High energy

Situated just outside Windsor, about 25 miles from London, Centrica's large, modern offices seem to have everything. There's a coffee shop, a canteen, plenty of open spaces to sit and chat or have informal meetings, and so much glass and chrome that it feels airy and light no matter what the weather is doing outside. So it's no wonder that Tamara Singh and James Pritchard are all smiles.

Originally from Singapore, 24-year-old Tamara came over to the UK to study her A Levels, and then went on to take a degree in law at Nottingham University, the third generation of her family to do so. After that she moved to London and went to law school, but eventually decided against a career in the legal profession, opting for accountancy instead: 'The decision to go into finance was driven by the fact that I think it makes you much more commercially aware than most other roles, because you touch on so many areas,' Tamara says. 'The ACCA qualification is important, because it's something that takes your experience and adds to it. Although experience is not always transferable, the qualification and membership will be.' So after a range of jobs, including working for the private functions department at the Savoy Hotel in London, Tamara was employed by Centrica and commenced study for the Professional Scheme in January 2004.

James, 25, began his career path by studying economics at Hull University and then went on to complete a masters degree in economics and finance at York University. Like Tamara, he came to Centrica after working in other industries. For a while he was a photographer for a local newspaper, and also worked on the Egon Ronay Good Pub guides. James started studying towards his ACCA qualification in March 2004.

James has now been working at Centrica for just over two years, and Tamara for just over one. Centrica is a FTSE 100 company and owns a range of telecommunications and international energy businesses including British Gas and One.Tel. There are eight businesses within the one company, serving more than 33 million customers worldwide, and producing a turnover of more than £17 billion. Centrica, which is an ACCA Platinum Accredited Employer, runs a graduate programme, on which both Tamara and James are currently enrolled. The company are keen to expose graduates to the many different aspects of the business, encouraging employees to develop a range of ideas and techniques as they take on different roles.

'One of the nice things about working for Centrica is that it's quite a specialised part of the industry,' says Tamara. 'You get in-depth knowledge of a specific area, as there are only a few companies like this in the UK, even though there are many more around the world. Centrica is very big on retaining employees,' she continues. 'They keep an eye on your progress and are very keen to give you as broad a skill set as possible, which is why you move around the company a lot. For example, I've worked in a project-based role and now I'm in a corporate across-the-board role. It's currently being negotiated as to what I'll be doing next, which is exciting and challenging.'

James is also full of praise for the way he gets to work at Centrica: 'I like working for Centrica because you get lots of benefits. For a start you have the opportunity to work around the world as we have lots of offices. I've worked in Toronto, and Tamara recently went to Madrid. The broad range of businesses within Centrica offers a great opportunity to work across a variety of industries without leaving the company.' They have both had the opportunity to do just that, with James having recently started working on the energy side of the business. 'I've started a new role with Centrica Energy in upstream operations. I've been in the role for about six weeks now, among other things, looking after the finances of our power stations - it requires a real understanding of what drives the business and is very interesting.'

On the graduate programme, employees are rotated through at least three different roles, and often get the opportunity to work internationally. There is an emphasis on nurturing the professional growth of employees and offering them plenty of scope for gaining responsibility and increasingly senior roles within the company. 'There's so much opportunity here,' agrees Tamara. 'You see people who work well getting all sorts of interesting roles. I also get a development budget, specific to my current role, which I can choose to spend on courses. We get to go on Centrica-run courses too. Graduates are given a lot of training, and encouraged to share knowledge. There are many people who've been here a long time, who perhaps wouldn't be if they hadn't been offered so many opportunities and fresh roles. I think that says a lot. Centrica is always moving forward, and there is always something new to get your teeth into.'

James and Tamara are both Professional Scheme students, so they not only work together, but also study together. Their tuition provider is BPP and they go to classes in the evenings and on Saturdays. Their studies are funded by Centrica, and they benefit from plenty of study leave and support. James had previously studied with CIMA. But they are both now studying at exactly the same pace, choosing the same options, and they are both following the International stream.

'When I first joined Centrica, I was given the option of studying towards CIMA or ACCA,' James explains. 'I chose CIMA with my peers because I was unaware of the differences between the two qualifications. I completed the foundation and part of the intermediate stage before considering changing my study route while working in Toronto with Centrica.

'I was on secondment for over two months and realised after talking to Canadian colleagues that the international awareness of ACCA over CIMA was far advanced. When I was actually completing my work I discovered that I required a strong technical and international accounting knowledge. I began to think I should have chosen ACCA as a more suitable qualification. So when I came back, I talked to one of our business coordinators, and she said that it wasn't too late to change - so I did!' And James hasn't looked back.

