesitation recommend the program to first year commerce/business students who would like valuable insight into the corporate world and are keen on fast-tracking their careers. - Tom Reddecliffe

We hope the successful applicants benefited greatly from the work experience placements and recognise the important role the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia plays in offering valuable work experience opportunities to promising students.

Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal is a major international research journal, co-edited by Professor Lee Parker. Dedicated to the advancement of accounting knowledge and disciplines through the examination of critical, interdisciplinary and historical perspectives, it provides an opportunity for debate about the philosophies and traditions which underpin the profession. Emerald, the UK publisher of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability, has just announced that a recent special issue has won Emerald's Outstanding Special Award for 2006.

The AAAJ special issue "NGO Accountability", Vol. 19 No.3. comprises five papers with a weighty and thoughtful editorial from the guest editors. AAAJ joint founding editors Professor Lee Parker and James Guthrie have stated that the guest editors Professors Jeffrey Unerman and Brendan O'Dwyer have edited an issue of an exceptional standard, topical and thought-provoking, and a timely contribution in an expanding area of accounting research and practice. It addresses the most pertinent issues in research in this area, and has already caused a stir since its publication last year. It brings an international focus - authors are from the UK, Sweden, Netherlands and Tanzania - on a global topic which is important to the success or otherwise of regional development initiatives and NGO accountability.

Associate Professor Edward Lin has organised a presentation from Standard and Poor on the Global Compustat and Execucomp database. 'Global Compustat' covers fundamental and market data on 90% of the world's total market capitalization. It includes thousands of data items on firm level financial data, balance sheet, income statement and detailed footnotes. 'Execumcomp' provides details information on executive compensation that includes executives' salaries, stock options, bonus etc.

These accounting and finance databases are subscribed by major universities around the world including Australia. Academic staff of financial accounting and finance background will find them particularly useful.

Tuesday, 13 February 2007 from 11:30am - 1:00pm

The School of Commerce at the University of Adelaide hosts a series of research seminars attended by staff, postgraduate and honours degree students as part of our commitment to research and scholarship development and exchange. Our subject areas include accounting, finance, management, marketing, information systems and commercial law fields. We welcome enquiries from interested presenters both from within Australia and by visitors from overseas. Enquiries should be made early, as available timeslots are limited.

View the current Research Seminar Programme.

All seminars are held in the "Bernie Mills Room", Level 2, Security House, 233 North Terrace, Adelaide. Seminars commence at 11:00am, unless otherwise stated.

Professor Lee Parker was recently appointed a Honorary professor in the School of Management at the University of St Andrews. Lee is one of the first international professors to be appointed to an honorary professorship in their School of Management - based on Lee's international research profile and expertise.

Lee is also associated with the University of St Andrews through a longstanding association with its' Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research, as a founding Honorary Fellow (a senior advisory board member since the centre's inception).

The University of St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland, founded in 1413. The Guardian newspaper rankings place it in the top ten UK universities.

Dr. Christine Ho and Nishani Singh have been awarded trophies for assisting the Careers Service and contributing to students' preparation for the workforce in 2006.

Nishani won for including a careers presentation within the Master of Commerce which assisted Careers Services to reach over 100 students, and for organising an industry engagement program which has been very well received by industry participants and students.

Christine won for outstanding support of the Careers Service throughout the year with employer liaison, job vacancy listings, general advice and promotion of the Careers Service to students.

Congratulations Christine and Nishani!

The annual Adelaide University Postgraduate Students' Association (AUPGSA) Awards were held on Thursday 12th October, and we are proud to report the Postgraduate Resource Centre (postgraduate Commerce programs) won the award for the best discipline in terms of services provided to the students, an award nominated and voted by students themselves.

Congratulations to all of the PGRC staff!