BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance

The first year of your accounting and finance degree includes financial accounting, management accounting, an introduction to finance, quantitative techniques and data analysis, the business environment, and business and corporate law. You will also gain the opportunity to gain the Sage Accounting qualification.

Year two studies include financial reporting, performance measurement and control, audit and assurance, corporate finance, Digital accounting and a specialist employability module where you can develop your employability skills and work on live projects with real world businesses.

The final year explores advanced some advanced aspects of accounting and also taxation (option module) to further develop your knowledge and gain maximum professional body exemptions. You will further develop your employability skills, ensuring you are not only well educated but also well prepared to compete in the selection and recruitment processes and add value to organisations through subsequent employment. You will also study two specialist optional modules from a choice including taxation, forensic accounting, cases in audit, and the theory and practice of securities trading, where you can use our simulation trading room on campus. The cases in audit module allows our accounting students to work with a number of third sector organisations and carry out assurance engagements with actual clients from this sector.

Year One - Accounting degree

Your first year includes the core disciplines of financial accounting, management accounting, financial planning, data analysis and computerised accounting, the business environment, and business and corporate law. You can also gain the CIMA accredited Sage Accounting Certificate.

Modules studied:
• Financial Accounting
• Management Accounting
• The Business Environment for Accountants
• Business and Corporate Law
• Data Analysis and Computerised Accounting
• Personal Financial Planning

Year Two - Accounting degree

Year two studies include financial reporting, performance measurement and control, audit and assurance, digital accounting, financial management and a specialist employability module where you can develop your employability skills and work on live projects with real world businesses. This module also benefits from an impressive range of guest speakers.

Modules studied:
• Financial Reporting
• Management Accounting for planning and control
• Financial Management
• Digital Accounting
• Auditing and Assurance
• Professional Development in Accounting & Finance 1

Year Three - Accounting degree

The final year explores advanced aspects of accounting and has specialist optional modules, including forensic accounting and financial trading and investment, where you can use our simulation trading room on campus. If you choose the cases in audit module, you will have the opportunity to work with a number of third sector organisations and carry out assurance engagements with actual clients from this sector.

Core modules include:
• Advanced Financial Reporting
• Information for Decision Making and Control
• Strategic Business Partner (a Business Analysis module)
• Professional Development in Accounting & Finance 2

You can also choose to undertake a further two modules from the following list:
• Taxation
• Financial Trading and Investment
• Cases in Audit
• Forensic Accounting
• Financial Services

Option availability will be subject to student demand

For Year Three, September 2021 start only

The final year explores advanced aspects of accounting and has specialist optional modules, including forensic accounting and the theory and practice of securities trading, where you can use our simulation trading room on campus.

Core modules include:
• Advanced Financial Reporting
• Global Governance, Risk and Ethics
• Business Analysis for Accountants
• Accounting Research

You can also choose to undertake a further two modules from the following list:
• Advanced Management Accounting
• Theory and Practice of Securities Trading
• Cases in Audit
• Principles of Forensic Accounting
• Introduction to Islamic Finance

Option availability will be subject to student demand

Students on this accounting and finance degree will learn through a mix of lectures, tutorials, workshops, innovative e-learning techniques and directed self-study. As well as our links with the ACCA, you will benefit from regular presentations from guest lecturers representing many aspects of the profession.

Throughout your course, you will get practical experience of the accounting, auditing, and general software packages you will use after you graduate another skill to add to your CV.

Most modules are assessed by a combination of examination and coursework. There is a variety of coursework helping you develop your employability skills through the use of IT, preparing written reports, and giving presentations.

The entry criteria below shows the qualification range within which the University will make offers. The University has a Contextual Admissions Policy, therefore, whilst most offers we make are at the top of the range, under the Policy we take certain aspects of an application into consideration and eligible UCAS applicants can receive a personalised offer or have results considered individually when you receive them.Here is a link to our Contextual Admissions Policy Statement. 

Combinations of qualifications are acceptable and other qualifications not listed here may also be acceptable. 

Please note that whilst this course does not require a DBS Check for entry, some professions will not consider candidates who have certain types of criminal convictions.    Therefore, if you have a criminal conviction and you are considering a particular career path we would recommend that you check with the relevant professional body or refer to their recruitment policy to make sure that your conviction will not disadvantage you.

Typical A-Level Offer

Typical Welsh BACC Offer

Typical BTEC Offer

Typical IB Offer

Typical Access to HE Offer

Additional Requirements

International Entry Requirements

Accountancy careers offer great salaries, travel opportunities and the chance to work your way to the top. All kinds of financial careers will be available to graduates with an accounting and finance degree, in all kinds of organisations. You could work in management or financial accounting, tax-related work or management consultancy. Accounting and finance is an ideal foundation for senior management roles, or even starting your own business.

To give you a head start following graduation the University organises an annual employability conference for its accounting students. Previous attendees have included PwC, Eversheds, JK Accountancy, Civitas Law and Watkins & Gunn.

Our Careers and Employability Service

As a USW student, you will have access to advice from the Careers and Employability Service throughout your studies and after you graduate.

This includes: one-to-one appointments from faculty based Career Advisers, in person, over the phone or even on Skype and through email via the "Ask a Question" service. We also have extensive online resources for help with considering your career options and presenting yourself well to employers. Resources include psychometric tests, career assessments, a CV builder, interview simulator and application help. Our employer database has over 2,000 registered employers targeting USW students, you can receive weekly email alerts for jobs.

Our Careers service has dedicated teams: A central work experience team to help you find relevant placements; an employability development team which includes an employability programme called Grad Edge; and an Enterprise team focused on new business ideas and entrepreneurship.