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Northern Society of Chartered Accountants

At the heart of northern business since 1882

Carlisle students through to national business final 16 February 2017

Business-savvy students from Carlisle College beat off competition from nine other local teams to win the Carlisle heat of ICAEW’s national business and accounting competition, BASE on Wednesday 15 February.

What would you do if you were a business advisor for the day? 60 local students found out what it was like to walk in the shoes of finance professionals, as they focused on key employability skills to formulate strategic business advice for a real life organisation and delivered this to their board of directors, just like real chartered accountants. 

  • Carlisle College impressed the panel of judges and will go on to represent Cumbria at the National Final which takes place in June
  • The team from The Nelson Tomlinson School were the runners up and all teams can be rightly proud of their achievements in dealing with a very demanding business challenge
  • This was one of 43 heats attracting over 3,000 students from across the UK

Keith Proudfoot, ICAEW Northern Regional Director said: “I was really impressed with the Carlisle College’s performance and their strategic thinking. These budding business advisers looked beyond the numbers and they also showed they had an excellent instinct for business and ethics in order to give well-rounded advice. Congratulations to all the teams who took part. I expect we’ll be seeing more of these young people in leading business roles in the future.”

He added: “Students should not lose sight of the importance of developing skills and experience, alongside their academic achievements. It is vital that students are given opportunities such as BASE to develop these softer skills outside of the classroom.

Head Judge Alan Johnston, Senior Partner, Armstrong Watson and Vice President of Northern Society of Chartered Accountants said: “During the challenge we looked for the teams who supported their recommendations with ethical and financial evidence. Carlisle College showed excellent teamwork and time management in delivering a comprehensive proposal. The team from The Nelson Tomlinson were the runners up and all teams can be rightly proud of their achievements in dealing with a very demanding business challenge.

He added: “BASE is a great example of how schools, employers and young people can work together to improve skills, and can also give business leaders the opportunity to learn what motivates the next generation of talent.”

About BASE:

BASE links schools, students and employers to develop employability skills and provide an insight into what a career in accountancy, business and finance might be like.

The competition has seen more than 13,000 students take part since it began in 2009.

The BASE competition was supported by local firms including Armstrong Watson, Dodd & Co, Saint & Co and Thomas Gordon & Sons who provided professional mentors and judges. 

For further information about BASE and how to participate please visit icaew.com/base.

Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) represents 4,000 ICAEW members and ACA students working in business and the finance profession across the North East of England, Teesside, Northern Yorkshire and Cumbria. We have been assisting businesses in the north of England and producing chartered accountants for over 130 years

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