A student analysing stock market graph and data.

BA(Hons) Accounting and Finance (with Foundation Year)

Entry year
2024/25
Course code
N4PF
Application
UCAS
Level
Undergraduate
School
Bristol Business School
Tariff points
48
Campus
Frenchay
Duration
Four years full-time; Five years sandwich
Delivery
Full-time; Sandwich
Programme leader
Deborah Kinnear

This course is open for applications

Page last updated 21 December 2023

Introduction

This applied and future-focused course balances knowledge and skills in accounting with applied understanding of finance, giving access to a wide range of financial careers. You will also gain some exemptions from professional accounting examinations.

Accreditations and partnerships:

Why study accounting and finance?

Sound financial decisions are at the core of every successful business, so demand for financially skilled and knowledgeable graduates is always high.

This BA(Hons) Accounting and Finance will provide you with the key knowledge and skills to access a wide range of career opportunities, as well as a variety of specialist options.

Why UWE Bristol?

Your learning will be driven by real-world practice and current market innovations, giving you an excellent foundation for your future career. You'll develop technical skills in key aspects of accounting and finance, and practice applying these in authentic contexts.You'll gain core professional skills in sessions led by employers drawn from our strong business partnerships.

Based in our Bristol Business School, you'll benefit from purpose-built facilities, including interactive learning rooms and spaces for individual and group study. The Academic Success Centre will support your academic skills development at every stage of your course.

In our Bloomberg Trading Suite, you will explore and apply real-time financial data, and can gain the industry-recognised Bloomberg Certificate.

You can develop your entrepreneurial skills though the University enterprise competitions and Grand Challenge projects. Join a Business Clinic team and gain experience of providing pro-bono advice to small businesses and voluntary organisations.

This course shares a first year with our BSc(Hons) Accounting and BA(Hons) Accounting and Management, with full transferability between courses at the end of the first year.

Where can it take me?

As a graduate with skills in accounting and broader areas of finance, you could pursue professional qualification or enter a wide range of careers in areas such as financial management, investment and business development.

You could choose to become an investment analyst, broker, portfolio manager, financial consultant or credit manager.

Or you may take the entrepreneurial route, and use your skills to develop financial innovations or digital technologies. The opportunities are many and varied.

Watch: 3 reasons to study BA(Hons) Accounting and Finance

Structure

Content

The optional modules listed are those that are most likely to be available, but they may be subject to change.

Year zero (foundation year)

You'll study:

  • Becoming a Professional
  • Economics and Accounting for the Real World
  • Introduction to Law in a Social, Business and Global Context
  • Introduction to Organisations, Enterprise and Management. 

You usually need to pass your foundation year before going onto year one.

Year one

You'll study:

  • Business Law
  • Economic Principles in a Contemporary Context
  • Essential Information and Academic Skills
  • Foundations of Financial Accounting
  • Introduction to Management Accounting
  • Introduction to Managerial Finance
  • Management and Professional Development for Accounting and Finance
  • Statistics and Data Management.

Year two

You'll study:

  • Applied Research Skills in Accounting and Finance
  • Corporate Finance 
  • Financial Accounting  
  • Financial Accounting and Reporting
  • Management Accounting and Decision Making.

Plus, three optional modules from: 

  • Credit Management: Theory and Practice
  • Entrepreneurial Finance
  • Entrepreneurship and Small Business
  • Governance and Accountability
  • Market Analysis for Private Investors
  • Personal Financial Planning
  • Principles of Taxation
  • Race, Inequality and Justice - An Interdisciplinarty Perspective.

Placement year (if applicable)

If you study on the four year (sandwich) course, you'll spend a year away from the University on either a work placement or a study year abroad after Year two.  

Depending on which you choose, you'll either complete a Placement Learning or Learning and Development on Study Year Abroad module.

See the Placements and Fees sections for more information.

Final year

You'll study:

  • Business Strategy and Technology
  • Financial Management
  • Strategic Project (Accounting and Finance).

Plus

  • Cross Cultural Learning and Development or Work Integrated Learning (Accounting and Finance).*

*If you complete the Sandwich Placement or Study Year Abroad, these modules won't be available to study.

Plus one optional modue from:**

  • Corporate Reporting Theory and Practice
  • Strategic Management Accounting.

**If you complete the Sandwich Placement or Study Year Abroad, you can study one or both of these modules.

Plus, two optional modules from:***

  • Accounting for Sustainability
  • Auditing
  • Credit Risk Analysis and Management
  • Financial Crime
  • Financial Technology
  • Further Tax Theory and Practice
  • International Financial Management
  • Investment Management
  • Islamic Banking and Finance.

***If you complete the Sandwich Placement or Study Year Abroad, you'll either study one or two of these modules, depending on credit requirement.

The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved we will inform you.

Learning and Teaching

You will learn through a mixture of lectures, workshops and tutorials, with regular opportunities to hear from and engage with current industry experts, employers and alumni.

In the Bloomberg Trading Suite, you will explore and apply real-time financial data and you'll gain core professional skills in sessions led by global accounting firms and professional bodies.

The Academic Success Centre will support your academic skills development at every stage of your course, and in your first and second you will be supported by additional peer assisted learning.

See our full glossary of learning and teaching terms.

Approximate percentage of time you'll spend in different learning activities*:

YearScheduled learning and teaching studyIndependent studyPlacement study
126%74%0%
224%76%0%
318%74%8%

*calculated from compulsory and option module choices (where applicable) each year.

