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Accountants are best known for validating company accounts – auditing – but they also devise and operate financial systems, conduct investment analysis, advise on business start-ups, company takeovers and company rescue schemes, and handle individuals’ and corporations’ tax affairs.
Overview
At Kent Business School, our Accounting & Finance degrees respond to the needs of the modern accountancy profession. We offer the opportunity to spend a year on work placement, or to combine accounting with related subjects as part of a dual degree.
Our approach to teaching gives you the confidence and skills you need to follow the path that most interests you.
We have an excellent record of graduate employment with our graduates moving into a range of careers, including professional training in public practice (chartered accountancy) or in industry, commerce or the public sector, or financial services or general management.
Our programme is fully accredited by the professional accountancy bodies and provides several exemptions from professional accounting examinations. We also offer a qualifying taxation module, which is not available at many other UK universities.
Year in Industry
Professional work placements provide an enjoyable yet indispensable first-hand experience of the specific job function, organisation and industry you choose, deepening your understanding of how business really works before you enter the job market as a graduate.
With more students attending university, competition for graduate employment remains fierce, so by combining your business degree with relevant employment experience in a full time salaried placement provides you with a real competitive advantage.
Work placements take place between Stages 2 and 3 of your degree. Companies who have participated in the scheme in recent years include British Energy, BP, IBM, Sun Microsystems, KPMG, Lloyds TSB and Unilever.
For many of these companies, this is an ideal opportunity to discover new talent or to staff one-year projects by tapping into an international pool of dynamic students who have, by this time, already gained a consolidated knowledge and understanding of current business issues. For our students, it presents the chance to put theory into practice as well as make a valuable contribution to an organisation.
About Kent Business School
Studying at Kent Business School is an exciting life experience, especially if you are moving away from home. We have combined a solid academic portfolio with excellent accommodation options, as well as hosting plenty of social and cultural activities.
Kent Business School delivers a high standard of business education and is the largest department at the University of Kent. Our academic research and links with global business inform our teaching, ensuring a curriculum that is both rigorous and current. We are a top 30 UK business school for our academic teaching and student satisfaction.
Independent rankings
In the National Student Survey 2015, Accounting was placed in the top 20 in the UK for student satisfaction. In The Complete University Guide 2016, Accounting and Finance was ranked 4th overall in the south-east and in The Guardian University Guide 2016, it was ranked 12th in the UK for graduate career prospects.
Course structure
The course structure provides a sample of the modules available for this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
Year in industry
Students on the Year in Industry spend a year working between Stages 2 and 3 – we have a Placement Officer who can give advice and guidance. Industrial placements provide very valuable practical experience which combines well with academic study and enhances the employment prospects of graduates.
Teaching and assessment
Usually you spend eight hours in lectures and four hours in seminars each week. Some modules have a number of workshops or sessions in computer laboratories. Most of your modules involve individual study using Library resources.
Most modules have an end-of-year examination that contributes 70% to the final module mark; your coursework provides the remaining marks. Both Stage 2 and 3 marks count towards your final degree class (together with your marks from your year in industry, if applicable).
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- offer a structured opportunity to combine appropriate developmental work experience with academic study
- use the placement experience to develop and reflect on managerial and/or professional practice in real and often complex situations, and to integrate this with the study of the relevant subject(s) of the main programme
- where relevant, develop, reinforce and apply professional and / or technical expertise in an employment context.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- the subject in the context of the placement within a particular managed organisation
- contemporary practice and issues, deepening and/or integrating subject knowledge with practice, within the context of a year in industry.
Intellectual skills
You gain the following intellectual abilities:
- apply some of the skills specified for the main programme in practice
- analyse and draw reasoned conclusions about management problems and relatively complex situations by working in an organisational setting.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in the following:
- apply learnt skills specified for the required core in practice
- identify, formulate and analyse problems considering options and using appropriate subject tools
- communicate effectively, orally and in writing, about business, management and/or professional/technical matters.
Transferable skills
You gain transferable skills to:
- identify and make effective use of information from various sources to assess ideas
- be an effective self manager of time, so as to plan and deliver required outputs effectively
- communicate effectively orally and in writing, using media appropriate to the purpose
- work in groups effectively and apply other interpersonal skills
- where relevant, apply numeracy and IT skills appropriately.
Careers
We will give you the tools you need to build a successful career. This includes communication skills, the ability to work in a team and independently, and the ability to negotiate effectively.
We have an excellent record of graduate employment, with many of our graduates joining firms such as ABN Amro, KPMG, Ernst & Young and PwC.
Professional recognition
The number of professional exemptions available to Kent graduates is a key benefit of the programme. For instance, our optional 'Taxation' module confers an important exemption, which is not available at most universities.
Successful completion of the BA (Hons) Accounting & Finance programme typically provides exemption from the following papers:
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
- F1 Accountant in Business
- F2 Management Accounting
- F3 Financial Accounting
- F4 Corporate and Business Law
- F5 Performance Management
- F6 Taxation
- F7 Financial Reporting
- F9 Financial Management
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
- C1 Fundamentals of Management Accounting
- C2 Fundamentals of Financial Accounting
- C3 Fundamentals of Business Mathematics
- C4 Fundamentals of Business Economics
- C5 Fundamentals of Ethics, Corporate Governance and Business Law
- P1 Performance Operations
- F1 Financial Operations
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
- Accounting
- Business & Finance
- Law
- Management Information
- Financial Management
- Business Strategy
- Principles of Taxation
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications, typical requirements are listed below, students offering alternative qualifications should contact the Admissions Office for further advice. It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
| Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| A level | ABB |
| GCSE | B in Mathematics |
| Access to HE Diploma | The University of Kent will not necessarily make conditional offers to all access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If an offer is made candidates will be required to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above. |
| BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | The university will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) on a case by case basis please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances. |
| International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 16 at HL, including Mathematics 4 at HL or SL (Mathematics Studies 5 at SL) |
International students
The University receives applications from over 140 different nationalities and consequently will consider applications from prospective students offering a wide range of international qualifications. Our International Development Office will be happy to advise prospective students on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about our country-specific requirements.
Please note that if you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes through Kent International Pathways.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2016/17 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
| UK/EU | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
The University of Kent is currently considering whether to increase its regulated full-time tuition fees for all returning Home and EU undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250 in September 2017. This would be subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses might also rise by 2.8%.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
UK/EU/International students on an approved Year Abroad for the full 2016/17 academic year pay an annual fee of £1,350 to Kent for that year. Those on an approved Year in Industry pay an annual fee of £865 to Kent for that year. Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.
Funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. Details of our proposed funding opportunities for 2016 entry can be found on our funding page.
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. For 2016 entry, the scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications as specified on our scholarships pages. Please review the eligibility criteria on that page.