Develop specialist accounting and finance skills, and learn to apply them in an organisational context.
2018/19 entry
NN4F
Y50
4 years full-time
£9,250 per year (2018/19)
£16,620 per year (2018/19)
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Find out moreAccounting is the language of business. It gives managers, investors and governments the information they need to make financially-sound decisions.
In the increasingly complex modern business environment, there is a high demand for skilled professionals who can work flexibly in teams across business boundaries. You’ll need strategic focus and the ability to influence decision making and apply judgement responsibly.
This course places accounting and finance skills in a broader business context. You’ll gain the technical skills and problem solving abilities you might expect from an accounting and finance programme, but will have also have the opportunity to develop strong communication skills, a broad commercial awareness and a critical approach to business problems. An industry placement lets you put theory into practice and will give you valuable experience working in an accounting or finance role.
Accredited by a number of professional bodies, this academically challenging and vocationally relevant degree is an ideal stepping stone into careers in accountancy and management.
This course is available as a three-year degree, without a year in industry: Accounting, Business Finance and Management (BSc).
This degree is professionally accredited by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
These professional accreditations enable our graduates to claim exemption from a number of Professional Stage papers of the ICAEW and CIMA syllabuses.
Gain management-related experience, apply your academic knowledge and improve your employability with an integrated year in industry.
Our modules are taught by leading researchers in the field.
Our business and management, accounting and finance degrees share some common elements in Year 1 to introduce you to the core concepts underpinning these key disciplines. As you progress, you'll develop the knowledge and skills acquired in your first year, giving both depth and breadth to your learning.
In your third year, you'll undertake a 12-month paid placement in industry. You'll develop your understanding of business and management, apply the theories you've learned and enhance your employability.
By the end of your course you'll have a good understanding of accounting and finance practices, and how they relate to business and management.
Immerse yourself in another culture for a few weeks or the whole summer on a short course, volunteering programme, or career-related summer school.
Year 1 introduces you to business and management, and some of the key concepts and techniques used in accounting and finance.
Solving International Management Problems gives you a broad overview of key concepts that you may choose to specialise in later. You'll use creativity and teamwork to develop key academic skills including presentation, resilience, reflection research and problem-solving.
Foundations of Business Ethics explores the theories and practices of business ethics and social responsibility in national and global contexts. You'll also investigate the personal ethical dilemmas which people may face in business.
Financial Accounting will enable you to prepare and interpret financial statements and consider how these may be used in practice.
Quantitative Methods will teach you methods of empirical enquiry into accounting, finance and management. You'll develop your statistical research skills and learn about the advantages and limitations of quantitative techniques.
Business Economics covers economic principls as applied to the business environemtn. You'l study micro- and macro-economics, and the way in which these concepts improve our understanding of business.
Behaviour in Organisations I explores how people manage and organise in work contexts. You'll get a critical introduction to leading theorists, theories and studies. You'll engage with concepts such as motivation, rationalisation, power and control.
Management Accounting will introduce you to the key concepts underpinning management accounting. You'll learn about the tools managers use to inform financial decisions, and how they are used in practice.
In addition to the above you will also need to complete our online Academic Integrity module.
This module covers some of the essential skills and knowledge which will help you to study independently and produce work of a high academic standard which is vital for success at York.
This module will:
In Year 2 you'll develop your understanding further, and explore some new areas of study.
Advanced Quantitative Methods further develops the quantitative skills you encountered in Year 1. You'll learn how to use quantitative methods to solve research problems and to improve decision making.
Corporate Finance explores how firms manage financial resources to achieve their objectives. You'll investigate financial theory and analyse the impact of financial practice.
Financial Reporting develops your financial accounting knowledge from Year 1. You'll study some of the problems and techniques associated with the preparation of published financial statements.
Business Planning asks you to apply your learning to develop an idea for a new business venture. Working with colleagues, you'll prepare and present a detailed business plan.
Strategic Management explores the theories and practical approaches to strategic management. You'll focus on how organisations develop strategy and manage change in the context of a globalised economy.
Intermediate Management Accounting builds on the Management Accounting module you studied in Year 1. You'll learn the principles of designing and evaluating management accounting information systems.
Governance and Audit will introduce you to auditing, corporate governance and accountability processes.
You can also choose to add a placement in industry before your final year.
