Student Experience

Browse snapshots of real accounting students' experiences at UniMelb. You'll find interactive engagement with a diverse community - this is education for the future.

Accounting at UniMelb is creative, challenging, and collaborative. You'll have direct access to our world-class academic experts and a talented and inclusive community.

What is it like to study accounting at university? Check out our five-minute video here: Accounting at University: Preparing for the Real World.

In your first year, you'll use Xero to help a small business grow. You'll tackle the basics of the discipline, master industry software and learn the ins and outs of running a small business successfully.

Second year sees you exploring data analytics to ensure fair, effective and efficient operations in the gig economy - think Uber and Fiverr. You'll run a business simulation with a team using industry software like SAP to understand the business across the supply chain.

In your third year, you get to use real data to support a large not-for-profit, collaborating with classmates to simulate a real-world audit experience. You'll manage the performance of a business and guide strategic decisions to achieve more than just financial goals. Using leading investment firms' real valuation techniques, you'll value a firm, considering the real-world risks and opportunities it faces.

Real experiences and testimonials

A brief snapshot of our online learning space, a high-touch environment with direct access to peers and subject coordinators. Study at your own pace while remaining connected.

Here's a snapshot of our online learning environment. Click the information bubbles to learn more about each component:

Third-year students engage in a valuation of an ASX-listed company while studying Financial Accounting Theory. They develop complex valuation models to determine whether their company is under- or over-valued by the stock market. They then synthesise their findings into a presentation that wouldn't look out of place at one of Melbourne's large investment firms.

Here are a few excerpts from real assignments completed by our students:

FAT assignment
Qualitative overview: If you want to invest into a business, you need to understand more than just its numbers. Here, students are providing key qualitative background information about their chosen company Qantas. This information will be critical to help forecast what Qantas’ financials might look like in the future, to understand how it should be valued.


FAT assignment
Historical segment revenue overview: A large part of valuing a company is forecasting its future revenues and expenses. This group of students has identified a series of factors that drive revenue for Caltex. By applying some forecasting techniques using their data analytics skills, they will be able to come up with specific predictions of what Caltex’s financials will look like in future years.


FAT assignment
Multiples: The final stage of the valuation process is taking the predictions of the future financial numbers, and running them through valuation models, just like we see in industry. Here is an example of an Earnings Multiples valuation model. The model has determined that shares for Lendlease are being correctly priced by the market. This means right now they aren’t a great opportunity to buy or sell, leading students to give a HOLD recommendation.


Don't just take it from us - our students think studying accounting here is pretty great, too. Below you'll find real assignments by Auditing and Assurance Services students overlaid with feedback on their experience auditing a company, IOE:

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Student testimonials:

1. “We realise that every audit project is unique and must be approached with careful consideration of the most relevant factors, even though the general stages of the audit process are the same across the board. The risk assessment phase is different and unique to each company depending on their industry; this was especially interesting for IOE given it’s a non-profit organisation whereas we are more used to evaluating larger, publicly listed companies”

2.“Prior to completing the audit, the team believed that an audit would primarily focus on the substantive testing; however, this audit has provided a unique insight into how important audit planning, in particular, the initial risk assessment phase, is as it establishes a plan that sets up the audit. Overall, this audit has been a unique and amazing experience for the team as we now possess a greater level of understanding concerning exactly what goes on in a real life audit.”