Accounting and Finance BA (Hons)

This course is designed to equip you with the key skills to succeed in the accounting profession, and offers a significant range of exemptions from renowned professional bodies towards qualifications sought after by global organisations.

Entry Criteria
Structure and assessment
Facilities and features
Opportunities and careers
Take your next steps
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Overview

Linda Hickson, Head of Department of Accounting and Finance, talks about opportunities available to students on our Accounting and Finance BA (Hons) course.

Kick-start your professional accounting career on a course that is designed to develop industry-ready graduates, with a number of exemptions from professional body exams to speed up the process to become a qualified accountant.

Gain core knowledge and skills, with a huge range of modules covering topics such as Financial Accounting, where you will explore relevant procedures and techniques. As you progress, Management and Strategy will come into play, introducing the theory and practical aspects of managing organisations and the people who work for them. Other modules include Forensic Accounting, Advanced Corporate Finance and Advanced Decision Management.

Our Trading Room simulates what it’s like to work in the financial industry in roles such as trading, portfolio management, investment banking, corporate finance and financial or economic analysis. You will also have free access to news, analysis and commentary from the Financial Times, the world’s leading global business publication.

Our close links with employers and professional accounting bodies will give you opportunities to enhance your career prospects. Depending on your module choices, you could gain exemptions from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Certified Practicing Accountants Australia (CPA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA), the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Association of International Accountants (AIA).

Key features

You could gain up to the maximum nine exemptions from ACCA exams if you choose the appropriate modules, and be exempt from the first eight exams with CIMA - a great start towards gaining your professional qualification and developing a wealth of industry knowledge to kick-start your career.
Our graduates have landed roles such as financial analysts, management accountants and banking advisors for globally-renowned organisations including Dunelm, EY, Yorkshire Bank, General Electric and the NHS.
Benefit from our close links with employers and professional accounting bodies and enhance your career prospects with visiting sessions by industry speakers, work placements and networking events.
Gain access to Bloomberg and Refinitiv (Eikon and Workspace) self-study certifications and their online training materials.
Expand your horizons with international experiences linked to your studies through our DMU Global programme. Accounting and Finance students have previously visited New York, where they experienced an insider’s tour of Wall Street and met former traders who gave them an insight into the billion-dollar institutions that influence the global economy.

Scholarships

DMU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and bursaries to help you realise your academic ambitions.

International student scholarships

Find out about available international scholarships or visit our fees and funding page for more information.

UK
EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: N420

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with a placement.

Fees and funding:

2024/25 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Book an Open Day

Submit a study-related enquiry

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: N420

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with a placement.

Fees and funding:

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750.

Find out more about available funding for international students.

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

A typical offer is 112 UCAS points from at least two A-Levels, or
BTEC National Diploma/Extended Diploma at DMM

Plus, five GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including English and Mathematics or equivalent

Alternative qualifications include:

Pass Access with 30 Level 3 credits at Merit (or equivalent) with English (Language or Literature) and Maths GCSE required as separate qualifications at grade 4

We will normally require students to have had a break from full time education before undertaking the Access course

International Baccalaureate: 26+ Points.

Mature students

We welcome applications from mature students with non-standard qualifications and recognise all other equivalent and international qualifications.

International Students

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band, or equivalent when you start the course is essential. English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

UCAS tariff information

Students applying for courses starting in September will be made offers based on the latest UCAS Tariff.

Contextual offer

To make sure you get fair and equal access to higher education, when looking at your application, we consider more than just your grades. So if you are eligible, you may receive a contextual offer. Find our more about contextual offers.

Structure and assessment

Year 1

Financial Accounting
Global Financial Issues
Introduction to Law
Management Accounting
Professional Skills
Quantitative Techniques

Year 2

Company Law
Decision Management*
Financial Reporting*
Management and Strategy

Plus option modules from the following indicative list:

Business Taxation*
Corporate Finance*
Organisation Management
Accounting Standards and Theory
Ethics for Professionals
Business Intelligence using Excel

Year 3

Advanced Decision Management*
Advanced Financial Reporting*
Audit and Assurance*

Plus option modules from the following indicative list:

Advanced Corporate Finance*
Advanced Taxation*
Forensic Accounting
Governance and Sustainability
International Business Taxation
International Developments in Accounting
Liquidity and Financial Risk Management
Managerial Development and Control
Public Sector Accounting and Finance

* ACCA exemption module

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Overview

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. Tutorials, seminars and workshops are less formal and students will be expected to contribute to the session. Lectures are formal teaching periods that provide key content and assessment material. Group work helps to embed employability skills and it provides an opportunity to learn from each other. Blackboard is used as a virtual learning environment to support study. Each module will have its own shell and will incorporate material such as; lecture slides, tutorial solutions, assessment material, announcements and pilot examination papers.

