Undergraduate BSc (Hons)
Accounting and Finance
Learn and develop the skills that drive all businesses worldwide.
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If you’re a problem solver who loves numbers, this Accounting and Finance BSc is the course for you.
The course is accredited by five professional accounting bodies, allowing you to gain exemptions from their exams and kickstart your career if you want to become a chartered accountant, or gain an edge if you see yourself working in the fields of finance.
Develop the data handling skills that employers are looking for by working on real-time business data in our Bloomberg Finance Lab. You’ll learn from our expert academics and industry professionals through lectures, seminars, and practical sessions.
Hear from our successful alumni, Melina, who after graduating in 2022 is now completing her ACA training at Deloitte.
Study at a ‘Triple Crown’ business school accredited by AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS.
Gain real-world skills and professional knowledge with a paid year in industry.
Our degree is accredited by ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW, CIPFA and CPA; leading to exemptions from many professional accounting exams.
Our typical offer levels are listed below and include indicative contextual offers. If you hold alternative qualifications just get in touch and we'll be glad to discuss these with you.
ABB
DDM
32 points overall or 16 points at HL, including Mathematics 4 at HL or SL (Mathematics Studies 5 at SL)
Mathematics grade 5 / B
Pass all components of the University of Kent International Foundation Programme with a 60% overall average (plus 60% in LZ013 Maths and Statistics if you do not hold GCSE Maths at 6/B or equivalent)
The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.
The University welcomes applications from Access to Higher Education Diploma candidates for consideration. A typical offer may require you to obtain a proportion of Level 3 credits in relevant subjects at merit grade or above.
This module listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
Your first year is a compulsory introductory year, designed to provide you with a strong foundational understanding of key concepts and ideas in accounting and finance. You’ll gain insight into key areas like economics and management. You’ll study core areas like financial markets, managerial accounting, and financial accounting while building up your numerical and statistical skills to prepare you for the rest of your degree.
This is an introductory module to introduce students to the role and evolution of accounting
Topics to be covered may include: single entry accounting; double entry bookkeeping; financial reporting conventions; recording transactions and adjusting entries; principal financial statements; institutional requirements; auditing; monetary items; purchases and sales; bad and doubtful debts; inventory valuation; non-current assets and depreciation methods; liabilities; sole traders and clubs, partnerships, companies; capital structures; cash flow statements; interpretation of accounts through ratio analysis; problems of, and alternatives to, historical cost accounting.
The module provides an understanding of the role of management accounting in the current global scenario and develops key skills in relation to cost accumulation and determination for decision-making. Areas that will be covered are:
Identify what is management accounting and how it differs from financial accounting. Appreciate who are the users of management accounting information and how management accountants can suit their information needs for the creation of customer and shareholder value in a complex and rapidly changing international context.
Understand the different typologies of costs that can be used for decision-making purposes and how cost behaviour has a significant impact on management accounting reports. Appreciate why different costs must be used for different decisions.
Analyse the relationship between the cost structure of a business and the level of production needed to achieve the desired level of profit for the said business. Apply this knowledge to the preparation of the optimal production plan for single and multi-product businesses. Appreciate the impact of any changes in the original assumptions on the forecasted profit for a business.
Calculate the cost of products/services considering all costs involved. Allocate costs to products under different internationally recognised costing systems and understand how the choice of a costing system is linked to the activity performed by a business. Understand the differences between different methodologies of cost calculation and their impact of on decision-making.
Core areas of the syllabus are:
• Management accounting and management accountants in an international context
• Cost terms and purposes
• Cost-volume-profit analysis
• Costing systems
The law affects the commercial world in many ways. This module focuses on the importance of law in governing transactions between individuals and businesses; what is required for legally compliant contracts; what the law expects of organisations in terms of protecting the consumer, and how businesses manage and avoid disputes. By enabling students to become familiar with those parts of the law they are most likely to encounter in their careers and in business the module helps them better understand the obligations that parties have to each other in law.
