(BSc) Bachelor of Science
Accounting and Finance
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Essex Business School
Colchester Campus
Honours Degree
Full-time
BSC N420
03/06/2014
Details
Professional accreditation
Accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) for the purpose of exemptions from some professional examinations.
Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations through the Accredited degree accelerated route.
Accredited by the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW) for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations.
Recognised by the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA).
Admission criteria
A-levels: ABB-BBB
GCSE: Mathematics C
IB: 32-30 points, including Standard Level Mathematics grade 4, if not taken at Higher Level. We are also happy to consider a combination of separate IB Diploma Programmes at both Higher and Standard Level. Exact offer levels will vary depending on the range of subjects being taken at higher and standard level, and the course applied for. Please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for more information.
Entry requirements for students studying BTEC qualifications are dependent on units studied. Advice can be provided on an individual basis. The standard required is generally at Distinction level.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall. (Different requirements apply for second year entry.)
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
If you are an international student requiring a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
Other English language qualifications may be acceptable so please contact us for further details. If we accept the English component of an international qualification then it will be included in the information given about the academic levels required. Please note that date restrictions may apply to some English language qualifications
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
- Applied Quantitative Methods: In order to be eligible for the AQM qualifier, you must successfully complete the following modules:
Year Two:
BE311 - (15 credits) Corporate Finance
BE313 - (15 credits) Portfolio Analysis
BE314 - (15 credits) Financial Modelling
Students must achieve 2:1 or above in one of the modules listed above and no result (from the list above) can be lower than a 2:2.
Final Year:
BE332 - (15 credits) Options and Futures
BE333 - (15 credits) Empirical Finance (take as option in Accounting & Finance, Banking & Finance and Financial Management)
BE631- (15 credits) Risk Management and Financial Institutions (take as option in Finance and Finance with Mandarin)
Students must achieve 2:1 or above in two of the modules listed above and no result (from the list above) can be lower than a 2:2.
Students must also have completed and pass one of the following modules (must utilise data gathering/retrieval, econometric estimation and analysis and a result of no lower than 2:2 must be achieved):
BE936 – (15 credits) Accounting Project
BE937 – (15 credits) Finance Research Project
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
Courses offered in Singapore through our partnership with Kaplan Higher Education Institute and Kaplan Higher Education Academy in Singapore, are modelled on the courses on offer in the UK and are contextualized to meet the needs of students in Singapore. Please contact the team at Kaplan in Singapore for full details.
External examiners
Prof Istemi Demirag
Professor of Accounting
The University of Keele
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
1. to provide students with a foundation in financial accounting, management accounting and financial management, with an opportunity to develop expertise in a chosen specialism;
2. to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a career in accounting;
3. to encourage and facilitate critical, analytical thinking by students as a vital foundation for subsequent academic study, employment, professional and personal development, and participation in society;
4. to enable students to acquire the personal and key skills they need to develop as autonomous and reflective individuals with the capacity to continue learning;
5. to provide students with an opportunity to gain exemption from at least the Foundation Stage of the qualifying examinations of the professional accounting bodies.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A11: Fundamental accounting concepts and principles;
A12: The contexts in which accounting is situated, including the business entity, capital markets and the legal framework;
A13: The regulatory framework governing financial reporting in the UK, including the most important requirements of legislation and Financial Reporting Standards;
A14: Quantitative and qualitative management accounting systems;
A15: Advanced planning, control and decision-making models;
A16: Alternative managerial accounting approaches to organisational systems, planning and control;
A17: Contemporary theories and empirical evidence concerning accounting and capital markets, and accounting and society;
A21: Contemporary theories relating to portfolio analysis, asset allocation and the market efficiency debate;
A22: Contemporary theories relating to issues in corporate finance such as the role of dividend payments and the nature of external finance;
A31: The context, nature and processes of management and the core theoretical frameworks employed in attempts to explore and conceptualise the management process;
A41: The application of economic principles to individual decision making and to the performance of the economy;
A91: Understanding of particular areas of Accounting in which the student has chosen to specialise;
Learning methods
Lectures and tutor-led seminars
Directed reading
Individual and group tasks
Assessment methods
Unseen written examinations Assessed essays, Class tests.
Pre-published class assignments
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B91: Bring together data from a variety of relevant sources in order to support an argument;
B92: Critically evaluate contemporary theories and empirical evidence, marshal evidence, develop an argument (in writing) and present ideas in a coherent and effective manner;
B93: Manipulate and analyse numerical (including financial) data and appreciate the nature and limitations of basic statistical concepts.
Learning methods
Lectures and tutor-led seminars Directed reading Individual and group tasks
Assessment methods
Unseen written examinations Assessed essays Class tests.
Pre-published class assignments
C: Practical skills
C11: Record and summarise transactions and other economic events.
C12: Prepare financial statements in accordance with UK GAAP;
C13: Analyse and evaluate financial statements.
C14: Prepare and interpret organisational budgets;
C15: Perform financial analysis and projections;
C16: Prepare costing information;
C21: Undertake investment appraisal analysis using DCF and other techniques
C91: Ability to locate, extract and analyse data from multiple sources, including the acknowledgement and referencing of sources.
C92: Present data in an appropriate format.
Learning methods
Lectures and tutor-led seminars
Directed reading
Individual and group tasks
Assessment methods
Unseen written examinations Assessed essays Class tests.
Pre-published class assignments
D: Key skills
D1: Present ideas and arguments in a coherent and effective manner.
D2: Use appropriate Information Technology to locate, acquire and analyse data.
D3: Manipulate and analyse numerical (including financial) data and appreciate the nature and limitations of basic statistical concepts.
D4: Identify and analyse problems and apply appropriate knowledge and skills to develop effective solutions;
D5: Improving own Learning/Performance.
Learning methods
Lectures and tutor-led seminars
Directed reading
Individual and group tasks
Assessment methods
Unseen written examinations Assessed essays Class tests.
Pre-published class assignments