Assessment will be through a mix of coursework and examinations. Coursework will include: presentations, academic essays, professional reports, multiple-choice tests, reflective reports and numerical computations. Some assessments will be prepared by students individually and others will be prepared in groups. Assessment is typically weighted as follows in your first year:

Exam: 42%
Coursework: 58%

These assessment weightings are indicative only. The exact weighting may vary depending on option modules chosen by students and teaching methods deployed by the academic member of staff each year. Indicative assessment weighting and assessment type per module are shown as part of the module information. Again these are based on the current academic session.

Contact hours

This is a full-time course. Each module is worth 30 credits. It is expected that student will spend a total of 300 hours of study for each module. You should be prepared to devote approximately 10 contact hours a week to your studies and additional independent hours of study in order to succeed. Teaching is through a mix of lectures, tutorials, seminars and lab sessions and the breakdown of these activity types is shown in each module description.

Other: In addition, each module provides a two-hour surgery each week for individual consultation with the lecturer. You will also have timetabled meetings with your personal tutor and careers and/or subject meetings scheduled throughout the year.

Self-directed study: In order to prepare for, and assimilate, the work in lectures and seminars you will be expected to use our on-line resources, participate in flipped or virtual classroom discussions on our virtual learning environment (VLE) and engage in personal study and revision for approximately 25 hours per week.

Accreditations

You can qualify for exemptions and potentially gain a professional qualification at an accelerated rate from the following bodies:

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
The Certified Practicing Accountants Australia (CPA)
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
The Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA)
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII)
The Association of International Accountants (AIA)

The professional accounting bodies award exemptions in line with a student’s prior learning to provide the quickest possible route to qualification. A student with exemptions gains from an employability perspective. Such students are a good option to a prospective employer as the employer will not have to cover the costs of the professional examinations or provide study leave, which may disrupt the work schedule.

The number of exemptions awarded will be dependent on the programme and modules selected.

Facilities and features

Hugh Aston Building

You will be taught in our purpose-built Hugh Aston Building equipped with lecture theatres and classrooms, break-out spaces for group work, quiet study zones for individual work, and high-spec IT labs installed with professional software.

You’ll also have access to the building’s new £5.5 million extension called The Yard, which provides more than 22,000 square metres of extra space. This is designed to facilitate your learning experience with large and airy breakout spaces, a new Student Advice Centre, and a balcony on the top floor. The Yard also features more comfortable classrooms and self-study spaces, allowing you to carry out independent study as well as group work.

Students benefit from The Trading Floor, which can provide simulation of what it is like to work in the financial industry in roles such as trading, portfolio management, investment banking, corporate finance and financial or economic analysis.

Library learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including the Virtual Learning Environment, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Opportunities and careers

Placements

As part of this course you will have the option to complete a paid placement year which offers invaluable professional experience.

Our exciting careers programme #DMUworks can help you secure a placement through activities such as mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and you will be assigned a personal tutor to support you throughout your placement.

We advertise posts in all locations in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, including some international posts.

Our students have taken placements with companies including IBM, Lloyds Banking Group, Ernst & Young, Volkswagen Financial Services and the NHS.

Luke did a placement at EY, one of the top four Audit firms. They were so impressed, they offered him a graduate role after completing his degree.

DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich studies, broaden cultural horizons and develop key skills valued by employers.

Through DMU Global, we offer an exciting mix of overseas, on-campus and online international experiences, including the opportunity to study or work abroad for up to a year.

Accounting and Finance students have recently visited the financial district of New York where they learned about the financial institutions there and gained an understanding of how the most recent financial crisis unfolded.

Graduate careers

A degree in Accounting and Finance opens up a wide range of career opportunities as you develop a broad base of skills that are in great demand with employers.

You may choose to specialise in a discipline that you enjoyed studying on the programme.

Recent graduates have progressed to careers in positions such as Commercial Finance Analyst at Red Bull, Auditor at KPMG, Cost Technician at PepsiCo, Tax Processor at Grant Thornton and Financial Criminal Analyst at Barclays.

Accounting and Finance BA (Hons)