BlogMonash UniversityPros and Cons of a Bachelor of Accounting at Monash University

Pros and Cons of a Bachelor of Accounting at Monash University

Now that you’re up to date on what it’s like studying a Bachelor of Accounting at Monash Uni, it’d make perfect sense if you found yourself scouring the internet for a personal opinion of the course. 

Well, luckily for you, you’ve come to the right place! We got to chat with Hayley, a Bachelor of Accounting graduate, who gave us an insight into her experience at Monash Uni. 

If you’d like to find out about the ins and outs, ups and downs and pros and cons of Account at Monash, then keep reading!

Why should you study an Accounting degree at Monash?
Top 3 Pros of an Accounting Degree
Top 3 Cons of an Accounting Degree
Mistakes You Shouldn’t Make
Things to Know Before Starting Monash Accounting
What Makes this Degree Different
Motivations for Studying Monash Accounting
Potential Career Paths

Why should you study an Accounting degree at Monash?

The Bachelor of Accounting is a 3-year undergraduate degree at Monash Uni offered to students keen on getting to know the techniques, functions and application of accounting in a business context. If you enjoyed any kind of finance, maths or economics-based subjects in high school, the Bachelor of Accounting may be perfect for you! 

Monash Accounting - Quote

It’s a very career-driven degree so if accounting is a profession you’re hoping to pursue, this would be your first step. 

Accountants help out a lot with business’ and individual’s goals. If your parents or someone you know sees an accountant, chances are they’re there to get some help tracking their personal finances or some assistance to understand their taxes. 

The Bachelor of Accounting at Monash Uni will teach all the essential skills that accountants need to ace the job. Accountants are extremely intelligent, accurate and qualified people who understand the world of information systems, corporate finance, auditing and assurance, financial reporting and data analysis. No day will look the same! 

Accountants tend to be keen conversationalists who don’t get tired talking to clients or explaining the nitty gritty over and over again. If this sounds like the job for you then the Bachelor of Accounting is the degree for you. Let’s find out more.  

If you’re a high school student in Victoria, applying to university through VTAC is your first step if you’re looking to get into Accounting at Monash!

Top 3 Pros of an Accounting degree

#1: You’ll learn practical and useful information

One of the most valuable features of the Bachelor of Accounting program at Monash, according to Hayley, was the relevant and useful content that it taught. As a student, you’ll have 144 credit points worth of subjects to complete before you graduate, so that’s about 24 classes designed to teach all the essential skills of accountancy. 

In particular, Hayley appreciated the focus on real-world content, she explained, “One of the great parts of the degree is that you can learn more about taxes and Australian taxation law.

“This is really important in normal life. It’s not just about being graded at uni because now I’m actually doing my taxes.”

Hayley added, “I know a lot of people who are mad that they don’t know a bit about taxes, so it’s really helpful especially on the days we do our tax returns.” 

So, if you’re looking for a step up when it comes to handling taxes each year, this degree will give you what you need. 

#2: Career-driven degree 

Hence its name, the Bachelor of Accounting is one that’s designed to provide a pathway into accountancy. While not every graduate will go on to become an accountant, it gave Hayley the peace of mind that she’d know the kinds of jobs to look for once she graduated. 

“The second positive is in the name. It’s an accounting degree, so I actually know what to do after I graduate. I know that I’m going to be able to find a job as an accountant,” Hayley said. 

Your capstone unit is the main in-built internship program in your degree. It’s one of the many opportunities offered at Monash for students to gain practical experience and to polish off those resumes. 

The main capstone unit that you are able to take is the Global Issues in Accounting class. It’s a 6-unit subject all about experiencing accounting in the real world. You’ll work through a number of real-world scenarios to analyse, critically evaluate and apply the theories you’ve learned through the degree. 

Accounting is one of the most in-demand degrees for businesses at the moment! Whilst AI and software continues to develop for the automated tasks, businesses are looking for experts to manage the software and accounting systems.

#3: You’ll develop various practical and interpersonal skills

As we’ve mentioned already, accountants are generally keen conversationalists. They’ll spend their days chatting with clients, liaising with businesses and analysing and supplying various solutions to a range of problems.

Because of this focus on building positive and lasting client relationships, the Bachelor of Accounting at Monash teaches all sorts of practical and interpersonal skills. 

She told us about some of the skills she learned during her degree and how helpful they’ve become later on. 

“Another positive would be that the degree definitely helped me grow my logical thinking, critical thinking and accuracy to be able to talk to clients and explain concepts better,” Hayley explained. 

“Another main skill I developed in the degree is self-learning skills. You’ve got to learn to work by yourself, especially with things like time management. I was always working out and planning how to get the work done and what to study so that I can finish efficiently.”

Top 3 Cons of an Accounting degree

#1: The degree can be quite rigid 

Like a lot of jam-packed university degrees, Hayley told us that the Bachelor of Accounting at Monash is quite a prescriptive and structured degree, with limited chances to explore other areas. 

“One thing about the degree is that you’re generally always focussed on accounting, so you don’t have many chances to choose electives or anything other than accounting,” Hayley said. 

When I was at uni, I think I only had three electives in the whole of my degree. Even then, most of them were about accounting and management.” 

Hopefully you’ll get the chance to take a few more electives than that. Elective classes are great ways to complement your studies with different classes or related classes.

You could take a statistics class to hone in on your maths skills or a visual arts class if you’re in the mood for the creating (as long as you meet the prerequisites). 

