Amanda Proaspatu, BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance, internship
Amanda followed in her parent's footsteps by studying Accounting and Finance at LSBU, but found her own path during a summer internship in our Finance departmentAmanda transferred to LSBU from the University of East London in her second year of studies when she wanted to go to a university closer to home, with good transport links and a well renowned accounting and finance course.
"My parents studied accounting and finance at LSBU and are both now accountants and they love it, so I knew LSBU was a great place to study. It was a last minute decision to transfer and I went straight into the second year of the course - but I met some lovely people the minute I got here and settled in really quickly. The BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance has a more personal feel, with smaller classes and more 1-2-1 attention with the lecturers."
Getting some hands-on experience
When the opportunity to apply for a 9 week internship based in the finance department at LSBU came up, Amanda jumped at the chance to get some industry experience.
"I applied for the internship online, submitting my CV and a covering letter and went to an interview. I was so pleased when I found out there were only eight students from a course of 200 picked – and I was one of them!
"I was really keen to get some hands-on experience and the internship exceeded my expectations. We rotated around the departments which included payroll, credit control, financial planning, financial accounting, procurement, enterprise and accounts payable so gained a real insight into each area."
Amanda used databases such as Cognos and Aggresso, was tasked with ratio and trend analysis and was given a procurement project on purchasing uniforms for nursing students where she assessed and picked the best suppliers.
Amanda's live project
All interns also completed a 'live' project during their internship – where they picked a project to develop that the university would potentially implement.
"My individual project was on 'cashless campus'. This is where there are no cash transactions on campus, and I researched how it would work, liaised with the cash office and procurement and planned how it would be implemented. At the end of the 9 week internship we all presented our projects to senior management – and I got a great reaction and really positive feedback."
The future
"Everything I experienced during my internship was new – we study the theory on my course but seeing it in practice is invaluable and I learnt so much more than I expected to. The internship has really expanded my CV and gives me so much to talk about in interviews – I think I'll be able to sell my skills and experience more now.
The broad experience Amanda gained during her internship has also enabled her to work out which area of finance she's interested in, and make a plan for the future.
"My aim is to work in financial planning as that is the area I enjoyed most. But first I need to complete my final year and gain my ACCA accreditation so I can become a fully qualified chartered accountant. I also hope to apply for a graduate scheme in October."