Andrew John Dunn, England
Prior to undertaking EBS's MBA programme, Andrew Dunn had had little experience in the financial components of business management. "Business finance and accounting was not an area in which I had been involved and I had limited competency in it. I knew, however, that while I had a head for numbers, a comprehensive understanding of business finance is imperative if one wishes to make meaningful contributions at high level in any organisation. A good MBA would give me the necessary skills."
The most challenging elements of any superior business degree have to be those related to finance and accounting. According to Andrew, "No degree worth its salt will allow students to underestimate or undervalue the financial subjects. Finance and accounting are fundamental to sound business management - whether you're specialising in human resources, operations, strategic areas or marketing. You need a thorough understanding of how the numbers apply and how they work."
Like all EBS MBA students, he had to take three core courses involving figures: finance, accounting and economics. "There's no doubt that these are very demanding subjects, even for people with accounting backgrounds. But EBS has a philosophy of applied teaching - they make the theory relevant to reality. I could soon see how these complex areas related to business, and why they are so important. This relevance was critical in helping me understand not only the principles, methods and techniques of finance and accounting, but what their impact was likely to be on the business as a whole."
For someone who had little prior experience in business finance, Andrew then chose to study financial risk management. "EBS offers this as an elective on their MBA programme, so you would think people who do not have a natural bent towards finance and accounting would avoid it. However, by the time I had successfully completed the compulsory core courses in finance and accounting, I felt confident enough to tackle financial risk management."
Andrew found the courses tough and of a very high standard. "The real test with EBS's MBA is how one applies complex theory and principles and it is this philosophy which contributed to my understanding of these demanding subjects. I'm sure a lot of students in MBA programmes from other universities struggle with the financial subjects because their application is not made so tangible. I am absolutely sure now that what I have learned with EBS's MBA will be directly applicable to my job, why it's applicable, and most importantly, how to apply it."
