BA (Hons) Accounting (with Foundation Year option)

Core Units:

• Fundamentals of Business & Management: This unit aims to develop your understanding of the business context across industry and sectors globally. You will cover the key issues and challenges facing businesses going forward and the essential role of people in dynamic, resilient and complex organisations. You will explore key functional business areas including marketing, finance, accounting, economics, people management, and organisational behaviour.  
• Academic & Professional Practice: You will build your confidence in both academic and professional skills. This unit will cover the academic skills which will be required at degree level study and you’ll practice them throughout the unit with support from key university services including the library and study skills team. There will also be opportunity for you to reflect on and develop your own professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services and online resources. 
• Fusion Business Project: You will undertake a business project based on a real issue or problem. The Fundamentals of Business & Management unit will support you in understanding key issues and challenges which could form the basis for your project.  Projects will be undertaken in workplaces, community settings or part of research processes related to your chosen field of study. You will be allocated an academic mentor who will support you in developing and undertaking the project.  

Our particular focus in the first year is to ensure that you understand diverse areas like law, economics, accounting, business management, quantitative analysis and finance in the context of how a business is run, thus focusing on the connectivity between these areas in the world of business. 

Core units:

• Law for Accounting & Finance: You will study the aspects of Law required to operate in the finance sector. You will acquire knowledge of the sources of law in order to understand the potential impacts each source may have on financial practice.
• Economics for Accounting & Finance: You understand the fundamental economic concepts and their applications including the way markets work and their interaction using real-world examples, as well as the impact of economic policies on businesses and society.
• Introduction to Accounting: This unit will give you a solid foundation in the fundamentals of accounting, together with a basic understanding of the regulatory framework. You will be able to prepare financial statements and use a range of management accounting techniques to aid the business decision-making process.
• Quantitative Analysis: This unit will develop your understanding of basic mathematical principles and how they are applied in accounting and finance. It will provide you with the essential techniques used to collect, present, analyse and interpret data and show how quantitative methods may be used to provide reliable management information.
• Introduction to Financial Markets: As an introduction to financial markets, you will gain a level of conceptual understanding that will allow you to critically evaluate the fundamentals of finance and its implications in the current scenario.
• Business Context: This unit will equip you with the understanding of how to translate knowledge in economics, law, statistics, finance, accounting in a business context.

The second-year emphasises on embedding subject related skills like a working knowledge of accounting software and excel skills whilst also ensuring that you learn softer skills such as presentation skills, assessment centre practice and CV building experience. The aim is to ensure that you are ready to successfully engage with the placement recruitment process.

Core units:

• Management Accounting: You will develop an understanding of basic management account concepts, techniques and practices and the quantitative skills to apply them in an organisational context.
• Business Tax Planning: ​‘The bottom line’ is perhaps the key figure in a set of accounts. It is arrived at after deducting taxation and therefore an appreciation of the impact of taxation on business decisions is an important component in any degree in accountancy and related subjects. This unit will cover the UK taxation system as it impacts upon business decision making.
• Financial Reporting: You will evaluate and apply the regulatory framework of accounting, prepare basic consolidated accounts in accordance with IFRS, for a simple group and analyse and appraise company performance.
• Audit & Control: The unit will give you an insight into the modern audit process. The main emphasis will be on the statutory audit process, although the work of internal audit will also be considered.
• Accounting Information Systems: You will progress and enhance your IT skills through the use and application of industry-standard software. The unit will also provide an understanding of the accounting profession and put the use of such software into context. You will learn how to apply business process thinking in SAP ERP Information systems as tools within financial and management accounting. 
• Corporate Financial Management: This unit presents and discusses the importance of financial management to a corporate entity based on the relevant theories. It analyses the business environment in which the financial management decisions are taken both in the short-run and also in the long-run. Further, it demonstrates how capital and risk are linked to financial management and applies key principles, techniques, tools, and instruments to assist in corporate decision-making.

You may choose to complete an optional (minimum) 30-week work placement which can be carried out anywhere in the world. The placement year offers a chance to gain experience and make contacts for the future.

The final year will emphasise on embedding research skills, which will ensure that you are able to apply this important transferable skills to your graduate role. We achieve this by exposing you to the impactful research conducted by our senior academics and professors in the department, therefore enriching your grounding in different methods of research. This will then be applied in either a research study context or to the study of a live company, thus ensuring that you can demonstrate research application.

Core units:

• Advanced Accounting Theory & Practice: You will develop an understanding of the theoretical aspects of financial reporting and apply this to technical issues.
• Contemporary Issues in Accounting & Finance Research: You will develop an appreciation for current research in accounting and finance and become equipped with a broad range of research skills. Key topics will include hypothesis formation; ethical procedures; questionnaire designs; and quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
• Perspectives on Business Strategy: This unit gives you insights into the differing perspectives used to develop and implement business strategy. From its roots in finance and economics, the field of strategy has developed its own language, tools, models and methodologies, which are used throughout businesses and other organisations in many parts of the world.  This unit introduces you to that language and gives you experience working with the toolkit and understanding its limitations.

