February 2015 – Undergraduate Blog

Broaden your horizons with a semester abroad

By Francesca Hall

At the University of Sheffield you will be encouraged to not only excel in your studies, setting you up with a degree from one of the top University’s in the country, but to take on a host of extra activities and opportunities that will set you even further apart in the competitive world of employment.
As I enter my final term at the University of Sheffield on my three year Business Management course I can safely say my University experience has exceeded all my expectations. I remember clearly the first day I arrived into Sheffield, a car full of clothes, bedding, and empty notebooks, and with it a tonne of nerves and excitement. Having read every student review about the University of Sheffield that I could get my hands on (thank you ‘whatuni.com’!) I had high hopes for what lay ahead. Two and a half years later, I have not been disappointed.
What has surprised me most -beyond the hospitality of the locals, the quality of teaching and facilities, and how there is a society for every activity you could imagine- is how the University itself has gone above and beyond duty, offering me so much more than just classroom learning. I have found myself frequently inundated with opportunities to do exciting new things, and taken-up many, but the one which has had the most profound effect on my life is studying abroad.
In my second year, with ‘YES’ as my go-to word, I embarked upon a five month adventure studying a semester at Copenhagen Business School as part of the University’s Erasmus programme. Towards the tail-end of January I once more packed my life up into suitcases, and boarded my flight into the unknown territory of snowy Copenhagen. The first week was terrifying and overwhelming as I realised the magnitude of what I had signed myself up for (5 months and over a thousand miles from home) but my nerves quickly dissipated as the floods of new faces became friends and this alien city grew to become home.
Studying at Copenhagen Business School -one of many prestigious universities the Management School is partners with, and living in Denmark’s capital was an incredible experience. Whilst I wasn’t so keen on the three hour classes or the four hour exams, I seized the opportunity to immerse myself in a new way of learning, grateful to explore my passion for business through a different array of modules. Trying to settle down and study with the sunshine and city calling your name was definitely learning curve, but with a work-hard, play-hard approach I had the most wholesome experience I could have asked for. Copenhagen itself is a stunning city, vibrant, packed full of culture, with so much to see and do. I have an abundance of fond memories, from city strolls and bike rides, canoeing on the canal, and enjoying the Tivoli gardens and Lousiana, to partying at Kulørbar, eating Smørrebrød at Torvehallerne, and enjoying good company by the canal on a warm evening. However, whilst I can’t imagine a city more fantastic to study abroad in than Copenhagen, if it’s not your cup of tea, you can take your pick from the University of Sheffield’s other partner universities across Europe, in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands or Sweden. Not to mention, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and the USA if you choose to study International Business Management!
To say that studying abroad changes your life is no understatement. I have made life-long friendships with an array of amazing people from across the globe, experienced life in another culture, and studied with a further fantastic university. With it, I have returned to Sheffield with more self-confidence, patience, awareness, and as clichéd as it may sound, I have grown as an individual beyond measure. I feel eternally grateful to the University of Sheffield and the Management School for giving me the opportunities that I have had, and without their continual support it would not have been possible.
I hope you too will have a fantastic time studying at the University of Sheffield. If I had to give you one piece of advice it would be, to say yes often, and push yourself to do something new. If you do that I guarantee you’ll be leaving University with more than just a degree to show for it!

What does our Triple Crown accreditation mean for you?

By Alex Martinsmith

The Triple Crown Accreditation is something we are incredibly proud of at the Management School. It gives a mark of quality to the level of teaching here at Sheffield from three different accrediting bodies from around the world. Here’s a quick breakdown of the awards:

AACSB – The Associate to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business – An American based body that is regarded as the benchmark for high quality business school education.

AMBA – The Association of MBA’s – UK based body that accredits postgraduate management education and focuses on a business school’s MBA portfolio rather than undergraduate programmes.

EQUIS – European Quality Improvement System – Accredits management schools based on their general quality of education, specifically focusing on their level of internationalization.

As a comparison, attaining these accreditations is somewhat equivalent to achieving an ‘Outstanding’ award by OFSTED 3 times over. These awards are highly prestigious and are only held by 67 business schools out of the total 13,670 worldwide. These awards are not just awarded and then kept forever either: the accreditation bodies frequently return to ensure that Sheffield Management School is retaining its outstanding levels of teaching.

