BA (Hons) Forensic Accounting

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Forensic accounting is financial detective work. It combines accounting, IT, legal, and investigative skills. Professionals often work on fraud and hidden asset investigations, valuations, dispute resolution, and act as expert witnesses in court.

In the first year of this ACCA and ICAEW-accredited Forensic Accounting degree, you will take the same modules as the BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance degree giving you a solid grounding in the principles of accounting. In years two and three you’ll focus on applying forensic accounting techniques whilst continuing with the core accounting subjects. You’ll also learn from our computer forensic experts and use specialist digital analysis software, IDEA.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has fully accredited this course, so you can gain up to the maximum exemptions from a professional qualification when you graduate, subject to modules studied. We are also a recognised Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) ‘Partner in Learning’ and, depending on your module choices, you could gain exemptions from ICAEW, with further exemptions offered towards Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) examinations.

We work with local employers to offer valuable work placements, where you can practice your new technical skills and understand the realities of the workplace. A placement will also contribute to your degree.

Learn more about Accounting and Finance courses at USW:

Professional Accounting and Finance Courses Brochure

Accredited by

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2022
2023

UCAS Code	Study Mode 2022	Duration	Start Date	Campus	Campus Code
N490	Full-time	3 Years	September	Treforest	A
N/A	Part-time	6 Years	September	Treforest	A
N491	Sandwich	4 Years	September	Treforest	A

UCAS Code	Study Mode 2023	Duration	Start Date	Campus	Campus Code
N490	Full-time	3 Years	September	Treforest	A
N/A	Part-time	6 Years	September	Treforest	A
N491	Sandwich	4 Years	September	Treforest	A

What you will study

Your first year on the Forensic Accounting degree includes financial and management accounting, an introduction to finance, Statistical techniques and data analysis for accounting, the business environment, and business and corporate law. Year two covers the principles of forensic accounting, financial crime investigation and develops your knowledge of financial reporting and management accounting. You will study financial management and undertake a specialist employability module, where you will have the opportunity to gain the CIMA-accredited Sage Accounting Certificate. Sage is the UK’s biggest accounting software provider.

You will specialise further in your final year, with modules on forensic accounting and the expert witness, and fraud examination. You can also choose optional modules from a range of subjects, including advanced financial reporting, business analysis, and cases in auditing and taxation.

Year One - Forensic Accounting degree

Your first year includes the core disciplines of financial accounting, management accounting, an introduction to finance, quantitative techniques for accounting, the business environment, and business and corporate law. You can also gain the CIMA accredited Sage Accounting Certificate. Sage is the UK’s biggest accounting software provider. For students who do not have prior relevant work experience, the employability module incorporates a live brief where you will work on a real life problem and have the opportunity to interact with external organisations, enabling you to become instantly more employable, learning both profession-specific as well as more general work-related skills.

Financial Accounting
Management Accounting
Data Analysis and Computerised Accounting
Business Environment for Forensic Accounting
Personal Financial Planning
Business and Corporate Law

Year Two - Forensic Accounting degree

Year two covers the principles of forensic accounting and develops your knowledge of financial reporting and management accounting. You’ll study financial management, audit and undertake a specialist employability module where you will develop your Excel spread-sheet skills, work on some of the softer skills that employers require and benefit from an impressive range of guest speakers.

Financial Reporting
Management Accounting for Planning and Control
Financial Management (Optional)
Audit and Fraud Risk Management
Principles of Forensic Accounting
Financial Crime Investigation
Cases in Audit (Optional)
Work Placement Year

Year Three - Forensic Accounting degree

You’ll specialise further in your final year, with modules on forensic accounting and the expert witness, and fraud investigation. You can also choose optional modules from a range of subjects, including advanced financial reporting, business analysis, taxation and cases in auditing.

Core modules

Advanced Financial Reporting (Optional)
Information for Decision Making and Financial Management (Optional)
Taxation (Optional)
Strategic Business Partner (Optional)
Professional Development in Forensic Accounting
Fraud Examination
The Expert Witness and Financial Crime
Cyber Crime and Valuation
Risk and Governance (Optional)

Option availability will be subject to student demand

Foundation Year

The BA (Hons) Forensic Accounting is also available as a four year course including an integrated Foundation Year, and is designed for students who do not currently meet admissions criteria for direct entry onto the degree.

You will start by completing a foundation year, which provides well structured support, allowing you to develop your skills and knowledge before continuing onto the three year degree programme. For more information please email [email protected]

Teaching

Our student-focused approach is a great way to engage with the subject, the tutors and your fellow students. You will be taught through workshops, seminars and innovative e-learning techniques. Alongside teaching from qualified accountants with years of industry experience, you will also learn from staff in the Faculty of Advanced Technology. With access to the latest forensic hardware and software in their specially configured labs, you will benefit from our staff who investigate cases for local and national police forces, business, and government.

As well as our links with ACCA, you will benefit from regular presentations from guest lecturers representing many aspects of the profession. Throughout your course you will get practical experience of the accounting, auditing, and general software packages you will use after you graduate – another skill to add to your CV.

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.

Course details

Placements

You will be encouraged to undertake short work placements throughout your degree and can also apply for a one year work placement after your second year of study or short-term placement (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. These longer work placements are offered with a number of organisations, and in recent years this has included Atradius – one of the world’s largest credit insurers, Alcatel-Lucent – a global communications industry leader, and the Welsh Government. Names like this on your CV will certainly help you stand out from the crowd.

Facilities

The University of South Wales’ accounting students have access to a financial Trading Room including state-of-the-art computer hardware and software.

