Overview
This degree thinks beyond the numbers and makes sure your learning is applicable to real-life situations by giving you both theoretical and practical skills and knowledge.
As part of the BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance degree, you will gain invaluable work experience to help your CV stand out to future employers.
Our degree will teach you the accounting and financial strategies that underpin the running, operation and performance of organisations, which you can apply to any business that you work for in your career.
What you’ll learn
You will learn about management accounting, financial accounting, financial analysis of a business, and the specialisms of audit and taxation. Financial management will also introduce you to valuable business disciplines that will develop your commercial and financial decision-making skills, and give you an appreciation of the importance of risk management.
Real-world learning
This theoretical understanding will be applied to real-life situations during your integrated placement year, before you tailor your final year to the areas in which you want to specialise.
Accounting and finance are brought to life through case studies and examples from real businesses, plus creative coursework opportunities where topical business case solutions will be explored.
Two undergraduate degrees
This course offers an Exchange Partnership Second Degree Pathway, meaning you could study overseas at one of our partner institutions during your placement year and graduate with two undergraduate degrees for the price of one. Find out more about the Exchange Partnership Second Degree Pathway here.
Post-study work visa
Aston University welcomed the creation of a new immigration route which will enable international students to remain in the UK for two years to find work after they have completed their studies. The new post-study work visa will apply to international students starting undergraduate and postgraduate courses from 2020 at universities with a track record of compliance with immigration policy.
Find out more about the post-study work visa.
International students
Aston University is a diverse, close community and welcomes international students. Students from over 120 different countries choose to study with us every year. Based in the centre of Birmingham, Aston is not only a great place to study, it’s also a great place to live. Aston’s professional work placements can improve your chance of securing a graduate job.
Placements give you experience, confidence and opportunities and as an Aston student, you’ll be better prepared for your future career. One of the great things about Aston is our focus on employability, and our close links with businesses, industries and professions make this possible.
Year 1
In your first year you will study a wide range of business subjects, gaining the broad insight into management required by all accounting professionals.
You will study topics, designed to give you a solid foundation for your business degree.
The core and compulsory modules are:
- Careers in Accounting
- Foundations in Financial and Management Accounting
- Introduction to Organisational Behaviour
- Law for Business
- Principles of Operations Management
- Foundations of Business Analytics
- Introduction to Business Economics
Learning, teaching and assessment
Our close links to industry and our focus on delivering practical business experiences provides a blend of learning and teaching experience to equip you for your future career.
Learning and teaching
You will experience a range of teaching methods including lectures, tutorials, group working, case studies and undertake both individual and group presentations. You’ll also hear from external employers and professional bodies who provide student talks.
Creative coursework will help you to apply your learning and you will get opportunities to work with real businesses which will develop your expertise and experience.
You will be taught by highly experienced lecturers many of whom are qualified accountants with extensive business and teaching experience with accredited business experience and supplemented by knowledgeable research staff.
Traditional teaching is supported by a virtual learning environment that is used to host a range of electronic supporting materials. For example, all business students undertake the ‘Accounting in Practice’ module which develops essential skills and enables you to work in teams ready for your placement search.
Aston University has subscriptions to both the Financial Times and The Economist, which you can benefit from whilst studying here.
Assessment
You will experience a mix of coursework and examinations.
Personal development
Our business degrees are designed to also give you a range of transferable and practical skills to succeed within your chosen career. We make use of group working and presentations to prepare you for the reality of working life. This experience will develop your team working, interpersonal and negotiating skills.
Career prospects
This course will provide you with the theoretical knowledge and skills you can apply to real-world situations in an international business context and, is beneficial to a broad range of career paths. You will develop analytical, problem-solving skills enabling you to provide logical solutions to challenging business problems.
During your placement year, you will be able to develop your learning and showcase your skills, helping you to accelerate your employability, through real work experience. The creative coursework will provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate your applied learning through real business-case solutions that you’ll put forward.
You’ll also benefit from our extensive range of professional accreditations and exemptions, which along with your placement year, contribute to demonstrable skills which will help you progress your career path.
Recent graduates
Our recent graduates were successful in finding graduate accounting and financial management roles such as:
- Accountants Associate
- Commercial Analyst
- Auditor, Tax Analyst
- Tax Trainee
- Risk Consultant
- Business Analyst
Graduates went on to work at companies such as Grant Thornton, Carphone Warehouse, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), RSM UK, Deloitte LLP, BDO and Grant Thornton.
My name is Kavisha Prince Anthony, and I always had a dream of studying abroad. Thankfully, that dream came to life since I applied to the Study Advisor. I was able to receive my visa within four days. I also had some visa refusals in the past; I had about six UK visa refusals in the past, but thankfully, it was not an issue since the Study Advisor was able to make things work this time. I highly recommend Study Advisor for your dreams of going abroad, whether it be the UK or any other European country there is.