Triple Crown Accreditation is important to students for many reasons. Personally, it shows me that the University can be trusted to deliver the best quality of education when it comes to my degree. Also, future employers understand the importance of these accreditations. When employing graduates, Triple Crown Accreditation shows employers that candidates have been taught to an outstanding level.

Gaining work experience with a year in industry

By Lucy Grimes

It wasn’t until I began my second year of study at the University of Sheffield Management school that I considered undertaking a placement as part of my degree. With so many employers on campus and careers events happening throughout the year, I began to think about the future and what I wanted to do. And it wasn’t long before I realised I had absolutely no idea! Having done bits of work experience in finance and accounting, and deciding it definitely wasn’t for me, I thought that the only way I was going to gain a better understanding of what I wanted to do in the future was by having a go, which is what led me to the decision to apply for a placement.

As I wasn’t certain which area of business I wanted to go in to, I searched for placements which offered a varied programme, and decided to apply for some retail management programmes. I was offered interviews with both Lidl and Marks and Spencer, two very different retailers. Having attended both of their assessment days, I was keen to secure the M&S placement. One thing that I learned at this stage was how important it is to work for a company whose values and ideas are in line with your own. I was very lucky to be offered the role at M&S, and signed my contract shortly afterwards.

Before the end of second year the Management School holds a pre-placement briefing which gives you an idea of what to expect and really helped to calm my nerves and worries about what to do if things aren’t as you expect. I began my placement in September 2013, and luckily had no problems.

The first few weeks were all about introducing you to the business, to retail, and getting to know the people you would be working with. This really helped me to settle in, and one thing I would say to anybody beginning a placement is to use this time to ask as many silly questions as you can! It’s better to make sure you understand things early on than to come unstuck later in the year.

After my induction period I began my first rotation as a trainee Food Commercial Manager. This involved training across two different stores, a premier store and a smaller Simply Food store. Moving around like this really helped me to gain confidence in working with and managing new teams. I also built some really great relationships during my time out of my base store which really helped me as I progressed through my placement, networking is definitely one of the biggest benefits from doing a placement year in my opinion.

After my Food rotation I was exposed to many other areas of the business such as Hospitality Management, Finance and Operations, Visual Merchandising, and General Merchandise. The variety of my placement was what I enjoyed the most; I got to work with many different teams, focus on different aspects of managing a business, and also develop different personal skills at every stage.

For my final attachment I was appointed Project Manager of the opening of a brand new pop-up school wear store. It was the first time this had ever been done in the business, and a fantastic opportunity for me to take full responsibility for a project from start to finish, recruiting a new team and working with Head Office to ensure the store was a success. Although a little daunting and requiring a lot of hard work, it was an amazing project to be a part of and gave me great exposure to areas of the business I hadn’t come across before. I loved every minute of it!

At the end of my programme I was offered a job with the company after Graduation, which I happily accepted. This has taken a lot of pressure off me in my final year, as I am able to fully concentrate on my studies without worrying about applications, interviews and jobs as well as deadlines and exams! And one thing which I have definitely found is that the work I did on my placement has really helped me when returning to university. I am now able to apply what we learn to a real business example which really helps me to understand the theoretical aspects of the course. Also group work, presentations and similar activities which I would have previously found daunting are definitely not any more, having done these things on a daily basis on my placement.

I would genuinely recommend anybody to complete a year in industry as part of their Business course. It really developed me as a person in many ways, as well as having a fantastic time, meeting some amazing people and leaving with a Graduate job secured for the future!

