From the Foundation Year to Management Accountant

Undergraduate alumni, Torr James, shares how the Foundation Year at WBS provided an opportunity for him to prepare and make the most out of his university experience. 

My name is Torr James and I studied Accounting and Finance at Warwick Business School from 2017 - 2022. I chose to do the Foundation Year at WBS because it offered me the chance to receive a high-quality education at a prestigious business school, an opportunity that was difficult to find elsewhere. I also felt the Foundation Year would have prepared me for the remainder of my studies as I may have been overwhelmed jumping straight into the first year, especially considering I wasn't sure about going to university.

Completing the Foundation Year before rolling into my first year studying accountancy and finance was extremely important, as it prepared me for the workload I would encounter in my first year. Not to scare anyone, I believe anyone can achieve a degree from WBS, as long as they put the work in. That's what is great about the Foundation Year, it gave me that opportunity.

The three words I would use to describe my WBS journey would be exciting, challenging, and rewarding. My best memory at WBS is winning the group competition during my Foundation Year. We had to develop a project surrounding the City of Culture award. Our group ended up winning this competition and received a nice cash prize of £200 per member!

I found the WBS CareersPlus team to always be helpful whenever I needed any advice surrounding applications for spring weeks, summer internships and placement years. During my first year, they put me in contact with a third-year student who had completed an internship at a company I wanted to apply for. The conversation I had with that person was very valuable regarding that particular application. I was also lucky enough to spend a month doing a placement with the CareersPlus team in the third term. This allowed me to build really good relationships with the team, as well as attend an event held at the Shard.

Since graduation, I started working at GE Aerospace in my home county of Gloucestershire at the same branch where I undertook my placement year. Whilst working I have been studying for my CIMA qualification to become a fully qualified management accountant. Many of the skills I learnt during my studies at WBS have helped with my career so far, especially the more soft skills (don't underestimate these!) such as learning to work in a team and leadership skills, which have helped when managing projects, as well as time management. The more technical knowledge from the course modules has also provided an excellent foundation for my CIMA qualification. I aim to be fully qualified by the start of 2025 when I can hopefully become a finance business partner at my company. Over the next five years, I would like to see myself in a position where I have enough knowledge and experience, and have built up a reputation where I can apply to more senior finance positions, so I can progress further in my career.

For people considering applying to the Foundation Year course at WBS, my advice would be to go for it! What the foundation year also did for me was provide my peers and me with much closer relationships with our professors who paid close attention to us to make sure we were getting on okay. I would also advise that you take advantage of this opportunity to get to know your professors, as this will come in handy when wanting to speak to them about anything during your next three or so years at WBS.

Apart from not having to get up at 5:30 each morning and the WBS lunches, what I miss most about university is being surrounded by my friends all the time. My advice to students wanting to make the most of their time at university is to get involved in as many societies as you can. The one thing I regret about university is not doing enough social activities as it is a great way to meet new people and find new hobbies!