Leo Tanner
BA Accounting & Finance, 2005
Country of origin: Hong Kong
Graduate employer: PricewaterhouseCoopers (Hong Kong)
I graduated in 2005 with a 2:1 in Accounting and Finance and began training as an Auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong, specialising in the industries of Technology, Info-Comm and Entertainment and Media.
Graduating with a degree in Accounting and Finance at a prestigious 6-star business school has given me nothing to regret. Although I graduated in a specialised area, the structure of Lancaster’s degree schemes has given me a wide range of opportunities. The flexible structure allows you to take electives from departments outside the main area of your major subject. During my three years as an undergraduate, I undertook courses from the Management Science Department, Economics Department and Law Department as well as from my own major department, Accounting and Finance.
To excel in my field, it is no longer enough to be a number cruncher working nine to five. Instead, my first year working at PwC involved me in understanding the clients' businesses, their industries and their system processes. Although the Accounting and Finance courses gave me the foundation to excel in my field through performing audits in a technical manner, the other courses that I took at Lancaster gave me a good foundation in effectively performing interviews and meetings with clients. Most importantly, these subjects relate to the professional exams that I had to take to qualify as a CPA in Hong Kong.
My most memorable academic experiences at Lancaster were taking part in the AcF100 Group Project in which we analysed a given company both on a strategic and on a financial basis, and the group project in AcF307 on company valuation. Both experiences were very practically related to my CPA professional examinations. I am grateful to the Department of Accounting and Finance in giving us that exposure from the early days of our studies.
Outside academia, I was an active representative for ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) at Lancaster. I promoted ACCA to LUMS students and helped bond students and ACCA. The experience was really fruitful and contributed to my confidence in interacting with clients at PwC on a daily basis. I was very grateful to Lancaster University, and especially to the Accounting and Finance Department, in providing me with resources and assistance during my three years as a representative for ACCA.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Lancaster as there is plenty to do. In addition to the joy you get at times from attending lectures and tutorials, there is a lot to do beyond your studies: sight-seeing around the Lake District, heading down to Manchester for the day, taking part in the international friendship café events and even diving from a bridge into the River Lune! I highly recommend Lancaster University to potential students, not only because of the 6* rating for LUMS, but because there is so much on offer in and around the city of Lancaster.