A year in industry gives you the opportunity to apply your academic learning to a real-life business. Salaries for these placements are typically £14,000 - £18,000, but have been as high as £45,000.
Our dedicated Placements Office advertise hundreds of vacancies each year. You can find placements in all sorts of industries, all over the world. If you have an idea of where you'd like to work, our team can support you in finding a suitable position. In recent years placements have included:
In your final year you can choose optional modules to develop new skills, take a closer look at topics you're familiar with, or investigate an interesting subject in detail. You'll take four core modules, plus two optional modules or a dissertation based on an original research project.
Be aware that the modules you choose may affect which professional accreditations you qualify for.
The dissertation is completed over the whole year. If you choose to undertake a dissertation you will not take optional Spring/Summer modules.
A dissertation draws on the knowledge and skills you have developed throughout your degree. You'll collect and analyse empirical data to illuminate or solve a complex issue or problem in the field of accounting, business finance and management. You'll write a longer and more complex document, sustaining a well-reasoned argument and drawing sound conclusions.
Core
Advanced Financial Reporting expands the skills you've developed over the last two years. You'll cover advanced financial reporting techniques and discuss emerging issues and debates.
Capital Markets examines the development of financial markets, their role, and the assets traded upon them. You'll discuss new financial instruments, explore risk and regulation, and critically evaluate the globalisation of international finance.
Core
Critical Perspectives on Accounting and Finance evaluates the role of accounting and the accounting profession in society. You'll discuss theoretical perspectives and a range of alternative approaches to financial reporting practice.
Management Accounting and Control Systems will deepen your understanding of management accounting. You'll explore the nature, evolution and development of systems for performance management and control.
Choose two from the following options:
Company Law looks at some principles of English law which have an impact on business. You'll be introduced to the English legal system, consider different legal structures which business organisations can adopt, and examine aspects of employment law, contract law and negligence.
Strategic Management of Risk will develop your understanding of the strategic role of risk management. You'll learn about the organisational and cultural aspects of risk perception, communication and assessment, and critically evaluate key approaches to the management of risk in a global context.
Taxation Systems examines underlying principles and the application of these principles in relation to income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, national insurance and VAT in the UK.
International and Comparative Employment Relations introduces theoretical perspectives and concepts used to compare and analyse employment relations. You'll apply your knowledge to compare the nature of employment relations in different countries.
Decision and Information Analysis gives you an overview of the tools, operational research, information systems and intelligent systems used to support effective decision making. You'll consider theories of decision making, investigate case studies, identify managerial biases, and design and evaluate decision support systems.
Business Consultancy Project
This module gives you the opportunity to put the knowledge you've developed over the past three years into practice. Your team will work with a real business to define and investigate a problem, before presenting your recommendations in a final report.
Corporate Governance and Social Accountability examines corporate governance from a number of theoretical perspectives. You'll analyse the role of the corporation in modern society, critique the nature and process of socially responsible management, and evaluate the effectiveness of accountability structures.
Managing and Leading Change deconstructs the concept of change as it relates to management areas such as organisational behaviour, strategy and operations. You'll develop deeper and more challenging ways of understanding and critically evaluating organisational change.
Management of Technology looks at a wide range of technologies and organisations. You'll develop your understanding of the role and importance of technology, learn how technology and innovation relate to one another, and learn to evaluate technologies and their management.
Managing for Diversity addresses exclusionary practices, prejudice and exploitation found in the workplace. Using a range of intellectual approaches, you'll consider how different groups may be marginalised, identify structural barriers to equality, and reflect on the implications for you own future practice as a manager.
Behavioural Finance explores how human behaviour affects financial decision making. You'll examine behavioural biases and analyse their effects on corporate finance decisions.
Financial Econometrics improves your analytical skills through rigorous econometric reasoning. You'll develop your theoretical and practical knowledge, skills of interpretation and hypothesis-testing, and understanding of stochastic processes and different estimation methods.
Real Options Valuation will help you understand how to make corporate finance decisions when the timing of the investment is flexible.
Please note, modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff.
Every course at York has been designed to provide clear and ambitious learning outcomes. These learning outcomes give you an understanding of what you will be able to do at the end of the course. We develop each course by designing modules that grow your abilities towards the learning outcomes and help you to explain what you can offer to employers. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.
