BA (Hons) ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

Overview

Mode	Duration	Start date	Application code	Application method
ModeFull-time	Duration3 years	Start dateSeptember	Application codeN423	Application method UCAS
ModePart-time	Duration4 years	Start dateSeptember	Application code5703	Application method Direct to LSBU
ModeFull-time (with placement)	Duration4 years	Start dateSeptember	Application codeN424	Application method UCAS
ModeFull-time	Duration3 years	Start dateSeptember	Application codeN423	Application method UCAS
ModeFull-time	Duration3 years	Start dateJanuary	Application codeN423	Application method UCAS
ModeFull-time	Duration4 years	Start dateSeptember	Application codeN423	Application method UCAS
ModeFull-time (with placement)	Duration4 years	Start dateJanuary	Application codeN424	Application method UCAS

International students

The course is not currently open to international students.

International (non Home) applicants should follow our international how to apply guide.

Home/EU applicants

Mode	Duration	Start date	Application code	Application method
Mode Full-time	Duration 3 years	Start date September	Application code N423	Application method UCAS
Mode Part-time	Duration 4 years	Start date September	Application code 5703	Application method Direct to LSBU
Mode Full-time (with placement)	Duration 4 years	Start date September	Application code N424	Application method UCAS
Mode Full-time	Duration 3 years	Start date September	Application code N423	Application method UCAS
Mode Full-time	Duration 3 years	Start date January	Application code N423	Application method UCAS
Mode Full-time	Duration 4 years	Start date September	Application code N423	Application method UCAS
Mode Full-time (with placement)	Duration 4 years	Start date January	Application code N424	Application method UCAS

Choose your campus

On your UCAS application for an Accounting and Finance course you will need to choose which LSBU campus you wish to study at: Southwark or Croydon.

LSBU is located in Elephant & Castle, the heart of London with access to everything the city has to offer, including strong partnerships with the industries that surround us. To study at our Southwark campus please put an S on your UCAS application.

LSBU Croydon is our new campus opening in September 2021 with a mission to transform lives and communities. Croydon is home to many businesses, from household names to start-ups, giving our LSBU Croydon students loads of opportunities. To study at our Croydon campus please put a C on your application.

Accommodation

Once we have made you an offer, you can apply for accommodation. You can rent from LSBU and you’ll deal directly with the university, not third party providers. That means we can guarantee you options to suit all budgets, with clear tenancy agreements and all-inclusive rents that include insurance for your personal belongings, internet access in each bedroom and on-site laundry facilities.

Or, if you’d rather rent privately, we can give you a list of landlords – just ask our Accommodation Service.

Read more about applying for accommodation at LSBU.

Finance

You don't need to wait for a confirmed place on a course to start applying for student finance. Read how to pay your fees as an undergraduate student.

Prepare to start

Applicant events

After you’ve received your offer we’ll send you emails about events we run to help you prepare for your course.

Enrolment

Before you start your course we’ll send you information on what you’ll need to do before you arrive and during your first few days on campus. You can read about the process on our Enrolment pages.

This course covers a broad range of areas including auditing, taxation, corporate finance, company law and economics, practical skills and professional body accreditation. Take a look at the detail below.

Year 1

• Finance and the Economy You’ll be introduced to a range of economic and financial topics and shows how these can be applied to understand the world around us. You’ll develop your understanding of the external environment businesses face, and aspects of finance relevant to the business context. The module aims to develop your understanding of the context in which modern business operates. Thus, enabling you to appreciate and apply simple economic concepts to facilitate business decision making in an increasingly dynamic and resource constrained global business environment. It further aims to equip you with the understanding of financial tools and markets and the knowledge to make financial decisions for your personal or professional lives.
• The LSBU Discovery Project You'll utilise business project frameworks, problem solving skills and ideas generation techniques that will support you through the key stages required to complete a business project from concept to delivery. Throughout the stages of your project, and by incorporating a facilitated coaching process, you will be supported to develop key skills vital to successful leadership and management.  
• Elements of Financial Accounting This module will introduce you to the fundamentals of the regulatory framework of accounting together with the qualitative characteristics of useful accounting information. It will also develop knowledge and understanding of the underlying principles and methods used in the recording of financial data and preparation and presentation of financial statements. This module aims to build up your knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts relating to financial accounting and, in so doing, to develop your technical proficiency in the preparation and interpretation of financial statements.
• Management and Organisations You’ll be introduced to concepts of management in organisations, giving you an appreciation of the complexities of organisations, which affect employee the behaviour within them. You’ll learn about human resource management strategies to manage people in organisations, as well as key management, organisational behaviour and people management theories and practices.
• Data for Decision Making In this module, you'll examine a range of ways of handling, analysing and presenting quantitative information.  The underlying theme is to look at data in a variety of forms, to determine the ‘story’ that this data is telling, and to use that ‘story’ to justify decisions. This module will  equip students with the quantitative skills necessary for them to be able to understand and analyse the information contained in numerical data, and to use this analysis to make business decisions.
• Managerial Accounting You will learn about the basics of management accounting and how to apply your knowledge in various contexts. It will enable you to understand how to use a variety of management accounting techniques in supporting the management processes of planning, controlling and decision-making within organisations. It will cover cost accounting principles, conventions and practices as applied to the ascertainment of costs and the analysis, interpretation and presentation of cost information.  

