Accounting and Finance BA(Hons)

Why choose this course?

This course covers the application of numerical techniques and the interpretation and communication of financial information. It explores both the theory and practical application of accounting and finance, and provides a foundation in key business disciplines.

What will you study?

Year 1 will introduce you to the business environment in which accounting and finance operate, and provides the knowledge and skills that underpin the study of accounting and finance. You will study economics, organisation behaviour, quantitative and IT skills, as well as the basics of financial accounting and bookkeeping.

Years 2 and 3 focus on the three main areas of accounting and finance: financial accounting, management accounting and finance. You will develop your technical expertise and your ability to apply and evaluate theoretical concepts and ideas. You will study a core module in company law during Year 2, and can choose from a range of option modules in Years 2 and 3, enabling you to diversify into different business disciplines.

You will have the chance to undertake a year-long work placement or study exchange abroad between Year 2 and Year 3.

New: Diploma in Professional Practice – more recognition of your work

Students doing the four-year sandwich course who complete a full-year work placement and some related work-based coursework may be eligible to gain an additional qualification – Diploma in Professional Practice. This is an extra award in addition to the bachelors degree and will give students more evidence of their many accomplishments whilst on work placement.

Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list. Those listed here may also be a mixture of core and optional modules.

Year 1

• Business Economics

• Business Economics

  The module introduces you to basic business and economic concepts and focuses on their application to current issues and the world of government, business and the market. The course material and format are designed to develop your ability for clear and structured analysis; you will develop both awareness and understanding of core business economic concepts with an ability to communicate these concepts using appropriate terminology. The module will enhance your employability by developing critical thinking, oral and written communication skills that are relevant to the world of work.

  
   
• Business Information Analysis

• Business Information Analysis

  This module is an introduction to the mutually dependent business topics of mathematics and information technology. It provides motivation for the use of these topics in business problem solving, and emphasizes their need for one another. That is, these days one would not use mathematics to solve a business problem without the aid of technology, and equally important one cannot efficiently or effectively use IT without mathematics. The module will be delivered using a problem-centric approach. The students will be required to design and create models using information technology to solve business-related problems.

  
   
• Organisational Behaviour

• Organisational Behaviour

  This module introduces students to core topics and concepts of the behaviour and management of people in work situations and is organised into three main parts so that there is a traditional progression from the individual, to the group and, finally, to the organisational levels of analysis. Based on theoretical understanding of individual and group behaviour in organisations students are given the opportunity to reflect on and learn from their own and others' experiences and behaviour in the group. Throughout the module students engage in activities that enable them to develop their academic and other relevant skills, which can be applied throughout their time at the university and taken into their future work and organisations.

  
   
• Financial Accounting

• Financial Accounting

  This module is designed to provide you with an introduction to financial accounting. The purpose and importance of financial accounting will be explained and you will learn how to produce financial statements from the original source documents through the recording of transactions to the final production of a profit and loss account and balance sheet for a non-complex business. The module will also explicate the subjective nature of financial accounting with its need for professional judgement and you will be introduced to the concepts and principles that underlie financial accounting and reporting. You will also gain practical experience of inputting data into Sage accounting software and using spreadsheets to prepare financial information.

  
   

Year 2

• Financial Reporting

• Financial Reporting

  This module focuses on the financial reporting requirements of companies, both large and small. In this module, you will consider the concepts and principles that govern the practices of financial accounting and examine their application through a variety of financial reporting standards across a number of different accounting areas from non-current assets, to contingent liabilities, from inventories to tax.

  
   
• Management Accounting and Finance

• Management Accounting and Finance

  This module introduces you and management accounting and finance. This module considers the fundamental concepts of management accounting and builds on them to provide you with the analytical skills necessary to make many short, medium and long term operating decisions within an organisation.

  
   
• Law for Accountants

• Law for Accountants

  This module is designed to provide you with a general understanding of the English legal system and a more advanced understanding of the principle areas of law that may be encountered in business or professional practice and which are of concern to accounting and finance professionals. The module commences with a focus on sources of law and the court system in England and Wales, before considering the areas of contract and tort which underlie business transactions. This module will then examine the legal formalities required for forming partnerships and companies and for the day-to-day management of companies. The legal implications of companies in difficulty will be considered as will various aspects of employment law. Criminal law will also be considered, in so far as it is relevant to accountants in business or practice, including fraud, insider dealing and money laundering legislation.

  
   
• One option module

Year 3/4

• Theory and Practice of Financial Reporting

• Theory and Practice of Financial Reporting

  This module considers financial reporting in a wider business and social context, and brings together different threads from the previous modules, creating a capstone experience for the whole discipline of financial accounting and reporting. The theoretical ideas unpinning financial regulation and reporting are evaluated as are alternative methods of accounting. The wider business context is considered, such as the role of financial reporting within corporate governance and the importance of ethics and ethical behaviour. This module also widens the scope of financial reporting to larger reporting entities and considers in detail the ideas underpinning, and the reporting requirements for, reporting for a group of companies. The module encourages students to consider current issues which are debated by the media and professionals in order to build an up-to-date knowledge base of the subject area. The assessment strategy demonstrates a strong focus on developing students' employability skills and graduate attributes through a series of presentations with individual feedback and support.

  
   
• Corporate Finance

• Corporate Finance

  The importance of companies in our economic, social and personal life is undisputable and whatever our role in a company, it is important to understand the nature of its economic decisions. This builds on the foundations of the Management Accounting and Finance module to provide a comprehensive and thorough study of contemporary corporate finance. It incorporates the most recent theoretical and empirical developments in corporate finance and explores the traditional theoretical principles in force alongside the most recent developments. You are expected to get involved in discussions and debates of theoretical issues and their applications in corporate life and you are encouraged to develop and adopt a critical approach.

  
   
• Advanced Management Accounting

• Advanced Management Accounting

  This module is designed to give undergraduate accounting students an advanced course exploring the provision and use of accounting information in internal management decision making. You will be involved in an active learning approach and will be expected to do the following: reflect on the purposes and uses of management accounting information, evaluate case study scenarios, discuss theoretical accounting concepts and utilise a range of practical techniques to solve practice questions.

  
   
• One option module