Study time

You'll have at least 12 hours contact time a week. Additional independent study tasks include tutorial preparation, group work, coursework assignments and exam revision this will take around 24 hours per week.

We want you to graduate with the best possible employment opportunities, so you'll be expected to undertake either summer internships, part-time work experience, Business Clinic activities, or complete a 40-week industry placement as part of your course.

Assessment

Assessment will include business reports, essays, literature reviews, simulations, case study evaluations, presentations and portfolios. Modules leading to professional exemptions will always be assessed by examinations.

Learn more about assessments.

Approximate percentage of marks awarded by each assessment method*:

YearWritten exam assessmentCoursework assessmentPractical exam assessment
036%41%23%
151%23%26%
270%30%0%
352%48%0%

*calculated from compulsory and optional modules (where applicable) each year.

Features

Professional accreditation

This course is accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Association of International Accountants (AIA), the Chartered Institute of Management | Accountants (CIMA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Placements

Students who get work experience tend to graduate with better degrees. Experience also hones your skills, industry knowledge and professional network, making you a sought after graduate.

We want you to graduate with the best possible employment opportunities. In the course of your studies, you'll be expected to undertake either summer internships, part-time work experience, Business Clinic activities, or a 40-week industry placement.

You can enhance your confidence and capabilities through the Business Clinic, Bloomberg training, enterprise competitions and volunteering.

We also encourage and facilitate international study exchanges with our partners in locations including Europe China, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Study facilities

The Business School offers technology-enabled classrooms and individual and group study learning spaces as well as bookable conference rooms.

It is home to the Bloomberg Trading Suite, providing access to real-time trading data and the industry-standard financial research database. The suite is used across a number of modules to develop real-world skills recognised in the investment industry.

In our specialist library, business librarians manage vast collections of hard copy and online resources to support your learning and research. You can attend workshops and study skills sessions to develop your information skills. The Faculty Academic Success Centre provides one-to-one and group study skills support.

Learn more about UWE Bristol's facilities and resources.

Take a Virtual Tour of the Accounting and Finance facilities and see what's on offer here for you.

Life

Accommodation

An excellent range of options for all of the Bristol campuses and the city centre.

Bristol

A stunning city for student living with all the qualities to make you want to stay.

Sports, societies and activities

There is more to your experience here than study. Choose to make the most of it and try new things.

Health and Wellbeing

We provide support in the way you need it.

Campus and facilities

Discover our campuses and the wealth of facilities provided for our students.

Careers

Careers / Further study

There is high demand for graduates who understand finance and the role of strategic financial decision making in business success. This gives you a competitive place in the jobs market and opens up many career options.

This course makes an ideal launch pad for careers in investment, accountancy, banking, personal and corporate finance, in both private and public sector organisations.

Our students go on to financial roles in a wide range of sectors, working in  global investment houses and accounting firms, banks, stockbrokers, and major companies, as well as SMEs and business start-ups . 

Through the range of option pathways, you can gain specialist knowledge in areas such as private wealth management, corporate governance and credit management, further broadening your career choices.   

Recent graduates have secured roles with PWC, Ernst and Young, Hargreaves Lansdown, HSBC, Airbus, Lloyds Banking Group, Amazon and Intel.

Further study at UWE Bristol is also an option, with many graduates progressing to Masters level courses in accounting and finance related areas.

Get inspired

Our award-winning careers service will develop your employment potential through career coaching and find you graduate jobs, placements and global opportunities.

We can also help find local volunteering and community opportunities, provide support for entrepreneurial activity and get you access to employer events.

Visit our employability pages to learn more about careers, employers and what our students are doing six months after graduating.

Fees

Supplementary fee information

Your overall entitlement to funding is based on how long the course is that you're registered on.

Standard funding is allocated based on the standard number of years that your course lasts, plus one additional year.

You'll apply for funding each year that you study and Student Finance will take into account how long the course is in each year that you apply. So if you register for the five year course and then transfer to the four year course, the number of years you can apply for funding will change. Student Finance will reassess your funding based on how many years you have been in study, not just those years for which you received student finance.

Always seek advice before taking any action that may have implications for your funding.

Learn more about funding.

Additional costs

This refers to items you could need during your studies that aren't covered by the standard tuition fee.

These could be materials, textbooks, travel, clothing, software or printing.

Learn more about costs.

Entry

Typical offers

  • Tariff points: 48
  • Contextual tariff: See our contextual offers page.
  • GCSE: Grade C/4 in English and Mathematics, or equivalent.
  • English Language Requirement: International and EU applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.0 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).

    *The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you will need in our English Language section. Please visit our English language requirements page.

  • A-level subjects: No specific subjects required.
  • EDEXCEL (BTEC) Diploma: No specific subjects required.

    For information on required Guided Learning Hours please see our minimum entry requirements page.

  • Access: No specific subjects required.
  • Baccalaureate IB: No specific subjects required.
  • Irish Highers: No specific subjects required.
  • T Levels: No specific subjects required.

Entry requirements

If you exceed the entry requirements you may be eligible for BA(Hons) Accounting and Finance.

International applicants

If you are an international student your recommended route of study for this degree is through our International College, which upon successful completion to the required level and with good attendance, guarantees entry to Year one of the degree.

Read more about entry requirements.

How to apply

Read more about undergraduate applications.

For further information

Unistats

UWE Main Campus