Accounting and Finance
You will gain a solid grounding in the core elements of accounting and finance, ensuring you are well prepared for a variety of accountancy careers after graduation. Our students have the chance to gain a CIMA-accredited certificate in Sage, which is the UK’s biggest accounting software provider and also learn from experts in our real-life securities trading room.
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Key Course Details
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UCAS Code
N420
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Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,535*
International students
£15,850*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
-
Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
-
Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£785*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
-
UCAS Code
N421
-
Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
-
Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,535*
International students
£15,850*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
Prepare for a future in professional practice, industry or finance with real world experiences and industry insights through our Multi-Accredited Accounting and Finance degree.
DESIGNED FOR
Students interested in gaining a solid grounding in the core elements of accounting and finance, gain professional accreditation and looking to be well prepared for a variety of accountancy and finance related careers.
Career paths:
- Chartered Accountant in the profession
- Financial Planning
- Company Accountant
- Tax Accounting
- Auditing
- Management consulting
- Entrepreneurship
- Trader or stockbroker
In collaboration with:
- The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
- Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
- Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA)
- Sage, the UK’s biggest accounting software provider
Skills taught:
- Analytical thinking
- Computer literacy
- Auditing and assurance
- Data analysis
- Financial planning
- Problem solving
Course Highlights
Module Overview
Enjoy learning all aspects of finance and accounting in practical ways, including in our software labs, trading room and workshops. Our course has been designed to offer a varied approach to the curriculum that will shape skills for students to work in a variety of industries when they graduate.
Year One
Financial Accounting
Personal Financial Planning
Management Accounting
The Business Environment for Accountants
Business and Corporate Law
Data Analysis and Computerised Accounting
Year Two
Financial Reporting
Management Accounting for planning and control
Financial Management
Digital Accounting and Taxation
Auditing and Assurance
Professional Development in Accounting & Finance
Year Three
Advanced Financial Reporting
Information for Decision-Making and Control
Strategic Business Partner (a Business Analysis module)
Taxation
Your first year will focus on financial accounting, management accounting, financial planning, and data analysis. You’ll also learn about the business environment, and corporate law and have the opportunity to gain the CIMA-accredited Sage Accounting Certificate.
Financial Accounting
Learn to record, summarise and report on transactions that happen within a business and present financial information including a balance sheet and profit and loss statement.
Personal Financial Planning
This module aims to develop an awareness of the financial environment in relation to both personal financial planning and the financial services sector.
Management Accounting
Learn the techniques of costing and management accounting, whilst putting your strategic decision-making to the test in this hands-on module.
The Business Environment for Accountants
This module covers the role of an accountant in many different business environments and explores the responsibilities that accountants need to take on.
Business and Corporate Law
The module will develop knowledge and skills in the understanding of the legal framework that applies in England and Wales with a focus on specific areas of law relating to business and finance
Data Analysis and Computerised Accounting
Learn data analysis and quantitative methods relating to accounting and finance. Through the use of software, you will combine knowledge from other modules to create, manipulate and analyse data and information.
You’ll look at financial reporting, performance measurement and control, audit and assurance, financial management and digital accounting. You’ll also work on live business projects with external organisations and hear from guest speakers.
Financial Reporting
You will develop an understanding of financial reporting standards and techniques and then apply such techniques and understanding in the preparation and analysis of financial statements.
Management Accounting for planning and control
Collect, analyse and present financial information for wider business decision making, performance measurement and the management of costs and revenues.
Financial Management
Gain an advanced understanding of financing issues, financial instruments/risk and the concepts and techniques of financial management, preparing you for financial management roles.
Digital Accounting and Taxation
Learn digital accounting and taxation including HMRC compliant software for the processing of taxes and financial accounting.
Auditing and Assurance
Learn to verify or debunk the information on a company's financial reports for auditing and evaluate the processes that lead to financial data with assurance.
Professional Development in Accounting & Finance
Here you develop your employability, benefitting from guest speakers on various aspects of the recruitment process and also work in small teams on live projects with real world businesses.
