About this course
- Entry year: 2012/13
- Course code: N420
- Applications: UCAS
- Level: Undergraduate
- Tariff points: 300
- Department: Bristol Business School
- Campus: Frenchay
- Duration: Three years full-time; Four years sandwich
- Delivery: Full-time, Sandwich
- Study Abroad: There are opportunities for students to undertake a study year abroad or international placement year.
- Programme leader: Dr Susan Whittaker
Introduction
If you are interested in a professional career which specialises in accountancy and/or broader areas of finance the BA(Hons) Accounting and Finance course has been designed to give you the skills and knowledge you need to launch your career with confidence. Designed with employability in mind, the course structure is contemporary, applied and reflects the links we have established with professional bodies and with employers. The degree offers the opportunity to connect with industry, build your understanding of how the finance sector really works and to accumulate maximum exemptions from professional examinations with many key industry bodies. We offer a curriculum that aims to challenge your ways of thinking, learning and behaving. Issues of ethics and ethical decision-making, sustainability and global citizenship are embedded throughout. Accounting and Finance is at the core of successful business and your career prospects can only be enhanced by entering this field of study.
Key Benefits
Practical courses designed for the real world
The course has been developed and designed with employer and professional body input, focusing on technical rigour but also external connectivity, bringing in real world applications using guest speakers, real life case studies and business simulations. You are encouraged to develop your engagement with the financial issues of the day and reflect on the current and future applications of your learning as an integral part of your academic experience
Employability
Employability starts from the very first term where you will be introduced to the expectations, requirements and contextual aspects of entering the accounting and finance profession, in its widest sense. Alongside your specialist accounting and finance modules you will be asked to consider what it means to be a professional in the fields of accounting and finance and to develop a strong sense of self, focusing on your personal development and the skills and attributes required from graduates in the business world.
Your core modules on the course will also develop your transferable skills facilitating the transition into higher education, underpinning your employability and supporting lifelong learning. As well as employer talks and involvement in modules activities, you will also have access to employability support through the UWE careers team, the placements office, and the graduate development programme.
Placements
We offer you the opportunity to complete a 40 week industrial placement during your third year of study as we know that this experience has a significant positive impact on your future degree classification and employability outcome. We have a wide range of placement employers including companies such as IBM, Lloyds TSB, Disney, Unilever and the Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
Alternatively, there are opportunities to undertake a study year abroad where courses are taught in English. Students are selected for study year abroad through a competitive process. Employers look favourably upon those students that have studied abroad as they are able to gain a global perspective, which is becoming even more valuable with increasingly globalised markets.
Professional accreditation
Graduates from this programme have consistently performed well in professional accountancy examinations and can qualify for a range of exemptions from the examinations of main accountancy bodies. These include: the Institutes of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and Scotland; the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants; the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the Institute of Credit Management, Chartered Insurance Institute, and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Association of International Accountants. We are currently seeking further accreditation from the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment Securities Institute and other finance bodies.
Flexibility
Accounting and Finance is a specialist degree, however, some modules are transferable to alternative programmes at the end of level one should you choose to refocus your career.
Student's view
"The student-lecturer relationship is very good and the environment supportive."
Nicolas, BA(Hons) Accounting and Finance
Structure
Content
You will study three modules in each semester. The first year provides a foundation in core accounting and finance subject knowledge, as well as additional skills and attributes necessary for your future success. In the second year, you will build your knowledge in core accounting and finance areas and begin to develop your specialist interests and your research and enquiry skills. All students are encouraged to spend their third year on placement and the curriculum in the second year also provides support for the process of securing the placement. The final year will include advanced study in the core subject areas and a major applied research project, integrating and applying the knowledge gained in the earlier years of study. You will also have a number of optional module choices to further your specialist interests and / or maximise your exemptions from professional examinations with bodies such as CIMA, ICAEW, ACCA etc.
Year 1
Semester One:
- Accounting Fundamentals 1
- Being an Accounting and Finance Professional
- Economic Principles in a Contemporary Context
Semester Two:
- Accounting and Finance: an Academic Context
- Statistics and Data Management
- Accounting Fundamentals 2
Year 2
Semester One:
- Management Accounting and Financial Decision Making
- Two Accounting and Finance option modules
Semester Two:
- Management Accounting and Financial Decision Making
- Corporate Finance
- One Accounting and Finance option module
Final Year
Semester One:
- Management Accounting and Financial Management
- Corporate Reporting Theory and Practice
- Advanced Accounting (direct entrants only) OR Accounting and Finance option module
Semester Two:
- Accounting in Context, including Managing Individual Change
- Two Accounting and Finance option modules OR one option and credits from Placement year*
Option modules
Year 2:
- Business Law
- MAPI
- Credit Management Theory and Practice
- Tax and Tax Planning
- Good and Bad Business and Sustainability
- Choice of Economics modules, e.g. Financial Services
- Choice of Business modules
Final year:
- Audit and Corporate Governance
- Personal Financial Planning
- Investment Management
- International Financial Management
- Credit Risk Analysis and Management
- Strategic Management
- Choice of Economics modules
- Choice of Business modules
* Students who complete a Placement year do one fewer option module in their final year.
Teaching and learning
The course is taught through a blend of learning activities which include tutor-led and face-to-face learning, student-led and independent study, online study , group projects and students supporting each others' learning.
Lectures, workshops/seminars, group project work, and tutoring account for 12 hours of contact time per week. However, you will be expected to spend at least as much time again in essential independent study: preparation for workshops/seminars study; reviewing lectures; online work; reading and other research activity, as well as in the preparation of assessed work and revision for end of module exams.
Our learning and teaching approaches are student focused with the emphasis on helping you to actively find out things for yourself. You will be expected to work with a mix of theory and practice, academic rigour and a practical approach, so that you can appreciate the relevance and application of concepts learnt. To help in this, you will be expected to gain high quality work experience, ideally through the Placement but if not, then through short term internships; paid work e.g. as a Student Ambassador or as a Peer Assisted Learning Leader; or through volunteering.
Assessment
You will be assessed through a mix of coursework and examinations, all of which aim to assess not only what you know and can do but also develop the graduate attributes that are valued by employers. These attributes include communication and presentation skills, IT and numeracy skills, team work, project and time management skills as well as the intellectual skills of problem solving, critical thinking, analysis and evaluation, creativity and innovation.
Coursework comes in many different forms: essays and reports; business plans and applied research projects; portfolios and weekly notes; assessed group and individual presentations and posters. You will also be required to reflect and comment on your own learning and personal development.
Special Features
Placements
We strongly recommend that you spend your third year in a work placement in an area of accounting and finance you will gain valuable work experience and have the chance to put theory into practice in a real business environment - as well as earning a salary.
Your placement gives you the opportunity to acquire commercially related work experience in an organisation, usually in the UK but occasionally overseas. The placement you secure may be in any area of accounting and finance but if possible should link in with or match your career aspirations. Your placement will enable you to obtain valuable work experience and to apply knowledge and skills in a practical situation. Students in previous years have undertaken placements in organisations ranging from large multinational corporations to small businesses, including placements in City institutions in both the public and private sectors.
The School's placements team will support you in finding a placement, providing guidance on CV writing, applications and interview skills, as well as access to an extensive database of placement opportunities. Whilst working, the Placements office continues to support you and your progress is monitored by both your employer and the Business School. The portfolio you complete whilst working is a valuable resource to support your future employability and evidences your achievements in your placement. In your final year, you will complete a project based on your placement experience.
The fee for the placement year for 2012/13 starters is £1,125. The final year fee will then be £7,875.
Study year abroad
As an alternative to a placement year, there are opportunities to undertake a study year abroad where courses are taught in English. Students are selected for Study Year Abroad through a competitive process. Employers look favourably upon those students that have studied abroad as they are able to gain a global perspective, which is becoming even more valuable with increasingly globalised markets.
GDP
The Graduate Development Programme (GDP) is a programme of activities to help you develop the confidence and skills for academic and employability success.
Study facilities
Your learning is supported by the provision of high quality study facilities: an excellent library and a dedicated Business Librarian and online support to help to develop the information literacy skills essential in helping to identify and evaluate resources. We also have flexible learning spaces in the Business School with wireless Internet access and study areas, meeting tables for group and sofas.
Careers/further study
The strong demand for graduates with this degree makes it an ideal launch pad for a career in finance and accountancy, but also broader areas such as personal and corporate finance, management, IT and in both the public or private sector. A review of our alumni shows that many of our previous students are now employed in senior positions in accounting firms and financial institutions in the UK and internationally, including successful companies ranging from multinational blue chips to thriving small businesses.
Further study is also an option open to Business school graduates and in 2010 graduates went on to study Masters courses in areas such as Financial Management, Marketing, Human Resource Management and Economics, as well as professional qualifications studied alongside working, such as Accountancy professional body qualifications like ACCA and CIMA.
Graduate destinations
Find out what our graduates are doing six months after graduating- includes examples of careers, employers and further study. Download a PDF from graduation destinations.
Creating employable students
UWE places strong emphasis on employability and skills development at every level. Through work placements, volunteering, study abroad and UWE initiatives which nurture talent and encourage innovation, students gain valuable real world experience and graduate with diverse career opportunities and a competitive place in the job market.
See great graduate prospects for further information.
Be inspired
Read about Louise's financial management traineeship within the NHS.
Useful links
UWE - graduate occupations
Prospects - careers for accounting and finance graduates
The UWE careers service provides guidance and support throughout your studies in addition to useful resources, CV checks, career coaching and details of current job vacancies.
Entry
Typical offers
- Tariff points: 300
- GCSE: Maths and English Language at grade C or above required.
- A-level subjects: None specified
- Relevant subjects: Business, Management
- Access: Achievement of the Access to HE Diploma; achievement of level 2 credits in Maths and English Language.
Entry requirements
We welcome applications from students who do not have the entry requirements outlined. The university will consider applications on the basis of evidence of personal, professional and educational experience which indicates an applicant's ability to meet the demands of the degree.
International applicants
A large percentage of our student community is of international origin. We welcome enquiries from international applicants. Further information can be found on our international web pages.
Advice on typical offers
In addition to the 'typical offer' given above, please read the general information about entry requirements.
How to apply
Please see the general information about
applications.
For further information
Page last updated 14 December 2011