What a personal tutor can do for you

By Lucy Grimes

Before you come to university you might question what the role of a personal tutor is, and how their role fits in with your life at the university. I was also unsure of this before becoming a student, but being now in my fourth year at the management school I can definitely say I have had a great experience and continued support from my personal tutor throughout my time here.
During my first year my personal tutor was fantastic in providing support in terms of the transition to studying at university from a sixth form or college, and was a contact within the school that I could have a quick chat with if there was anything I was unsure of- a really useful thing to have when you’re getting to grips with the whole university system. It also helped to review my performance throughout the year, to ensure I made the necessary changes to my studies before I reached my second year.
When it came to beginning my second year, I decided to apply for a part time job, and my personal tutor also helped me with this, providing me with a reference when requested, and advising on the recommended number of hours for part time work during full time study.
In the course of my second year I also decided to undertake an Industrial Placement as part of my degree. Although I was aware of the process of how to secure a placement with external companies, I was very unsure of the process involved from the university’s perspective. However, my tutor helped me every step of the way to make sure that the process ran smoothly, and ensured that I was transferred to a ‘Degree with Employment Experience’- allowing me to undertake the placement whilst gaining recognition for it in my degree title.
Once I began my placement, my personal tutor was the consistent link between myself, my employment and my education. My placement was based in Manchester so I was therefore no longer living in Sheffield, which can make it difficult to feel a part of the university community. However I had regular communication with my personal tutor via email and telephone, which was really reassuring when you are away from the university environment. During our telephone meetings we would discuss my placement in detail, in terms of how I was getting on and if there had been any problems. My tutor took a keen interest into what I was doing right up until the very end of my placement. He also helped me to carefully choose my final year modules whilst I was away on placement, based on my subject preferences and previous performance in other subjects and assessment styles. I feel that with his assistance I chose final year modules which were appropriate and best suited to my learning style.

On return to university my tutor provided continued support on the subject of final year studies as well as career choices for the future. We looked together at how I had performed in other years, and what grades I should hope to achieve in my final year. This really helped me to clarify where I was up to with my studies and also helped me not to panic about final year exams and assignments!
In my first personal tutor meeting of this year we also discussed the job offer which I was holding, as well as other options for future careers, and my tutor encouraged me to attend a range of further careers events which really helped me to consider all the options available to me.
Overall, I feel that I have received a fantastic level of support from my personal tutor throughout the whole time I have been at the university, and would encourage other students to really make the most of the additional guidance and support you can gain from it. My university life would definitely not have run as smoothly as it has without the help of my personal tutor!

What you study in first year

By Alex Martinsmith

When I first applied to study business, I was really unsure as to what area I would like to focus my learning on.

In the first year the Management School provide a very rounded view of business management with modules covering every aspect of the discipline. Because of the fact I didn’t really understand what I wanted to focus on before university, it was definitely helpful that the Management School gave me a broad scope of modules in first year. Now I’m in second year, I can use my experience of the different topics I studied in first year to select the modules I want to study this year.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the modules I studied in first year:

ECN101 – Business Economics

An introduction to basic economic principles and theories. It’s come in handy numerous times in my other modules and is useful knowledge for life in general. Although not hugely advanced economics, it does require a bit of work to get your head around some of the topics, especially if you’ve not done economics before at A Level. This module only lasts half a semester.

MGT120 – Introduction to Behaviour at Work

As with ECN101, MGT120 lasts for half a semester. It runs through some of the core theories regarding organisation behaviour and draws on sociological and psychological work. It covers topics such as work structure and organisation, scientific management and misbehaviour at work.

MGT133 – Accounting and Finance for Managers

Provides a comprehensive understanding of accounting for business management students. It covers everything from simple cash flow forecasts and other financial documents right up to accounting rules and regulations and asset management. Coming from someone who had never done accounting before, it was very well explained and easy to understand when it we ran through it in seminars. It also helps get to grips with some of the terms used in business management when referring to accounting.

MGT134 – Business Management in Context

This module covers some of the important themes that managers encounter in business, mainly focusing on ethics and corporate social responsibility. This is a topic that is becoming ever more prominent in business and some of the issues covered are really interesting; such as the treatment of animals by McDonald’s.

MGT136 – Management Themes and Perspectives

The themes and perspectives covered in this module include marketing, strategy and supply chain and logistics. These all become separate core modules in second year and so this module gives you a useful grounding in the subjects. The module is assessed by writing an assignment for each topic. The frameworks and principles used in each of these areas are used frequently in other modules in both first and second year.

MGT138 – Analysis for Decision Making

This is a statistics based module that revolves around calculations for investment and finance. The topics themselves are relevant to any business career and are explained thoroughly. As someone who only did maths to GCSE level I didn’t struggle in this module at all and can genuinely say that it has come in useful a lot more than I thought it would.