Year 2

• Managing Business Performance
  This module will introduce advanced aspects of management accounting particularly to do with performance management within organisations that operate within competitive environments.  The module will help you understand the use of quantitative and qualitative information as well as cost, quality and process management systems used by organisations to measure and manage performance and implement optimal strategies in a changing and competitive environment.
• Taxation Practice
  This module introduces you to the UK taxation system. This includes the study of various different kinds of taxes, how these taxes are calculated and how HMRC works. The main taxes covered will be income tax for individuals (both employment income and income from self-employment), corporation tax, simple group structures, and value added tax. You will learn to not only calculate tax liabilities for these taxes but also to plan tax affairs to efficiently manage the taxes of individuals and companies. You will also learn the basic compliance requirements for both individuals and companies.
• Professional and Digital Skills
  This module provides comprehensive insights into graduate employability and your career development as an Accounting & Finance. It teaches you essential techniques of self-awareness building, career exploration, job search, succeeding in recruitment and selection processes and teamwork, enabling you to secure employment and thrive in the world of work. In addition, you will covers specific skills of particular relevance to Accounting & Finance students, with particular hands-on Excel and accounting software skills, and also knowledge of technological innovations such as Blockchain, cryptocurrency, and others. The module is taught as a mix of lectures, practitioner guest lectures, hands-on skills seminars and computer lab sessions. The portfolio assignment consists of two reflective pieces, encouraging you to embark on your own exploration and learning journey, relating the content covered in this module to and own individual career ambitions.
• Legal Environment of Business
  The module will introduce you to the general principles of Business and Corporate Law as well as ethical behaviour and implication for accountants.  It also introduces you to the English Legal System and examines the general principles of English Law, which have a major impact in the business and legal environment in which accountants operate.
• Financial Accounting and Reporting This module will build upon the Level 4 module, Financial Accounting and will introduce you to the conceptual and regulatory framework of financial reporting as well as ethical behaviour and implication for accountants.  The module will enable you to prepare, interpret and analysis financial statements for single entity and business combination in accordance with IAS and IFRS. Students who successfully complete the module should have a solid base from which to continue onto the Level 6 module, Corporate Reporting.
• Finance in a Digital World In this module, you will develop an understanding of the basic principles of contemporary finance and investment. It seeks to provide an elementary knowledge of the subject, simultaneously highlighting the essential links between accounting & finance concepts and practical financial management in a digital world. Through this, you will have a firm foundation in both the theoretical and practical aspects of financial decision-making in a digitised marketplace.

Year 3 (optional placement year)

When you complete a placement year, you'll be awarded a differentiated degree entitled BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance (with Placement). The assessment of the placement is designed to support and accredit your experience by formalising your personal development outcomes, and by contextualising your prior learning. The production of evidence to a relevant professional body, which includes a minimum of two workplace visits over the year, will provide you with a supportive structure to work in. Regular online contact with tutors, peer-contact and placement support will be maintained throughout the year. Assessment method: 100% coursework.

