More than just numbers: Accountancy with impact

Natalie’s decision to return to study and undertake a Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) wasn’t taken lightly.

She planned to continue working full-time, so her choice of university and course selection needed to fit her future goals as well as her current work-life balance.

“It's a big investment to make and you want to make sure that it means something at the end and to me, RMIT sounded like it did mean something,” she said.

“I really liked the way that the degree was structured. I liked that there was an opportunity to do your CPA along with the degree.

“I wasn't 100 per cent sure where I wanted to go when I started, but that's part of what drew me to the course - that it would introduce me to different aspects of what you could do with an accounting degree.”

RMIT alumni Natalie Gelati standing in an office, smiling at the camera

Signing up for a postgraduate course was a natural progression for Natalie’s career. A life-long learner, she was ready to expand her skills, explore real-world business cases and create broader networks.

“At the end of the day, I was brought up with my parents always instilling in us the value of education and to always have that growth mindset,” she said.

“They taught us that any time or money invested in educating yourself and learning and growing is never going to go wasted.

Managing the work-study juggle

The Master of Professional Accounting introduced Natalie to people from a diverse array of industries and experiences. It was more than just an opportunity to build her network, it was also a chance to learn how other teams collaborate and innovate.

“Being a postgraduate, you meet with people at different stages in their life, whether they've come straight from an undergraduate or they're coming back to study after working for a while,” she said.

“You're meeting people with different experiences and that's really helpful as well, just talking to people who have had different paths and the networking as well.”

Flexibility was key to the work-study juggle for Natalie. With RMIT’s structure, she was able to fast-track some courses to suit her working hours, while also having the freedom to study online and take evening classes.

RMIT alumni Natalie Gelati working on a desktop computer

“I was able to do some of my classes as an intensive, and that was probably one of my favourite parts of the degree,” she said.

“I did an economics unit as an intensive and that helped me lighten my load during that semester so I could continue to work full-time.”

Rewarding impacts

After finishing the Master of Professional Accounting in 2017, Natalie returned to the Victorian Department of Education and Training and by 2019 she became a business manager at a new state primary school.

She worked alongside the principal, the building and design team, and the Victorian Registration Qualifications Authority to ensure the school’s opening in 2020 was a success. Since then, she has continued to work for the department while being based at the school.

Natalie’s responsibilities include budget management, human resources tasks such as recruiting and training staff and management of contracts.

RMIT alumni Natalie Gelati walking across a secondary school campus

“It's a really varied role - every day is slightly different, and things pop up all the time that you think, ‘Oh gosh, I'd never thought I'd have to deal with this in a day’," she said.

“But you still get that traditional accounting side of things where I am looking at reports and managing finances, which I really love that you get the two sides of things, and you get to use your brain in lots of different ways.”

Natalie also works closely with educators and families. Supporting education choices for parents and children is a hugely rewarding part of her role.

“One of the really big things I love is knowing that you can have an impact on a family’s ability to give their kid access to education,” she said.

“You are working with families sometimes where they don't have the financial backing to be able to send their kids to schools and give them great opportunities. But working in a school, you have the ability to help them see that they can achieve those things. “I find it quite fulfilling and I'm quite proud that we've built a way of supporting those families here.”

Being present to be efficient

RMIT alumni Natalie Gelati in an education office

While studying the MPA and managing a full-time job, Natalie followed a basic principle that helped her achieve success at both university and work. “The biggest thing was not to overthink it and to just be really, really present,” she said.

“I think just being really present with what you're doing at the time and really being intentional with that time - to me that was the best.

Her advice to anyone interested in a career outside the normal bounds of accounting is to try the Department of Education and Training.

“Working for the department and working as a business manager is a great job,” she said.

“I don't think a lot of people know that behind the school, behind all the teachers and all the front facing staff, that it is a big business and there's lots going on, and it's quite a fulfilling role and an interesting role.

“It would be great to see a lot more people coming into this role because there's a lot of great opportunities that can come from it.”

Story: Kate Jones

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