Accounting and Finance with Foundation Year

If you enjoy analysing data, crunching numbers and controlling the figures, our BSc (Hons) in Accounting and Finance is the perfect way to develop your skills, ready for a career in the finance world.

We work hard to ensure you graduate workplace ready. Having a degree that is recognised by professional bodies – ACCA, IFA, CIMA and ICAEW – means you will have the advantage of being able to start your career being exempt from a number of professional exams.

Why study this subject?

Do you like to be at the heart of everything, helping to drive forward business goals and growth through sharp financial insight and strong data management? BNU's Accounting and Finance degree is the perfect way for you to learn the core skills to become an accountant or work in the world of finance.

Whatever your area of interest we have you covered, our lecturers work hard to ensure that you have the opportunity to develop skills in investment and commercial banking, insurance, consultancy, financial markets, taxation and auditing.

We are a student focused and employer led university which means that you are at the forefront of all that we do. We provide you with a thorough understanding and grounding in accounting and finance to ensure you graduate ready for employment or further post-graduate study. Recent graduates have gone into industry roles like, Personal Banker, Financial Analyst and Graduate Accountant.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

At BNU we want you to get the most out of your time with us and being workplace ready is something we are proud to offer you. Our Accounting and Finance degree is accredited by professional bodies, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA). This gives you the chance to gain workplace experience, learn about new developments in the industry and apply for membership with an accrediting body.

By completing a professionally accredited degree you will have the benefit of having exemption from all nine ACCA Fundamental level 1 – 9 exams and up to 7 CIMA modules and 7 ICAEW papers. You can also obtain membership at various levels for the IFA and ICAEW. This will ensure you enter the job market with a competitive degree, relevant experience and a confidence that you can make your mark in the corporate world.

BNU is all about the student experience, you are our top priority and our high lecturer to student ratio ensures that you will receive continual and first-hand support throughout your degree. We see you as an individual and will support you in to help you to stretch and excel your abilities and graduate with a versatile and in-demand degree.

What will I study?

During your time studying Accounting and Finance you will cover subject areas including, Global Business Environment, Financial Accounting, International Auditing, Financial Management and UK Taxation. Studying such varied topics will help you understand how finance interacts with business and can underpin innovation and improvements, alongside developing key skills, such as problem solving, attention to detail and analytical thinking which will ensure you are well placed to enter the employment market.

During your foundation year you will have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals needed to progress to undergraduate study. You will study topic areas like, creativity, self-development, responsibility, business studies and inquiry based learning to provide you with a solid basis for your study of accounting and finance.

In your second year we are focused on providing you with all of the building blocks you need to create a solid foundation and understanding of the concepts, theories and models of accounting and finance. As you develop your understanding and abilities you will be expected to describe, explain and review all that you are learning as you complete the year.

During your third year, you will learn to apply, analyse and evaluate the principles and theories you have learned and be able to reference and apply them to contemporary situations. Being able to develop your skills by applying your knowledge to real life circumstances is important as this allows you to gain the confidence and ease to do so post-graduation.

In your final year, the emphasis will be on transitioning you from student to graduate. You will undertake more independent learning and develop your depth of understanding through a combination of critical analysis and evaluation. This will be shown through either a dissertation on a topic of your choice or a consultancy project, which involves independent research focusing on strategic business issues.

How will I be taught and assessed?

This course is offered as a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate degree.

At Buckinghamshire New University we like to foster an interactive and student-focused teaching style where we blend lectures, seminars, one-to-one workshops, tutorial sessions, independent study and guest speakers to enhance the learning experience.

Our lecturers work hard to ensure that you learn the latest industry standard practices and knowledge. To support in the delivery of this we also welcome industry experts and professionals to deliver guest lectures who share their experience of the latest trends and what companies are looking for.

To work competitively in the graduate world, you will need to a diverse range of skills and abilities, from being able to work independently to being confident with working collaboratively in a group. The structure of the course allows for you to work with other students to deliver small group projects, giving you the chance to improve your leadership, communication and relationship building skills.

The University's Virtual Learning Environment will support delivery of the programme by providing 24/7 access to core and supplementary learning materials, additional resources such as journal extracts, facilitating dialogue through online discussions boards, and submission to assignments.

Every aspect of this course provides the opportunity to learn. We use formative assessments throughout the duration of the course. This is a key feature of the programme as it enables early feedback to be given on your progress. Whilst these assessments do not give marks towards your final module grade, they offer you a valuable learning resource by way of tutor feedback and direction for improved performance on future assignments. This is particularly relevant during your first year as it helps you ensure you can make the transition from school/college to university.

The other side of assessments is the ones that are designed to test your achievement of the learning outcomes. Across all four years of the Accounting and Finance degree you will complete coursework, practical tasks and examinations. Due to the requirements for ACCA exemption, there will also be an increased focus on formal examination.

Throughout your four years on this course you will carry out the following assessment activities:

• Essays and reports, these will provide the opportunity for you to demonstrate your in-depth understanding of a topic
• Oral Presentations will enable you to showcase your knowledge and ability to communicate to a variety of audiences
• Examinations will require you to demonstrate your understanding in a controlled setting and within a set environment
• Projects and enterprise activities provides the brilliant opportunity to work with other students from other programmes within the School, e.g. business, marketing and HR
• Dissertation or Consultancy Project which are major pieces of independent research focused on strategic business issues that all final year students will need to complete

Placements Plus

BNU is a Placements Plus university. So, whatever degree you do, you can be sure there'll be plenty of industry-relevant opportunities on offer, to help you get into your chosen field.

We'll also prepare you for work beforehand, with special skills for work training, further boosting your CV, and building skills employers will value. In recognition of the value we place on these skills we have incorporated this experience into your study time.

Placements Plus is all about helping you get some valuable experience under your belt while you're a student, to increase your choices later, and help you get the graduate-level job you want.

What are my career prospects? 

We are committed to working with you to ensure that you graduate with a competitive degree and industry experience, ready to hit the ground running post-university. We'll help you to develop crucial skills, encouraging you to become enterprising, employable and good workplace leaders. We also help you find employment after graduation. Have a look at our Careers and Employability pages to find out more.

There has always been a big demand for qualified specialists in accounting and finance, meaning that you can expect to graduate with a variety of rewarding career options ahead of you. With the diverse nature of accounting and finance you can seek out jobs in any sector, from business, banking, non-profit to international corporations.

Not only will you be graduating with a coveted qualification, the additional benefit of having studied a degree accredited professional bodies, the ACCA, CIMA, IFA and ICAEW means that you start one step closer to becoming a fully qualified accountant.

Careers in accounting and finance are highly sought after across the globe. Having the foundation of having studied a degree in the subject the world becomes your oyster. The topics you will study on this programme and the transferrable skills you will have developed will make international careers easily accessible.