Year 4

• Contemporary Audit: Principles & Practice
  This module introduces you to the concept of the auditing, assurance and internal audit function. It will examine the relationship between the statutory audit process, corporate governance, ethics and professional conduct. You will be given a firm foundation in the planning, risk assessment, audit testing and providing an audit opinion to a business entity. The main theme of this module is to explore the practical aspects of the auditing process and how this is applied to various business entities and how the audit process can assist businesses with their strategic business decision-making. The module will also consider the contemporary aspects of auditing such as social and environmental audit.
• Corporate Reporting
  This module builds upon the knowledge and skills gained in earlier financial reporting/accounting modules. It covers the preparation and analysis of financial statements for individual reporting entities and groups. The module also addresses key financial reporting standards including those relating to leases, revenue recognition, non-current assets, financial instruments borrowing costs and related parties and addresses theoretical issues such as earnings management and regulation of corporate reporting.
• Financial Decision Making
  This module is about managing the finance function in a business enterprise by making value-maximising financial decisions. Financial value is a function of cash, time and opportunity cost – all key factors that financial managers need to consider when allocating scarce resources to competing uses. Since value maximisation requires the optimum balance of return and risk, the management of risk will be an important theme of the module. You will be provided with a firm foundation in the theoretical as well as practical aspects of financial decision-making.

Plus 1 option from:

• Advanced Financial Accounting and Reporting
  This module covers advanced aspects of accounting for business combinations and introduces you to some of the complex areas of financial reporting such as accounting for financial instruments, employee benefits, share options and integrated reporting. The module exposes you to the ethical and professional issues an accountant may face in practice and develops an understanding of how to deal with such issues. The module also exposes you to research on the usefulness of accounting information to investors and the use of accounting ratios to predict corporate distress.
• Advanced Taxation
  This module builds on the taxation principles and concepts introduced in the ‘Taxation Practice’ module. The module is optional and is suitable for those who want to further their knowledge of UK taxation system. The module is of applied nature and provides in-depth knowledge of the main income tax categories namely income tax for individuals, corporation taxes, capital gains tax for individuals, inheritance and trusts taxes, and value added taxes (VAT). 
• Corporate Finance and Risk Management
  The module aims to build on already existing knowledge of the fundamental theory and practice of finance, and provide you with the more advanced technical expertise required to apply these in the context of strategic financial decision making and risk management from the perspective of senior financial executives or consultants. It will also be useful for students seeking a firm grounding in advanced corporate and international finance as a basis for further study or research in the subject area.
• Global Finance and Technology
  This module introduces you to the concept of International Finance and the role of exchange rates and their determination in financial markets. The module covers theories of exchange rate determination and the difference between fixed and floating exchange rate systems. It further offers an excursion into modern financial topics such as cryptocurrencies, Fintech and automation in the banking sector as key drivers in the finance industry. You will be exposed to the regulatory challenges, which come with financial innovation. The module will feature guest speakers from the industry to introduce students to various financial software platforms.
• Organisational Risk and Controls
  Accounting & finance professionals have to be in a position to strategically develop a business and show an awareness of the various risk factors which can have an impact on this development. In addition, accounting & finance professionals have to evaluate the strategic position of the business against the external environment and the availability of internal resources, to identify feasible strategic options particularly in relation to risk management processes.
• Strategic Leadership and Governance
  Effective design and implementation of organisational strategy depends on intelligent leadership and good governance. Underpinning this are the shared values of the leaders within an organisation. In a context of important technological and geopolitical change, this module explores the principles of sound strategy. And it emphasises the role of styles of leadership and forms of governance in achieving strategic direction. An important theme is the place of integrity and responsibility in a challenging and risk-laden business environment. You will be provided with a firm foundation in core theoretical ideas. You will also, through case studies and an applied coursework, be helped to develop the practical skills of strategy creation and implementation.  
• Volunteering
  This module allows you to gain valuable volunteering experience while studying for an undergraduate degree. Volunteering adds significant value to your transferable skills and career development, it can also boost wellbeing and personal fulfilment in terms of social impact. Your are encouraged to access support from the Student Commercial Experience team, they will be able to signpost and highlight any opportunities both within the University, or offered by members of its professional network. However, responsibility for securing the volunteering opportunity ultimately lies with yourself, developing employability and job resourcing skills as part of the module offer.
• Accounting and Finance Research Project
  This final year module allows students to consolidate their learning during their degree by completing an independent small-scale research project, with an accounting or finance focus. This module is also excellent preparation if you plan to continue on to postgraduate study.

Facilities

Specialist industry software prepares our students with the digital skills that employers value. We have a state-of-the-art Bloomberg room on the ground floor or our Business School building. By joining our course you will have access to Bloomberg, Xero, Microsoft Office Suite, SPSS and other more generalist software.