The Trading Room add an experiential dimension to the accounting and finance courses, allowing simulation of share dealing and decision making incorporating theory and practice.Through the simulations, you will experience the dynamic and exciting environment of real-time trading in the classroom. You will learn and experience firsthand the complex strategies associated with buying and selling, understand the volatility and fluctuations of the market and the uncertainty of risk. You will be able to assess your individual performance and compete against fellow students. This will give you a range of skills and tools to take into the workplace, ready for a successful career.

Lecturers

Kristy Elias, Course Leader

Many of our staff are professionally qualified accountants and financial planning professionals who have a wealth of experience in teaching accounting and finance at all levels, including preparation for the examinations of professional accounting bodies. Many of our accounting lecturers are members of our Business Accountability and Responsibility Centre (BARC).

We regularly revalidate courses for quality assurance and enhancement

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.

Entry requirements

The entry criteria below shows the qualification range within which the University will make offers. The University has a Contextual Admissions Policy, therefore, whilst most offers we make are at the top of the range, under the Policy we take certain aspects of an application into consideration and eligible UCAS applicants can receive a personalised offer or have results considered individually when you receive them.  Here is a link to our Contextual Admissions Policy Statement.

Combinations of qualifications are acceptable and other qualifications not listed here may also be acceptable.

Please note that whilst this course does not require a DBS Check for entry, some professions will not consider candidates who have certain types of criminal convictions. Therefore, if you have a criminal conviction and you are considering a particular career path we would recommend that you check with the relevant professional body or refer to their recruitment policy to make sure that your conviction will not disadvantage you.

Typical A-Level Offer

BCC - CDD (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points).

Typical AAT Offer
AAT Level 3 for 1st year entry or AAT level 4 for direct 2nd year entry onto the degree

Typical Welsh BACC Offer

Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C/D in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BC - CD at A Level (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points).

Typical BTEC Offer

BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit - Merit Merit Pass (this is equivalent to 112-80 UCAS tariff points).

Typical IB Offer

Pass the International Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum score of 29 overall including 5 or above in English at standard level

Typical Access to HE Offer

Pass the Access to HE Diploma and obtain a minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points.

Additional Requirements

GCSEs: 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 Entry Requirements

We also welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications. Please visit the country specific pages on our international website for exact details.

English Requirements

In general, international applicants will need to have achieved an overall IELTS grade of 6.0 with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component.

However, if you have previously studied through the medium of English IELTS might not be required, but please visit the country specific page on our international website for exact details. If your country is not featured please contact us.

Fees and funding

Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee will remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course

August 2022 - July 2023 Fees

Full-time UK: £9000
Full-time International: £13700
Part-time UK: £720 per 20 credits

August 2023 - July 2024 Fees

Full-time UK: TBC
Full-time International: TBC
Part-time UK: TBC

Student Perks

At the University of South Wales, you’re investing in so much more than a degree. We strive to provide our students with the best possible experience, no matter what you chose to study. Whether it’s access to top of the range mac books and PCs, state-of-the-art facilities packed with industry-leading equipment and software, masterclasses and events led by industry experts, or a wide range of clubs and societies to meet likeminded people, better tomorrows start with extra perks.

Each course also has their own unique student benefits to prepare you for the real word, and details of these can be found on our course pages. From global field trips, integrated work experience and free course-related resources, to funded initiatives, projects working with real employers, and opportunities for extra qualifications and accreditations - at USW your future, is future-proofed.

Click here to learn more about student perks at USW.

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

Item	Cost
Professional Memberships:	£90 - £120	Yrs. 1-3 (plus year 4 if undertaking a placement year) : £30 annual membership fee of ACFE.
Placement expenses:	£0 - £500	The exact cost of any attending any placement is dependent upon the it's 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).
Other: Text books	£300	Texts are available in the library, but students may wish to purchase their own books.
Additional assessment or memberships: Student membership of professional bodies	£20	Reduced fee membership of ACCA "Accelerate" scheme. Normally £79 but we have a special fee of £20.
Other: Travel Costs for Work placements	£0 - £500	Placement Year. Travel costs depend on placement location

Application tips

UK students

Apply via UCAS if you are a UK residing applicant, applying for year one of a full-time undergraduate degree, Foundation Year, Foundation Degree or HND and you have not applied through UCAS before. If you are applying to study part-time, to top up your Foundation Degree or HND, or to transfer to USW from another institution, please apply directly.

International and EU students

Apply directly to the University if you live outside the UK.

Admissions statement

Careers

Forensic accountants are in demand all over the world. Thanks to a shortage of people with relevant specialist skills, graduates from the Forensic Accounting course can expect to be well paid for their talents. Forensic accountants work for accounting firms, banks, insurance companies and law firms. You will also possess general accounting skills, so you will have the same career opportunities as accounting and finance graduates.

To give you a head start following graduation the University organises an annual employability conference for its accounting students. Previous attendees have included PwC, Eversheds, JK Accountancy, Civitas Law and Watkins & Gunn.

Our Careers and Employability Service

As a USW student, you will have access to advice from the Careers and Employability Service throughout your studies and after you graduate.

This includes: one-to-one appointments from faculty based Career Advisers, in person, over the phone or even on Skype and through email via the "Ask a Question" service. We also have extensive online resources for help with considering your career options and presenting yourself well to employers. Resources include psychometric tests, career assessments, a CV builder, interview simulator and application help. Our employer database has over 2,000 registered employers targeting USW students, you can receive weekly email alerts for jobs.

Our Careers service has dedicated teams: A central work experience team to help you find relevant placements; an employability development team which includes an employability programme called Grad Edge; and an Enterprise team focused on new business ideas and entrepreneurship.