2+2 program adds up to accounting career

Joran Hedley (Business Administration, Class of ‘10) has a great gig for someone who is only 28. Now a senior accountant working with BDO Canada LLP in Brandon, Hedley started working towards his career less than a decade ago at Assiniboine.

His post-secondary experience began at the college’s Parkland Campus in Hedley’s hometown of Dauphin, Manitoba. Hedley says he didn’t even consider a career in accounting until after he had started the college’s Business Administration program.

“My first accounting class ever was in Parkland (Campus) – I didn’t take any in high school. I got a couple good marks on my tests and things started to click. I decided I might be on to something,” he says.

With the first year of college under his belt, Hedley moved to Brandon where he continued in the program at Assiniboine’s Victoria Avenue East Campus. As he progressed through his studies, he decided to bridge his diploma into the popular 2+2 program with Brandon University. With this approach, a student can complete the first two years of their four-year Business Administration degree at Assiniboine.

This approach was ideal for Hedley. He credits the first two years of college with helping him build the focus and practices needed to succeed in post-secondary.

“I found that you hit the ground running at ACC. I have a few friends who have taken different routes and the first couple of years they’re kind of spinning in circles, trying to figure out what they want to do.”

“It’s a lot more focused at ACC,” says Hedley. “You can get a feel if it’s a good fit for you or not right off the bat.”

“I don’t think I would have been in the right state of mind or had the habits to start university straight off the hop. Once I got to BU I was a lot more prepared for the classes and the responsibility and the schedules.”

Hedley has been working at BDO for more than four years now, and completed his CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) designation in the fall of 2015.

“If there were a four-year program at ACC I would have taken that. From the friendships with students I attended classes with to the teachers that I’m still pretty close contact to the overall learning experience—it’s tough to beat,” he says.