Do you strive for a successful career in accounting, finance or management? Leading to exemptions from a number of professional accountancy exams, the Accounting and Finance programme can offer a head start to your career. This diverse course also offers optional modules, which can prepare you for a career in financial services or in general management.
Accountants are best known for validating company accounts – or auditing – but they also devise and operate financial systems, conduct investment analysis, advise on business matters, and handle individuals’ and corporations’ tax affairs. Our Accounting & Finance degree responds to the needs of the profession and is accredited by the UK’s accountancy bodies.
The programme is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills relevant to the practice of accounting and finance within the economic, legal and social environment, preparing you for your career.
Kent Business School has expert accounting staff from the business world and our links with global business ensure that our teaching is always internationally relevant.
The Foundation Year aims to extend access to university education to students from a wide variety of educational backgrounds and age groups and prepares these students for our three or four-year Accounting and Finance degrees. On successful completion of your Foundation Year, you move on to the first year of our BSc (Hons) programme, with the option to undertake a Year Abroad or Year in Industry as part of your course.
Studying Accounting and Finance at Kent you learn core accounting and finance theory, and gain an understanding of the role of accounting and finance in business and society. You’ll explore core subjects such as Financial Accounting, Business Law, Economics and Strategic Management. You will have the opportunity to tailor your course to specialist areas including taxation, auditing, international investment and banking.
The programme is accredited by five international professional accounting bodies:
For more information on these accreditations see the Careers section.
On successful completion of your degree, should you decide to qualify as an accountant, you will be eligible for exemptions from some of the professional examinations.
On our flexible programme, you take a broad range of compulsory modules in your first and second years. You then select from a variety of options in your final year, furthering your knowledge of specialist topics.
You will have excellent opportunities to experience accounting and finance in action through hands-on experience via in-class live case studies from our visiting speakers, enterprise challenges and company visits.
The ICAEW run an annual Speed-meeting event with final year students, giving you the opportunity to meet recruiting employers. In addition CIMA regularly visit to give talks and host business games.
You’ll gain practical skills through real-world problem-solving exercises including access to our Bloomberg Suite, supervised by academic and industry experts. Becoming familiar with the technology used in the financial workplace can be an advantage in a competitive job market. You will also have an opportunity to gain entrepreneurial and life skills that enable you to accelerate your innovative thinking into practice.
As a foundation year student, you are a full member of the University and can take part in all student activities.
Kent provides a variety of employability opportunities for students during their studies. These range from short-term company internship opportunities to, voluntary work with local charities and University Business Societies. The central Careers and Employability Service also offers an exciting Employability Points Scheme. In addition to this, Kent Business School's specialised team of Employability experts provides support to all our students in personalised 1:1 meetings as well as online support via the Employability blog. Unique to KBS, our Alumni have access to all employability support for three years after their graduation.
You have the option to take this programme with a year of professional experience, in the UK or internationally. You are supported by our dedicated in-house Employability and Placements team to identify, secure and enjoy your placement year.
For more details, see Accounting and Finance with a Year in Industry.
You don’t have to make a decision before you enrol at Kent but certain conditions will apply.
For more information, see Programme Structure and Career sections.
If you would like to enhance your employability skills by widening cross-cultural perspectives, developing a global mind-set or learn another language then you can spend a year studying at one of Kent’s global partner institutions, see Accounting and Finance with a Year Abroad.
You do not have to make a decision before you enrol at Kent but certain conditions will apply.
For more information, see Programme Structure and Career sections.
In addition to your studies, our students can discover how to turn their ideas into a successful business at our ASPIRE centre, which provides practical advice and support to all entrepreneurially minded students, and runs our Business Start-up Journey initiative.
Many of our students get involved with societies including the Kent Finance Society and Kent Business Society, both of which in previous years has organised:
The lecturers are really approachable, quite wonderful.
Fathima, BSc Accounting and Finance (Graduate, 2020)
Kent Business School is dedicated to ensuring a positive experience for all our students, from induction to graduation, and beyond. As a Student Success school, we are committed to championing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, and warmly welcome students from all backgrounds. Your experience is central to what we do, so we will listen to you every step of the way, through our robust Student Voice processes and mechanisms.
Alongside a world-class teaching and educational experience, KBS delivers a wide-ranging package of support, designed to ensure that you can maximise your time with us:
Our School is proud to be in the top 1% of business schools globally to hold accreditations from three large business organisations:
Our programmes offer world-class business education enabling transformative learning experiences built around the School’s fundamental values of sustainable innovation and responsible management practice. Our students are at the heart of all considerations and through engaging teaching, world-class research, professional partnerships and an international community, we create an exciting atmosphere in which to learn and thrive.