Indicative topic areas are:
• The English Legal System
• The Legal Process and Dispute Resolution
• Law of Contract – including:
• Formation
• Contract terms
• Vitiating elements, including misrepresentation and economic duress
• Performance and discharge of contract, including frustration
• Breach of contract
• Common law and equitable remedies, including damages
• Consumer Protection
This module will introduce the financial system, the markets within the system, various instruments and key concepts. It provides an overview of the roles of financial intermediaries, as well as the fundamental products that they trade. The module will include an historical consideration of the markets, as well as the investigation of current developments, to allow understanding of inter-relationships within the wider economy. An introduction to various financial securities will provide contexts for focus on key concepts of Finance.
The module introduces students to theories of management beginning with classical management perspectives through to contemporary management concepts. It will illustrate the continuities and transformations in management thinking throughout the 20th and 21st century. The main topics of study include: Scientific Management; Human Relations Approach; Bureaucracy and Post-Bureaucracy; The Contingency Approach; Culture Management; Leadership; Aesthetic Labour; Extreme Management.
The following topics will be taught:
• Summarising data with frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, spread and skewness. Visual representation of data in the form of graphs and charts.
• Probability: The relationship between probability, proportion and percent, addition and multiplication rules in probability theory, Venn diagrams.
• Distributions: Discrete (Binomial, Poisson) and Continuous (Uniform, Exponential, Normal).
• Sampling and hypothesis testing and its use in inference; applications of sampling in Quality Control, business and accounting.
• Regression and correlation: scatter plots; simple regression.
• Decision making: payoff tables and decision strategies; decision trees; the Bayesian approach.
• Functions, equations and inequalities: linear functions, solving linear equations and solving simultaneous linear equations graphically; simple polynomials such as quadratic and cubic functions; manipulation of inequalities.
• Linear Programming – problem formulation and the graphical solution method.
• Calculus: The concepts of differentiation and integration, and their relationship; stationary values.
• Financial mathematics: Logarithms and exponential functions. Simple and Compound interest, annuities and perpetuities, loans and mortgages, sinking funds and savings funds, discounting to find NPV and IRR and interpretation of NPV and IRR.
This module introduces students to economics in its two main components, microeconomics and macroeconomics. The module is designed to explain the main ways in which economists think about economic problems faced by individuals, firms, markets and governments.
The first part of the module focuses on explaining a selection of microeconomic topics including, the behaviour of individuals and firms; demand and supply of goods and services and determination of prices; costs in the short and long term and market structures. The second part aims to introduce the core of macroeconomic topics; for instance, macroeconomic objectives and trade-offs; unemployment; inflation; international trade; balance of payments and exchange rates; and the main types of economic policies that are implemented by governments. Overall, the application of economics to contemporary issues illustrates how economic analysis can be used to understand the different parts of the economy and to inform and evaluate policy interventions that support a range of different economic outcomes.
The module is self-contained to provide a basic understanding of economic concepts and debates. It is a suitable module for students interested in taking economics further, either as part of another degree programme or as part of a future professional qualification.
There’s great variety in the modules, and I think this must help give you a more open choice of careers.Viththiya Nagendram
Your second year allows you to continue developing your understanding of financial systems and core areas of accounting in greater context. You’ll learn about the world of international financial reporting, expand your awareness of business and employment law and study personal taxation.
This module is concerned with the principles which underlie the investment and financing decision making process. Before a rational decision can be made objectives need to be considered and models need to be built. Short-term decisions are dealt with first, together with relevant costs. One such cost is the time value of money. This leads to long term investment decisions which are examined using the economic theory of choice, first assuming perfect capital markets and certainty. These assumptions are then relaxed so that such problems as incorporating capital rationing and risk into the investment decision are fully considered. The module proceeds by looking at the financing decision. The financial system within which business organisations operate is examined, followed by the specific sources and costs of long and short-term capital, including the management of fixed and working capital.
This module is designed to build upon financial accounting topics taught in previous modules and assess them at a more advanced level. It will also introduce topics, not previous taught. Areas that will be covered are:
The conceptual and regulatory framework for financial reporting – The need for a conceptual framework and the characteristics of useful information. Define what is meant by 'recognition' in financial statements and applying the recognition criteria to assets/liabilities and income/expenses.
