Accounting

Course summary

This exciting specialist accounting degree is designed specifically to meet the needs of a talent pool for the changing accounting services sector. Education in this subject area is in high demand in a wide variety of sectors and industries where accounting specialists manage budgets, prepare financial and annual reports and also are involved at Board level to inform the development of strategy and guide business decisions. Our degree is the first step to becoming a qualified accounting professional with potential to develop a rewarding career in large and small firms as a consultant or in a business start-up.

This professionally accredited degree offers a rounded business education designed to develop your understanding of accounting theories and practice, together with the business acumen, team-working, problem-solving, communication skills and the commercial awareness needed in a complex global financial world.

Raising your awareness of the global, social and ethical professional environment within which the accounting profession operates, you’ll learn to appreciate accounting issues within the wider business context, able to guide decisions on anything from cost-cutting and outsourcing to operational planning and environmental policy, for example.

Taught by academics with professional experience as accountants and managers, there is an emphasis on learning through practice, so you graduate with the breadth of knowledge and capabilities to respond proactively and creatively to contemporary business issues and challenges. You’ll develop practical skills, receiving hands-on training in specialist accounting software such as Sage, Bloomberg and SPSS. In our state-of-the-art Financial Markets Suite (FMS), you’ll also have access to live and historical financial reports, experiencing the same Bloomberg platform used by leading global investment banks.

Changes in technology and regulation mean that the accounting industry is constantly evolving. On our course, you’ll have the chance to focus your studies from the start, blending a conceptual theoretical framework with practical 'real-world' application as the curriculum progresses from basic to more specialised and advanced applications. Upon completion, you will be part-qualified, eligible to apply up to nine exemptions with ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and up eight exemptions with CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants).

Our programme will equip you with the required skills and attributes needed for an engaging and successful career in accounting or related fields in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. It will assist you in developing excellent conceptual knowledge and technical skills in financial accounting, management accounting, corporate finance, taxation, auditing, and financial analysis, as well as the required attributes to excel in the modern global business environment. Past graduates have gone on to a range of accounting and other professional posts in the private and public sectors, including ACCA and Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) training contracts, and finance posts in the public sector.

In December 2021, the University of Westminster received the CIMA Prize-Winner Excellence Award 2021. The Prize-Winner Award recognises university partners with top-performing CIMA students in Case Study exams. The CIMA Excellence Awards celebrate outstanding academic partners, education providers and students who have made significant contributions to the accounting profession and the Institute over the past year.

Top reasons to study with us

• Accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) with up to nine examination exemptions respectively – with the potential for more depending on your module choice
• Re-accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) with potential to gain exemptions from eight required to gain the professional qualification
• Learn to use CIMA Sage Accounting software and gain an official CIMA Sage user's certificate
• Access to one of the largest financial databases in our state-of-the-art Bloomberg virtual trading room
• Opportunity to undertake a one-year international professional placement with past students going to work for HSBC’s student recruitment programme, for example
• Guest lectures from industry practitioners: recent talks featured a senior business manager from Barclays and seasoned entrepreneur
• Field trips to financial institutions: students had a guided tour of the new Bloomberg HQ in London

International Baccalaureate – 120 to 136 UCAS Tariff points from the IB

If your first language is not English you should have an IELTS 6.0 with 5.5 in one component.

As well as general financial management, where they lead in financial recording, reporting planning and analysis, accountants work across various specialisations, including consulting, corporate finance and forensic accounting. They work for central or local government, corporate and commercial businesses, charities and not-for-profit organisations; professional associations; or educational institutions. Many of our students go on to postgraduate study here.

The University's Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping all our students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers.