An Accounting & Finance degree focuses on the management of monetary resources available to an organization. Such a degree is aimed at students who want to pursue careers in investment analysis, management, banking, auditing, consulting and financial management. It teaches students how to assess the assets and liabilities of an organization financially and manage the financial risk of their activity.
Accounting & Finance covers the core areas of financial accounting, management accounting and finance but also includes other aspects of the business activity, such as financial management and control, corporate finance, company accounts, investment and business law. Optional module options provided by different universities around the world often allow students to specialize in a particular area such as auditing, taxation, etc.
The completion of an Accounting & Finance degree comes along with numerous benefits. Students develop strong analytical, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are highly demanded by employers in both the private and the public sector and result in graduates often finding employment in large multinational organizations that offer professional services such as PwC, KPMG and Deloitte. On top of that, established companies around the world offer excellent and well-structured graduate schemes, which help Accounting & Finance graduates to kick-start their careers.
Accounting & Finance degrees are mostly practically oriented. They allow students to put the knowledge and skills they acquire on a daily basis to practice through simulated and real-life business accounts management and work placement opportunities.
Most Accounting & Finance degrees are professionally accredited by professional bodies, such as ACCA, AIA, CIMA, ICAEW and CIPFA, which provides students with the opportunity to become chartered accountants. Students gain professional qualifications in accountancy, which eliminates the need for additional certifications after graduation.
Due to the nature of the Accounting & Finance Degree, which complements business-related subjects, students often have the opportunity to complete a joint honours degree.
An Accounting & Finance degree’s duration varies depending on the country and degree level. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, Bachelor’s degrees in Accounting & Finance can be completed in three years. However, universities also offer students the option to take a sandwich course, which allows them to undertake a year-long placement between their second and third year, which extends the course to four years. Four years is the regular time of completion of this degree in other countries, such as the United States.
The first year of a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Finance introduces the core principles of accounting and finance, including financial accounting, management accounting and finance as well as economics and business law. The second year’s focus is usually on managerial and business economics, financial control, corporate finance and company accounts, but optional modules might enable students to pursue their interests in other aspects of Accounting & Finance such as auditing or strategic business analysis. At this point, students studying at Higher Education Institutions in the UK could choose to take an industry placement in order to apply the theoretical concepts and the acquired knowledge to practice in the professional environment. The next stage of this degree is dedicated to further-developing students’ knowledge of financial and management accounting. Optional modules might enable students to specialize in a particular area of their choice such as auditing or taxation in some countries like the UK.
Masters’ degrees in Accounting & Finance usually take between 12 and 18 months to complete depending on the country that students choose for their studies.
Research-based degrees, such as MPhil and PhD, can take anywhere between 1 and 7 years depending on the country and type of degree. MPhil degrees in Accounting & Finance in the UK usually take 12 months if it is studied full-time and 24 months for part-time studies. PhD degrees in the UK, on the other hand, take about 36 months to complete if studying full-time and 72 months for a part-time program. In the US, students may be required to dedicate between 4 and 7 years on their degree.
It’s a great environment, an amazing library and a good location to be a student. You can’t really complain.
It’s motivating to be a student here as you feel looked after by the staff and it’s very friendly.
View moreThe online program was not complicated and engaged the students completely. The online platform was easy to use, textbook provided by the university was the best general study guide as well. The tutorials in the program were short but covered the main key points needed to pass the exam. The tutors also made the tutorials simple to understand, and would always answer all your queries and questions and make sure you understand. The classes for my degree were all relevant and the knowledge learnt will be useful throughout life.
Being an online program did make it difficult to actually get motivated to study, as it was all up to you if you wanted to study or not, no one would tell you or push you to study.
The school could improve by adding weekly online classes to the program and giving out small weekly assignments that have to be done by the students, this would motivate them and make the students put more effort into the course.
Due to it being online, there wasn’t a normal student life. You could actually work a full-time job and study on the side.
The online course is done worldwide, I actually did it in Kenya. Hence I would say the university is very international.
I would definitely recommend anyone to study there, especially if they want to study while working. Also, the fees are very affordable, and there isn’t as much stress put on you.
Getting a degree from a prestigious university like this one has a massive positive impact on your career prospects as the university is well recognized both internationally and locally. Due to finishing my degree just recently, I haven’t yet got a job in the field I studied, but I am confident I’ll be able to get one soon.
The program is really strong. The best thing is that it is available for everyone not only in London. You can be a part of it in many different countries. All of the material is available online. I know it will open a lot of career opportunities for me and this is the best thing even though it is really hard. And the certificate will be accepted everywhere in the world. I really suggest people who are interested in having good knowledge to go through this bachelors.
View morePrior to enrolling into LSE, I understood about the high percentage of international students, in a sense this can be seen as a positive by helping the school increase its diversity as well educating ourselves by meeting students from different cultures and backgrounds. In Academia, I would rate my school very highly since some of my lecturers are leading researchers in their respective fields. Similarly, when it comes to classes I was somewhat surprised to find that majority of the teachers are in fact PhD students, personally, I would prefer a professor when it comes to answering my questions or a better explanation of a certain area. I would greatly like to emphasize the career service of my school since it offers a wide range of workshops such as cv prep or mock interviews when trying to land internships or graduate roles. By using this service has helped me land a volunteering role at a charity in itself. On the other hand, some ways to improve my school is to include more non-alcoholic events such as in pubs or bars. Overall I would rate my first term as inspiring and a great learning curve for my journey at this uni.
View moreIt’s a decent uni but like I hate the student life here. I came to this uni a normal person but now 2 years later I’m getting treatment for depression. Career prospects are good but it’s really hard to make friends. I wish I went to less competitive uni where people were less about themselves.
View moreA great, diverse university with several budding Financial and Political sphere leaders. Whilst professors are great some teachers struggle to teach effectively as most of them are research students in their Masters/PhD years. School cafeterias have been improving but still lack the quality of catering in other prominent London universities. Accommodations are great. Career services are only useful to a certain extent, never come with the expectation that you’re guaranteed a job if you attend LSE ( especially if you’re not from the UK)
View moreExcellent academic staff and wonderful guidance all-around to succeed on the course! However, finishing a 9-month MSc course can be very challenging and does not leave room for more development in a career, or have an interactive class!
View moreCampus life is different at LSE compared to a campus university. Living in central London, there is a lot to learn, especially how to hustle and survive busy city life. However, the LSE campus has everything required by a student: a library that meets every student’s requirement, a student service center and a wellbeing center for any issue a student has and a faculty that can solve any academic issue that students are going through.
View moreLSE is a very great university with many opportunities for personal development especially if you aspire to be a future leader!
I would definitely recommend LSE for anyone who wants a career in Social Sciences!
By the end of my degree, I realised how much the university was overrated. I did get a first-class but I did not enjoy the school. Social life was not what I had wished for. But of course, there is always a price to pay, if you want a good name LSE is a place to be but if you want a good degree and enjoy yourself concurrent consider a different school.
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