Tamara and James are so pro-ACCA that they have taken part in Fast Track days, where they talk to careers advisors and students about their experiences and studies. 'The Fast Track days are good for us as we do both champion ACCA. We both really believe in it,' says Tamara. 'We take part in round table sessions where there are 15 to 20 people from a specific area, say careers advisors from universities and potential students, and you chat to them,' James continues. 'We tell them about what we've achieved and the way we've studied. Then we answer any questions they may have. In the case of the students they mostly ask us why we chose ACCA, and if we're enjoying our studies - that kind of thing. With the careers advisors, they ask a bit more about the qualification, the amount of work, and whether we think it was a good choice of career to follow.'

Both James and Tamara are certain that they made the right choice. 'The difference between CIMA and ACCA that I can see lies in the specialisms you can study for. I'm currently in a role I really enjoy - Business Assurance - which I wouldn't have been able to do without the audit skills I've studied on the Professional Scheme. The range of optional papers ACCA offers is very broad and I like that,' says Tamara. 'ACCA gives you a really strong technical base, particularly helpful if you're quite new to the commercial world,' adds James. 'The syllabus covers quite a varied range of topics, which in turn helps you develop a diverse set of skills. What I find particularly good is that when you're on a graduate scheme, as we are, and you're rotating every nine months, you can always take that skill set with you and very quickly enter a new job and make a real contribution.'

James and Tamara are keen to work internationally, and mention the portability of the ACCA qualification as being another reason for choosing ACCA. 'I think ACCA is great in terms of international opportunities,' says Tamara, 'especially as you have the choice of studying international or UK accounting standards. The other thing I really like about ACCA is how you can specialise in a particular area - you can study further towards strategy, management, tax, or audit. I think that's really useful.'

'I agree with Tamara - especially the international angle,' James interjects. 'For example, if I wanted to work in Singapore, I know ACCA is very well-respected there.' 'And obviously being from Singapore, the option of going back there and working is something we've discussed, and the ACCA qualification would make it possible for us both to do that,' smiles Tamara.

It's obvious from the way they talk that Tamara and James are both flourishing in their work and studies. Spending so much time together seems to be great for them as a couple. As far as studying is concerned it has even unleashed a competitive streak in them both. They admit they push each other and try to beat each other in exams, yet at the same time they support one another whole-heartedly and find they have learned from each other's study techniques. For the first set of exams they studied separately, but have since found that studying together has been beneficial. 'For a start, I definitely study more than I used to,' comments Tamara. And when it comes to the exams, they find that rather than getting stressed out on their own, it seems somehow easier when they're both in the same situation. James explains: 'It's nice when you have three weeks to go to exams, and your life's totally out of the window, that there's someone else going through that with you.'

Tamara feels she learns more about how to study after each set of exams she sits. 'As far as exams go, the more I take the more I realise how important it is to study the whole syllabus and not to question-spot,' she explains. 'You can't expect the next exam to be the same as the previous paper.'

They've both also been pleasantly surprised that topics they've been examined on can also come up in everyday aspects of their job, as Tamara explains: 'Recently - and by that I mean the last four weeks - now that I'm in a "high-performing" team, I've started doing strange things I never thought I'd do, and using the things I've been taught! ACCA is a really practical qualification.'

It seems fitting that someone who has found a way of studying that works best for her, who enjoys her work, and looks forward to the future should win The Independent's 'Graduate of the Year' award. But Tamara is characteristically modest when she mentions her achievement. 'I never thought I'd win, and in fact I'd pretty much forgotten I'd even entered the competition,' she laughs. 'Then just before my last ACCA exams, when I was really stressed out, the phone kept ringing. I tried to ignore it, but it just wouldn't stop! So when I finally answered it I was told I'd won. It was fantastic. I hadn't thought that I would win - it was more of a "let's give this a shot" kind of thing. I mentioned in my entry about maintaining a work-life-study balance, and how I did it, which I think the judges must have liked.'

Tamara and James are getting married in June, having one ceremony in the UK and one in Singapore. But things won't be easy, as they have their ACCA exams one week before the wedding. But it seems they'll take it all in their stride. When it comes to becoming ACCA members, James is looking at February 2006, and June of that year for Tamara. 'After that I don't know what we'll do next. We're thinking of learning languages, or MBAs, who knows!' smiles Tamara. But for both of them, the future looks bright.