The Bachelor of Accounting was established in 1989 at the instigation of the Australian Society for Certified Practising Accountants (now CPA Australia) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants. They approached UTS in response to a perceived shortage of high-calibre business graduates. Their idea was to start a co-operative education degree program that would attract and develop high-calibre people into an accounting career.

A Course Director – Mr Arie Sietsma – and a Steering Committee of industry representatives were quickly appointed, and they came up with the basic model for the Bachelor of Accounting course that still exists today. The course took in its first students in 1990 - a class of 32 students supported by 25 different industry sponsors.

Since that time the program has built up to its present level of around 100 student places (across the three current cohorts of students) supported by more than 30 sponsor partners, and has produced hundreds of graduates. This makes it the most successful business co-op course in Australia.

The Bachelor of Accounting has thus greatly helped its sponsor partners – who have been mostly commercial and financial service organisations – develop and recruit young people for a future in accounting and business management.

Our Mission Statement
To attract into the Bachelor of Accounting program, and then develop, high-achieving students who view an accounting career as an excellent foundation for future business leadership.