#2: Accounting is quite a small discipline (in the scheme of things)

I know, I know. We’ve been going on about all the various opportunities that accounting can bring beyond the account world. And it’s true… most of the time.

Hayley reminded us that when compared to economics or business, accounting is a relatively niche discipline with little room to branch out or explore. 

“The subject of accounting is also very specific. It’s not like economics where you learn the foundations quite roughly, I feel like accounting is too specific,” Hayley explained. 

She added, “Now that I’ve graduated, all I know is about accounting, I don’t know much about any other aspect of finance like economics or anything else.” 

Here’s another chance for us to plug the importance of elective subjects. If you can, try and diversify your subject load so you don’t graduate feeling like you didn’t use the full potential of Monash Uni. 

#3: Accounting is a lifelong pursuit (like, really long)

Hayley also told us about the lifelong commitments that accountants make to their profession. Sometimes this is a positive for those looking for a job that offers stability and consistency. For Hayley, it’s a little overwhelming. 

“This one is less about the degree and more about the accounting field as a whole. To be a practising accountant, you really need a lot of experience. Once you’ve gotten that experience, you can find a job pretty easily,” Hayley said. 

She added, “You don’t get all the professional experience just from being at uni — to be a well-respected accountant, you’ll really need decades of experience.” 

Any regrets? 

Hayley told us that she doesn’t have any regrets about studying the degree. Despite the cons she mentioned above, it’s been a great experience and has provided her with the foundational knowledge to pursue a position in the field. 

With that said, this would be a good time to mention that everyone has a different experience at uni. You might love the parts that Hayley wasn’t a fan of and vice versa.

So, while this will give you an insight into the course, it doesn’t include every facet of the degree. 

What should you know before starting Monash Accounting?

#1: Don’t miss the lectures 

Monash’s pre-recorded accounting lectures are a bit of a double edged sword. You’ve got the freedom to watch the lecture when you’ve got the time, but suddenly you’re equally able to skip the lecture all together. It’s a tough balance! 

As a student in the Bachelor of Accounting course, you can expect to be studying about four subjects simultaneously in the full-time study load.

This means you could spend anywhere between two to four days working solely on uni work. Each of your subjects has a lecture and a tutorial, so make sure you don’t miss out on those pre-recorded ones! 

“As you progress, you can usually get through the content with only a couple days a week. I’ll generally watch the lecture on Saturdays or Sundays so that the week can be for tutorials otherwise I might miss out on them altogether,” Hayley said. 

#2: Take advantage of internship opportunities

As we’ve mentioned, Monash offers a wide variety of practical experience opportunities. The main one being your capstone unit which will give you a chance to reflect on the role of accounting in the corporate sphere and broader society. 

Other internships aren’t built into the degree but students are able to apply for them. That is definitely something I wish I had done but I didn’t,” Hayley said. 

So, alongside your capstone class, Hayley would suggest taking the initiative to find other practical experience opportunities too! These could be in the form of electives or even external to uni.

You’re able to apply for your own internships during your breaks. Having this extra experience will give you a step up in the recruiting process when you’re competing with other fresh graduates. 

What makes this degree different from the ones offered at other universities? 

Hayley told us that she had two main reasons for choosing Monash: the friendships and the campus. It’s true, Monash Uni has a great campus. It’s one of the Group of Eight (a category of some of the best unis in Australia) and its sandstone buildings give it a nice historic feel.

Hayley explained, Actually one of the reasons was because my friend was there. Because I’m an international student, it was one of my main choices,”

Monash Uni has a lot on offer when it comes to on-campus accommodation. Whether you’re a rural or regional student needing to relocate or if you’re an international student, there’s option for you. 

Take a look at Monash Uni’s accommodation right here!

“Another thing is because Monash has a really large campus so I don’t have to care much about the traffic in the CBD,” Hayley said. 

What inspired you to choose Accounting at Monash?

I was inspired to do this degree mainly because of my parents. My mum was actually an accountant, as was my grandma. I began feeling quite interested as to why they were doing accountancy. I could ask whether it was worth it and whether they enjoyed it,” Hayley explained. 

So, there you go! Having access to people already within the accounting field gave Hayley an extra chance to ask all the questions she wanted to know. And good thing she did because it sounds like the Bachelor of Accounting was a great option! 

What are the possible career paths?

Monash Accounting - Careers

You’ll be prepared for a range of career paths once you graduate from the Bachelor of Accounting at Monash Uni.

You’ll have the knowledge and skills to pursue various professions within the financial world and beyond! It’s good to know that with a named degree like accounting, you aren’t restricted solely to that path. 

You could use your financial, economic, written and problem solving skills to ace a gig as a budget analyst, medical biller, business manager or consultant!

You’ve got a lot of options and you probably won’t know what you want to pursue until you graduate. So, keep an eye out for work experience classes or internships to figure out what role suits you best! 

Learn about a career as an accountant here!


Gemma Billington is a Content Writer at Art of Smart and an undergraduate student at the University of Technology Sydney. While studying Journalism and Social and Political Sciences, Gemma enjoys spending her time at the gym or reading about Britain’s medieval monarchy – ideally not at the same time. She currently creates and administers social media posts for Central News and writes for the student publication, The Comma. After completing her undergraduate degree, she hopes to study a Masters of Medieval History and is very excited about the prospect!

45,861 students have a head start...

Get exclusive study content & advice from our team of experts delivered weekly to your inbox!

AOS Website Asset 2

Want to study Business & Commerce?

Discover how we can help you!

AOS Website Asset 1