MGT139 – Professional Self Management

A module designed to help business students become more employable by focusing on things like CV writing, skills development and employment processes. As someone who has just been through the recruitment process for a placement, I can say that this module was invaluable. I had no idea what an assessment centre even before studying this module and I’ve managed to secure a placement for next year with Boeing.

MGT140 – Business Challenges

This is your only optional module in first year. It can be swapped out for an unrestricted module which is basically a module of any other subject in the university such as History, French, Sociology, Politics etc. A majority of students tend to pick Business Challenges though. This module runs four students- run challenges that are to be completed in groups over the course of the first semester. My task was called ‘Steelers Challenge’: we had to design and then execute a marketing campaign to sell tickets to the Sheffield Steelers Ice Hockey games to the student market. This module is really hands on and is a totally different learning style to the rest of the course.

Click here if you would like to see the course structure.

Careers support that helps you get noticed

By Shameen Amjad

I am in my final year studying on the BA Accounting and Financial Management and employability doesn’t hit you, until you’re in your final year and suddenly realise you won’t be a student forever!

While a job search is very personal, there is lots of help and support available to us as part of the Management School. I’m doing applications every week, and without the help of Management School advisers, in all honestly, it wouldn’t have been possible, graduates roles are highly competitive and demanding and if you don’t get it right first time, you don’t get it at all!

The Employability Hub exists, purely for the benefit of Management School students, I have had a wonderful personal experience with one of the advisers, who ensured my applications were written professionally and developed my approach to some of the questions, so that they were structured very well. I couldn’t stress more how vital it is to take advantage of this facility to get the guidance you need to develop yourself. They also offer opportunities to give you a taste of work, and run skills sessions on CV writing and interview skills/techniques to build your career. Booking your one-to-one session is really easy and something I would really recommend to you.

Top 10 tips for studying AFM

By Annabel Faulkner

1. Understand the reason behind the answer rather than just regurgitating it by memory – this will ensure you understand the topic fully. This will also help you later on in the course because accountancy builds on previously taught topics – if you’re unsure of something then make sure you understand it before you move on.

2. Prepare fully for lectures, seminars and tutorials to make sure you reap the benefits. Print lecture hand-outs to ensure you can engage fully with the lecture and do the tutorial work prior to the tutorials so you can ask for clarification from your tutor for parts that you don’t fully understand.

3. Questions can often be wordy in exams so make sure you read questions carefully and thoroughly, and always double check your answers to avoid easy mistakes and errors.

4. Join the Management Society as it is a great way to make friends and offers lots of exciting opportunities from socials to trips abroad to careers event.

5. Practice exam style questions in preparation for exams so you understand how to lay out your answers correctly – in accounting there are often easy-to-pick-up-marks for the layout.

6. Work with course friends in revision time and in preparation for tutorials – they can help you and you can help them.

7. Keep up-to-date with current affairs, for example, by subscribing to the Economist, as this will help you with your degree as well as interviews and beyond.

8. Make the most of the career events run by the Management School, ManSoc and the central careers service – they are free to attend and you can build up your own industry links!

9. Look in to taking a placement year in industry or doing an internship as this can give you real life experience which will make you stand out when it comes to interviews. It also is a great way to see if you enjoy working in that environment.

10. Use your personal tutor in the Management School; they are experts in their field and understand how to structure essays and how to prepare for exams. They are there to help you or point you in the right direction of someone who can.

Thinking ahead! Why exemptions are important

With opportunities for achieving professional exam exemptions on our BA Accounting and Financial Management you can get a head start in becoming a qualified accountant, show future employers that your degree meets industry standards and that you are prepared for working in a professional environment. It also means you have fewer exams to do after finishing university!

By choosing a degree with exemptions from professional exams you can be confident that you are learning the right practical skills, and have the knowledge you need to get started in your chosen career after graduating.