All of our programmes at Kent Business School address the challenges of modern global business and we aim to meet industry demands of producing quality graduates by ensuring we unlock our students’ potential, expand their thinking and nurture their talent.
Please also see our general entry requirements.
DDD
Mathematics grade 4 / C and English grade 4 / C
The University will not necessarily make conditional offers to all Access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis.
If we make you an offer, you will need 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.
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 for further advice on your individual circumstances.
24 points overall or 12 points at Higher Level
N/A
If you are an international student, visit our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country. Please note that international fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot undertake a part-time programme due to visa restrictions.
Please note that meeting the typical offer/minimum requirement does not guarantee that you will receive an offer.
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
If you need to improve your English language standard as a condition of your offer, you can attend one of our pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes before starting your degree programme. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.
Duration: 4 years full-time
The course structure provides a sample of the modules currently available for this programme. Most programmes require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘elective’ 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.
The following modules are offered to our current students. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation:
LZ033 - Introduction to European & International Business
LZ004 - Economics for University Study
LZ013- Maths & Statistics for University Study
LZ052 - Business Analysis for Foundation Studies
After successful completion of the foundation year, you continue on to the rest of your Accounting and Finance course. If you wish, you may transfer to a four year BSc Accounting and Finance with a Year Abroad or BSc Accounting and Finance with a Year in Industry.
The 2021/22 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
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.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Search scholarshipsKent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
You may be eligible for government finance to help pay for the costs of studying. See the Government's student finance website.
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.
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence.
The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.
We use a variety of teaching methods, including;
Classroom-based learning is supported by the latest online technologies and learning platforms.
Your progress is assessed through coursework and exams.
Coursework takes a variety of forms and includes;
Exams are individual written assessments tested under time-controlled conditions.
To proceed to the next year you must achieve satisfactory results. Your final degree is based on marks gained in the second and third years (and Placement Year/Year Abroad if chosen) and credits which you build up throughout the whole programme.
Undergraduate students can expect around 12 contact hours per week, depending on year of study and optional module choices made. The remainder of the working week consists of self-guided study based on degree programme content and requirements of specific modules. For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours, which include both direct contact hours and private study hours. The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
For programme aims and learning outcomes please see the programme specification below:
Accounting and Finance at Kent scored 93% overall and ranked 8th for graduate prospects in The Complete University Guide 2021.
For graduate prospects, Accounting and Finance at Kent ranked 8th in The Complete University Guide 2021.
Our Accounting and Finance graduates move into a range of careers within the world of business. Many go on to become chartered, certified or management accountants working at top accounting firms, including the ‘Big 4’, as well as other local, national and international firms.
The degree can also prepare you for a career in financial services (such as banking, insurance and investment) or in general management.
Recent graduates have taken up positions with a wide range of companies, including:
Many of our students also stay local and find job opportunities regionally in small and medium firms or even set-up their own businesses as well-equipped entrepreneurs.
The Backpack to Briefcase scheme provides bespoke career and skills development events and activities for all Kent Business School students. Available from the first year through to graduation, Backpack to Briefcase is designed to prepare you for a successful career after university.
To help you appeal to employers you will graduate with a solid grounding in core business management concepts, theories and skills in a global context but also key transferrable skills such as critical reflection, cultural awareness, creativity and innovation, effective time-management and productive teamwork as well as enhanced confidence, intellectual curiosity and resilience. As a KBS graduate you will be able to demonstrate to your employer how you have developed The Grad Goals.
You can also gain skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as adding much-sought-after analytical skills or computing skills to your degree via Kent’s Q-Step Centre.
Kent Business School has an excellent international reputation and good links with businesses locally and globally. Our qualified careers practitioners provide support to all business undergraduate students for up to three years after graduation.
In addition, Careers and Employability Service at the University, can also provide advice on how to apply for jobs, write a good CV or perform well in interviews.
This degree is accredited by the UK’s professional accountancy bodies. If you’d like to become a chartered accountant, our accreditations allow you to gain several exemptions from your professional accounting exams. (The number of exemptions depends on which modules you choose.)
Successful completion of the BSc (Hons) Accounting & Finance programme typically provides exemption from the following papers:
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA)
Certified Practising Accountant Australia (CPA Australia)
This course page is for the 2021/22 academic year. Please visit the current online prospectus for a list of undergraduate courses we offer.
T: +44 (0)1227 768896
T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk
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Discover Uni is jointly owned by the Office for Students, the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Scottish Funding Council.
It includes:
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