The final year looks at some more advanced aspects of accounting along with specialist optional modules, including forensic accounting and financial trading and investment. You’ll also prepare yourself for the graduate recruitment process and have the opportunity to work on a research project.
Advanced Financial Reporting
Explore more recent and current developments in financial reporting and more advanced aspects, including group accounting and capital instruments.
Information for Decision-Making and Control
Explore how to contribute and critically evaluate the decision-making process at all levels within an organisation.
Strategic Business Partner (a Business Analysis module)
Discover what it takes to become a strategic business partner, applying business strategy theory within a wider business structure.
Taxation
Learn all about tax and taxation including the preparation of tax calculations and providing tax planning advice.
You will also choose to study two further optional modules from: Professional Development in Accounting & Finance 2, Financial Trading and Investment, and Forensic Accounting.
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
You’ll learn the core elements of accounting and finance through engaging workshops and computer lab sessions. We pride ourselves on having small class sizes, giving our students the chance to speak out and ask questions in confidence. This coupled with our open-door policy means you’re always welcome to share your thoughts. For a final year optional module, you will also get access to a Financial Trading Room with state-of-the-art computer software and live data from the city. This adds a new dimension to your learning, allowing simulation of share dealing and decision-making, incorporating theory and practice.
Assessment
Most modules are assessed by a combination of examination and coursework. There is a variety of coursework – helping you develop your employability skills through the use of IT, preparing written reports, and giving presentations.
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Placements and work experience
You’ll have the opportunity to apply for a one-year work placement after your second year of study or a shorter placement of up to three months between your second and third year. It’s a great option if you want a mixture of academic and practical learning, teaching and assessment.
Recent work placements have included work at one of the world’s largest credit insurers, Atradius, global communications leader Alcatel-Lucent, and the Welsh Government. Having the opportunity to work at companies like these will help your CV stand out from the crowd.
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Teaching staff
You'll be learning from professionally qualified accountants, subject specialists and financial planning professionals who have the skills and knowledge to give you a competitive career advantage. You’ll work closely with our staff who have a wealth of industry/profession experience, hold consultancy and professional accountancy body roles and many years of experience in teaching accounting and finance at all levels, including preparation for the examinations of professional accounting bodies.
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Facilities
Our accounting students get access to a financial Trading Room with state-of-the-art computer hardware, software, and live data from the city. This practical way of learning means you’re exposed to a working environment as you learn how to navigate the financial world. You’ll learn first-hand the complex strategies associated with buying and selling and understand the volatility and fluctuations of the market and the uncertainty of risk. Most lectures and classroom sessions will be held at The Pontypridd Campus in Treforest, just a 20-minute drive from Cardiff.
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UCAS Points: 112 (or above)
Typical qualification requirements:
- A Level: BBC
- AAT: Level 3 for 1st year entry or Level 4 for direct 2nd year entry.
- Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales grade B/C with BB-BC at A Level.
- BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit.
- Access to HE: Pass the Access to HE Diploma and obtain a minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points.
- T Level: Pass (C and above)
Additional Requirements:
The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.
English language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£9,535
per year*£15,850
per year*£15,850
per year*£785
per 20 credits*ADDITIONAL COSTS
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
*Obligatory
The exact cost of attending any placement is dependent upon the its location in relation to the student's place of residence, mode of transportation etc. and therefore cannot be determined at this moment in time. Furthermore, depending upon the placement the student may need to purchase suitable attire (e.g. a suit or formal clothing).
Cost: Up to £300
Some additional text books may need to be purchased
Cost: Up to £300
Reduced fee membership of ACCA "Accelerate" scheme. Normally £79 but we have a special fee of £20
Cost: £20
Placement Year. Travel costs depend on placement location
Cost: Up to £300
Work, earn and learn!
This course is also available through Network75, a combined work and study route.
Learn moreUniversity Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
How to apply
All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS. You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time.)
- September 2025 Part-time
- September 2025 Sandwich
- September 2026 Full-time
- September 2026 Part-time
- September 2025 Full-time
- September 2026 Sandwich
Advanced entry
If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.
International admissions
International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.
Life at USW
Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations. If you don’t want to live near the campus, there are great transport links to keep you connected.
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