Hari Iyer

Course studied: Graduate Diploma of Business (Accountancy), 1991
Current job: IT Audit Director, Mazars (One of the UK's and Europe's largest accounting firms).

Hari Iyer studied and grew up in Chennai. He had a keen interest in accountancy in high school and wanted to become an auditor. Hari completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Vivekananda College, University of Madras before leaving India.

After completing his Graduate Diploma of Business at Monash, Hari worked as an auditor in Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane for nine years, during which he completed his CPA and an MBA prior to migrating to the United Kingdom in year 2000.

Hari has now work in London for the past nine years specialising in SAP, working for the big four accountancy firms in the IT audit field, until he recently joined Mazars as a Director.

Why did you choose to study the Graduate Diploma of Business at Monash?
I arrived at Melbourne in September 1988 and wanted to complete the CPA program to become a qualified accountant.

Given that my basic degree was not from an Australian university, I had to gain some basic understanding of the Australian taxation, company law and auditing standards prior to enrolling in CPA program. To meet this requirement, I had a choice of doing individual subjects or complete a graduate diploma course.

I heard about the reputation of Monash University and the global recognition for Monash qualifications and decided to join Graduate Diploma of Business (Accountancy) at Monash in 1989 which I completed in 1991.

What advantages were there of studying at Monash?
Monash qualification made my lifelong dream of becoming an auditor possible.

I did not fully appreciate the reputational strength of Monash until I progressed in my career and wanted to migrate to the United Kingdom. Monash qualifications are very well recognised in Europe. In London, I have had opportunities to work for leading firms like Ernst and Young, Deloitte and Touche and PricewaterhouseCoopers in managerial roles and I strongly believe that these opportunities would not have been possible without my Monash qualification.

What issues did you encounter while settling into Melbourne?
Settling in Melbourne was not hard at all. It was very easy to adjust to the lifestyle. I found Australians very friendly and the people I met with were always helpful and made me feel welcomed. I found Melbourne a very clean city with excellent transport facilities and a true multicultural city. Even though at times, Melbourne could have all the four seasons in a day, I liked the weather in Melbourne.

What did you enjoy about living in Melbourne?
There are many things that I like about Melbourne, but above all I love the restaurants in Lygon Street in Carlton where I had enjoyed a few different cuisines during the five years I spent in Melbourne. I also liked the trams in Melbourne and the ability to commute with ease using trams, trains or buses with one ticket.