When I was deciding on which University to apply to, I always felt that graduating with a year’s experience from a large American Investment Bank would certainly help my CV stand out. York is a target university for Morgan Stanley, so employees of the bank regularly visit the Management School to offer careers advice and attend CV and Assessment Centre Workshops.Angus, BSc Accounting, Business Finance and Management
| UK/EU | International |
|---|---|
| £9,250 | £16,620 |
You may find it useful to buy textbooks, and for some modules this may be required. Textbooks usually cost around £30 - £60 each.
UK/EU or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK, EU or international student.
For more information about tuition fees, any reduced fees for study abroad and work placement years, scholarships, tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and living costs see undergraduate fees and funding.
We offer a number of scholarships to help cover tuition fees and living costs.
You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers accommodation costs and estimated social costs.
You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.
We focus on teaching the skills and expertise that employers want. We use practical problems and case studies from our industrial partners to ensure our modules are relevant to modern industry. Our passionate tutors' research-led teaching puts you at the forefront of current issues in business and management.
We use a wide range of teaching methods to suit different learning styles, including:
Our courses are designed to encourage you to take responsibility for your own learning and development, but with all the support you need available from our academics.
As a guide, students on this course typically spend their time as follows:
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures and seminars | 168 hours | 156 hours | 0 hours | 156 hours |
| Placement | 0 hours | 0 hours | 1200 hours | 0 hours |
The figures above are based on data from 2016/17.
The rest of your time on the course will be spent on independent study. This may include preparation for lectures and seminars, follow-up work, wider reading, practice completion of assessment tasks, or revision.
Everyone learns at a different rate, so the number of hours will vary from person to person. In UK higher education the expectation is that full-time students will spend 1200 hours a year learning.
You will be based in the Management School on Campus East. Most of your teaching will take place in the Law and Management building, with additional contact hours elsewhere on Campus East.
Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.
You will be assessed using a mixture of essays, projects and examinations. For some modules you'll produce reports, strategy documents or group presentations. This course puts greater emphasis on examinations in order to comply with the requirements of accreditation by the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales.
In your final year you will have some scope to choose forms of assessment that you prefer through selection of optional modules. You can pick modules which emphasise presentation skills, essay writing or exams. You could choose to work on an extended dissertation based on your own research and analysis of a current issue or problem in management.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written exams | 50% | 50% | 0% | 83% |
| Coursework | 50% | 48% | 0% | 17% |
| Practical exams | 0% | 2% | 100% | 0% |
The figures above are based on data from 2016/17.
I had a fantastic experience here. You have people around to support you and guide you whenever you find something difficult. They make sure that you understand how the academics can be applied, so you don't just understand the theory... I think that's really important.Narissa, BSc Accounting, Business Finance and Management
Our bespoke employability sessions help you identify and improve your skills. Our dedicated support team will help you to build an employability portfolio and to present yourself at your best for the next step of your career.
Our graduates go on to careers in all aspects of business and management. Many progress to postgraduate degrees at York and other leading universities.
Recent graduates' positions include:
As well as specific accounting skills and professional accreditation from a number of industry bodies, this course will help develop your skills of:
The thing about this degree programme is that it's very broad. In interviews I could talk about tax, I could talk about capital markets, I could talk about accounting... I really feel that gave me a good advantage.Luke, BSc Accounting, Business Finance and Management
| Qualification | Grade |
|---|---|
| A levels | AAB. We don't ask for specific combinations of A levels. We accept General Studies. |
| GCSEs | Mathematics grade 5 (B). We do not accept adult numeracy in lieu of GCSE Maths. |
| Access to Higher Education Diploma | 36 credits at Distinction and 9 credits at Merit or higher |
| BTEC | BTEC National Extended Diploma DDD |
| Cambridge Pre-U | D3, D3, M2 |
| International Baccalaureate | 35 points |
| Irish leaving Certificate | H2,H2,H2,H2,H3,H3 |
| Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers | AAAAB at Higher level and AB at Advanced Higher level |
If you're a non-native English speaking applicant you must provide evidence of your English language ability.
To apply to York, you will need to complete an online application via UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).
If you have faced obstacles to higher education, or you are returning to education after a long absence, you may benefit from the York Access Scheme.
We offer a range of campus accommodation to suit you and your budget, from economy to deluxe.
Explore campus and city life and hear what our current students have to say about living here.
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