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University of Oxford
speciality: Accounting & Finance

2.3

What is an Accounting & Finance degree?

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.

Benefits of an Accounting & Finance degree

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.

Accounting & Finance Degree Structure

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.

3 Student Reviews

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  • Accounting and ...
    Management Information Systems
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    Not like you thought

    Absolutely appalling place where bullying, victimization, harassment and beliefism are the rule. The only thing you get from Oxford is a degree. This place is run by cliques of speakers who have all known each other for over twenty years, and cover each other. Misogyny is pretty normal too. If you dare to raise a concern, everything will be done to hide it and silence you. Retaliation awaits if you dare say anything and many professors fundamentally despise students who, after all, are just cash cows. At Oxford, the house rules and rule of all are for purely decorative purposes and don’t be fooled by all the PRs: they don’t care about women, or students in general. At Oxford, only two things matter: a) extracting your fees b) maintaining their reputation.

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    Programme: Accounting and Management Information Systems
    Degree: Master's
    Graduation: 2022
    Delivery Type: Online
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  • Accounting and ...
    Management
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    My experience as an international student

    Hi everyone, this is my first review. A friend asked me to share some of my experiences. Everyone imagines Oxford as an enchanted world where everything goes well and there are only brilliant people. This is not at all the reality.

    I had good and bad teachers. I met good and bad students. There weren’t many internationals in my time and I felt a lot of discrimination, not always negative. Oxford was divided between English students and outsiders. Hence I don’t have many English friends and many of my best friends are Polish. I know Oxford has improved a lot since my time so I don’t think my experience at all reflects Oxford as it is today.

    My advice is to take advantage of all that Oxford has to offer. From the rowing club to the consulting club everything is a networking opportunity that is the true value of oxford.

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    Programme: Accounting and Management
    Degree: Master's
    Graduation: 2000
    Delivery Type: On Campus
    Campus: Oxford
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  • Accounting and ...
    Management Information Systems
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    Why I made a mistake

    I had an interesting time as a student at Oxford, not all was awful but I always felt I was treated differently. I think students should be aware that going to an Oxbridge university is not all perfect. I was not happy and I always felt I was being treated as a number. I received a better education at LSE and never felt I was an outsider.

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    Programme: Accounting and Management Information Systems
    Degree: Bachelor's
    Graduation: 2022
    Delivery Type: On Campus
    Campus: Oxford
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