Hayley Flett

Hayley Flett didn't always see herself working in accounting. After completing a psychology degree, it took a stint of working in admin at a car dealership for Hayley to realise she had a knack for numbers.

Her newfound interest led her to explore postgraduate courses that would lead to a new career path in accounting. Rather than completing a second bachelor's degree, Hayley found a faster solution: the Master of Professional Accounting (MPAcct) at the University of Waikato.

"The course sold me quite easily because it was only a year of study, and I didn’t want to spend another three years doing another bachelor’s degree." she says. "It was exactly what I was looking for.”

Designed especially for graduates with no previous accounting background, the programme gave Hayley a direct pathway into the accounting profession. "Being able to say that I'm the first in my family to have a master's is also pretty awesome."

Waikato's MPAcct course provides the knowledge and professional requirements needed to pursue a career as a qualified accountant.

"The best thing about the course is that it's really tailored for people wanting to become certified professional accountants, so it allowed me to apply for provisional membership with either Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand or CPA Australia or ACCA."

Hayley says one of the programme’s biggest strengths is its practical focus, and she describes content as broad and well-rounded.

"The papers helped me understand what I was going into career-wise, especially the foundations and theory of auditing. Another really useful paper for me taught us to how to navigate industry- standard tools such as Xero and advanced Excel skills, which we use a lot in the auditing world."

The transition wasn't always easy. "Going from no knowledge of accounting and jumping from first-year to third-year accounting papers in one year was hard," she says. "But it was an accomplishment and it was 100% worth it."

For graduates considering a career change, Hayley's experience shows that it's never too late to discover a new passion.