Option units (choose two):

• Advanced Management Accounting: This unit will cover the role of management accounting in all aspects of management control systems, particularly in the development and use of performance management systems and the strategic control of organisations.
• Company Study: You will undertake a project and apply accounting theory to a real example as well as develop your personal skills working within a group such as time management, work-allocation, joint problem-solving, discussion, communication, negotiation, and presentation.
• Business Taxation: The unit will cover the effects of taxation in the various stages in the expansion of a business, from sole trader to corporate group and provide you with a thorough understanding of the tax regime faced by businesses in their most common forms and of the more common tax planning strategies that may be adopted.
• Financial Regulation: The unit will cover the key regulatory theories, forms and rationale of regulation that are highly relevant to those seeking employment within the financial sector. You will engage with, develop and critically analyse regulatory concepts and systems that meet the needs of both the regulator and the regulated.
• Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Reporting: This unit will equip you with the ability to account and report on environmental topics with emphasis on both regulatory as well as the reporting framework needed to account for environmental issues. You will gain the ability to critically appraise the usefulness of such information.    
• International Taxation: The rise of the multinational company has been one of the outstanding features in business history since the 1960s.  It is no longer enough for a tax specialist to possess an understanding of a single country’s tax system: knowledge of the business opportunities and business risk entailed in cross-border trading and of the measures commonly taken by countries to protect their jurisdiction to tax are now essential. The unit will exam the issues in international taxation faced by multinational corporations and individuals.
• Research Study: The research study will allow you to enhance your independent learning, critical thinking and reflective skills. It will enable you to demonstrate your ability to formulate a research proposal, collect, analyse and evaluate data pertinent to the chosen contextualised research topic and to write up a report documenting the project methodology, management and outcomes.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the university's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

A placement should be a highly rewarding experience for you and the employing company and we do our best to ensure that everyone involved feels that they have got the most that they can from the experience.

Placements provide a great opportunity to make your first career steps and enhance your employability while you’re completing your studies. You’ll get the opportunity to:

• Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
• Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
• Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem solving and team work (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
• Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
• Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider
• Many of our students, during their placement, are given responsibilities normally associated with graduate trainees.

p>We will provide a great deal of help and support to ensure you achieve a rewarding and satisfying placement. We have strong links to outside agencies and organisations to best support you along your professional development, and dedicated placement officers to support you.

Our students perform very well on placement and a number of firms return to us year-on-year to source BU placement students.

• Mazars
• IBM
• CC Young
• Charles Stanley
• GE
• FP Wealth Management
• EDF Trading
• Morgan Stanley
• JP Morgan
• Prescient
• Norwegian Cruise Lines.

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website. 

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

We encourage applicants who have a real interest in accounting principles and concepts. Students on this course will have a proven ability to work effectively in teams as well as individually when completing assignments.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application; there are usually no interviews or selection activities needed. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

Your learning across accounting, complemented by options to specialise in particular areas, means this course can open up a wide variety of opportunities.

Graduates work for a broad spectrum of organisations, taking up roles such as:

Account Officer
Business Development Adviser
Accountant or Finance Executive
Business Analyst
Capital Management Analyst
Audit Associate. 

The skills you learn stand you in good stead for your continuing professional development too – giving you more control over your career direction.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master’s degrees.

Research degrees 

If you are a BU graduate you are eligible for a 20% ‘loyalty’ discount on the published fees for further programmes with us!  

Depending on your qualifications and experiences, you can choose to undertake a MRes or PhD level research degree. Bournemouth University has a strong accounting research foundation within our Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics through a number of research centres, which explores theory, education and professional practice. 

Visit our postgraduate research courses for further details about research degree options with the Bournemouth University Business School and the funding options available. 

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity.

• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study.
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances.
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

​Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses.
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website. 
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately.
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
• Travel costs for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
• SportBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

Dr Hany Elbardan has a PhD in accounting (Brunel University), MSc and BSc (Hons) in accounting (Alexandria University). He is a Principal Academic in Accounting & Finance in the Business School within Bournemouth University. In addition to his university work, he acted as a consultant at GHEM consultants, UK (2015-2017).  

His research interests include accounting, accounting information systems, ERP systems, internal and external auditing, internal control, risk management, managerial accounting and Corporate Governance. He has published his research in refereed international journals such as Information Systems Management, Journal of Enterprise Information Management and Journal of applied accounting research. Hany is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, Journal of Organizational Studies and Innovation and Organisational Studies and Innovation Review.  

Alan is the leader of the TRIBUTE tax research group. His current research interests are: business taxation; tax accounting; measurement of corporate tax planning risk and the effects of tax avoidance on firm value; pension tax and accounting; tax havens; personal tax; taxation of financial institutions and environmental tax.