Depending on module choices students on our BA Accounting and Financial Management programmes could be eligible for a number of exemptions from ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, CPA Australia and ICAEW:

ACCA – Six ACCA exemptions at the Fundamental level, awarded upon the successful completion of your degree.*
CIMA – Students can be exempt from foundation CIMA courses after completing our undergraduate accounting courses.*
CIPFA – Five exemptions from CIPFA professional qualifications, meaning you could be fully qualified in two years.*
CPA Australia – Eight exemptions gives students CPA foundation level accreditation upon graduation from the programme, with direct access to the Professional level if continuing studies at masters level.*
ICAEW – Students on our BA Accounting and Financial Management courses can start their ACA training or top-up their business knowledge with ICAEW’s CFAB – Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business.*

These exemptions are subject to change, so make sure you check which are available when you start you studies and that you pick the modules you need to get the exemptions and accreditations you want.

*details are correct the time of publishing. These exemptions apply to BA Accounting & Financial Management students graduating in summer 2015.

Gaining work experience with a year in industry

As a student on our BA Accounting and Financial Management you have the opportunity to convert your degree from three to four years by adding a year in industry between your second and third year, turning your degree into one with employment experience.

An amazing way to really put the theory you’ve learnt in years one and two into practise and also gain valuable industry insight which you can then feed into your final year of study. As well giving you the chance to build a network of contacts for post-graduation you’ll also be building a tool-kit of practical skills such as networking and time-management, not only useful in the working world but also for your final year of study.

Students in previous years have completed placements in companies such as Ernst and Young and National Grid and some of our placement student have been lucky enough to be offered graduate roles – really taking the third year job seeking pressure off!

As well as work experience these placements also give you the opportunity to live and work in a different city, earn a real wage and also to get a real taster of what it is like to work in the field.

Hear from some of our students who have been on a placement and learn more about the process and support available to you.

My favourite modules

By Anamil Kochar

Let me start by telling you something about myself. I am Anamil Kochar, from India and did my most of my schooling in Amity International School at New Delhi, the capital of India. After that I moved to Pune, which is a city in western India and enrolled in an International School, which followed the British Education System. This total change in school environment and coursework, along with the fact that we moved to culturally a different part of the country, has really shaped me as an individual and has been instrumental in leading me to study on the BA Accounting and Financial Management programme at the University of Sheffield.

Sheffield University is one of the best universities in the world for my course as the Management School is a Triple Crown Accredited Business School. This course allows us to not only learn accounting but also understand life in the work place and improve life in general through modules like Professional Self-Management.

Professional Self Management was probably my favourite module in first year. This module had an assignment every two weeks ranging from online self-analysis and group tasks to understanding plagiarism and creating a personal development plan. The self-analysis helped me know my personality and understand my strengths and weaknesses. The other tasks helped me reflect on my learning, performance and aspirations. The personal development plan allowed me to spell out what I wanted to achieve in life and the means to achieve it. Moreover, it also allowed me to plan for my personal, educational and career development. The best thing about this module was the guest lectures from IBM and Grant Thornton. They helped us understand what employers look for when recruiting students for placement, internships and graduate jobs. For example, all the employers want students to be a part of a committee at university level, following this I applied for, worked towards and got elected into the universities Raising and Giving committee as the treasurer. Furthermore, it also helped me understand the recruitment process in detail. This module focused on the development of personal values such as honesty, integrity, self-motivation and loyalty, which are useful for life in general.

Another interesting module in the first year was Business Challenges, where our aim was to run a simulated company over a period of two years making decisions about the pricing of products, amount to be spent on advertising, marketing and production. We then had to determine profit and customer satisfaction at the end of two years. This module looked at all the aspects of running a business and is very useful if someone want to run their own business in the future. Also, it had a trading period every 10 days, and within the last week of the semester, we had a presentation and an essay due, so we had to work with very tight deadlines. One thing that I learnt from this module is that anything can happen in business world, be it a challenge, a deadline or a strategic decision, you have to be ready to expect the unexpected.

The other main modules such as Introduction to Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, and Business Economics helped me understand the details and techniques of Accounting, the importance of accounting in real life and practical approaches to the subject. This structured and supportive approach in all the modules also helped me achieve an internship in a financial company at the end of first year; you can read more about this in another blog post coming soon!

To conclude, I would like to say that I am really proud that I came to study at the University of Sheffield and I am enjoying every bit of my student life as well as every aspect of my course.