Aurélia Chevalère, 47, Chartered Accountant, Director of Chevalère Expertise Comptable

Aurélia Chevalère, 47, Chartered Accountant, Director of Chevalère Expertise Comptable

Career change at IAE Pau

It was a decision to return to study that brought Aurélia Chevalère to the IAE (Institute for Business Management) in Pau. After studying at business school and working in supermarket distribution, she set herself a new challenge: to become a chartered accountant.  

How did the idea of a career change come to you? 

Before this change of direction, I had followed a fairly classic path. After a scientific baccalaureate and a business school preparatory course at Lycée Barthou in Pau, I joined Sup de Co Bordeaux. I was able to spend my final year in Spain through the Erasmus programme and stayed there for my first job. I spent six years working for the AlCampo supermarket chain (a subsidiary of Auchan), first in the Basque Country and then in Barcelona. Supermarket management is a very good learning experience. I learnt about human resources, purchasing, management, sales coordination, pricing policy, etc. What I hadn’t anticipated was that this experience gave me the “supermarket distribution” label, and when I looked for a job in another sector, upon returning to Pau, lots of doors were closed to me. I worked for four years in an insurance company and thought about what I wanted to do… I met quite a few chartered accountants as part of my work and found their job interesting. I could see myself in this profession. I was 30 at the time, it was now or never if I wanted to return to study. For the first two years, I took distance classes (INTEC) while working part-time. I took the DCG (Accounting and Management Degree) as an independent candidate. Then I enrolled at IAE in Pau to study for the DSCG (Higher Degree in Accounting and Management). The curriculum was very intense and I needed a structure and contact with the teachers. 

How did your studies at IAE go?

Unlike the other students, who were ten years younger than myself, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I was aiming to qualify as a chartered accountant to take over the Chevalère Expertise Comptable firm, founded by my father. At IAE, I found an ideal study environment, with lots of input from professionals, practical exercises, very committed teachers, classes focused on the essentials… Beyond the figures, I also learnt to contextualise and give meaning to the profession. I passed the DSCG in 2011 and sat the DEC (Chartered Accounting Degree) straight after. But that wasn’t the end of it! I still had to carry out three years of on-the-job learning to become an associate, which I did at Chevalère Expertise Comptable, in Lons. A few months later, my father retired and I took on the dual role of director and chartered accountant. I thank IAE every day for giving me the foundations of this profession, which I love. It has been a very successful U-turn! Today, I teach Practical Auditing at the IAE and our company takes on a lot of young people from the Master's programme on work-study contracts. 

What words do you spontaneously associate with UPPA? 

High standards, pragmatism, open-mindedness

What advice would you give to a young person starting a course at UPPA?

I would advise them to avoid short-term choices and instead go for specialisations that require work but offer more fulfilment a better understanding of the world. At university, the further you go, the more interesting it gets! You need to make the right choices to avoid finding yourself in a professional impasse. 

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