Look at why an international regulatory framework is needed over a national regulatory framework. Review the work of the International Accounting Standards Board in setting international accounting standards and how they are moving to harmonised global accounting standards using a principles based rather than a rules based framework.
Strategic Management aims to provide an understanding of strategic analysis, strategic decision-making and strategic processes within and between organisations. The module content combines approaches to strategic management, concepts and frameworks, and issues in strategic management. In particular, the themes covered include: internal and external environment analysis, strategic options, selection and evaluation, organisational structure and culture, the role of knowledge, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, not-for profit and social enterprises, corporate social responsibility, international strategies, strategic change and building a cohesive strategy. Case studies, which are used throughout the module, provide a vehicle for exploring the relationship between theory and practice in organisations and analysing the implications for strategic direction.
The module advances students' knowledge and skills in management accounting. By completing the module, students will be able to:
Understand the concepts of relevant costs and revenues and use them to make managerial decisions. Differentiate between short and long-term pricing decisions and learn the functioning, advantages and disadvantages of target pricing and cost-plus pricing. Use management accounting information to prepare customers profitability reports.
Learn what are the tools used for planning and controlling a company’s performance in an international context and how they function. Understand what the relationship between strategic planning and budgeting is. Prepare budgeted financial statements and understand the functioning of responsibility accounting systems to stimulate managers’ motivation. Know how standards costs and targets are set to foster performance improvements. Prepare flexible budgets and use actual and standard costs information to analyse variances including yield, mix, quantity effects of inputs and volume, mix and quantity effects of sales. Prepare a performance report that reconcile actual and budgeted profit. Provide a holistic interpretation of company’s performance and provide recommendations for managers to take actions or revise the strategic plans.
Apply multiple methods to make capital investment decisions for strategy implementation. Classify environmental costs and learn the role played by environmental management controls for company’s sustainability.
The law affects the commercial world in many ways. This module focuses on how businesses fulfil their legal obligations to customers, suppliers and their workforce. As well as exploring how businesses are structured and the duties on directors and partners it also considers the legal obligations individuals and organisations have over those to whom they have a duty of care. The module further covers the main laws governing the employment of staff and contractors. By applying the law to real-world business situations students are able to fine-tune their problem solving skills, and their ability to construct well-reasoned and persuasive arguments.
Indicative topics are:
PLUS the following compulsory module which does not contribute to the overall degree classification or to the volume of credit required for the award or classification.
The module helps prepare students to acquire and develop the employability and transferable skills necessary to search and successfully apply for work experience and graduate opportunities in the commercial and public sector and postgraduate study. The curriculum builds on employability support offered at Stage 1 providing intermediate level knowledge and exercises in application writing, CVs, careers advice, interview and assessment centre techniques, numeracy and competency tests, and psychometric evaluation.
This module is designed to explain the operation and scope of the UK tax system and the obligations of taxpayers and the implications of non-compliance. Areas covered are as follows:
The UK tax system including the overall function and purpose of taxation in a modern economy, different types of taxes, principle sources of revenue law and practice, tax avoidance and tax evasion.
Income tax liabilities including the scope of income tax, income from employment and self-employment, property and investment income, the computation of table income and income tax liability the use of exemptions and reliefs in deferring and minimising income tax liabilities.
National insurance contributions including the scope of national insurance, class 1 and 1A contributions for employed persons, class 2 and 4 contributions for self-employed persons.
Introduction to chargeable gains including the scope of taxation of capital gains, the basic principles of computing gains and losses, the computation of capital gains tax payable by individuals and minimising tax liabilities arising on the disposal of capital assets,
Principles of Inheritance Tax and the use of exemptions and reliefs in deferring and minimising inheritance tax liabilities.
The obligations of taxpayers and/or their agents including the systems for self-assessment and the making of returns, the time limits for the submission of information, claims and payment of tax the procedures relating to enquiries, appeals and disputes, penalties for non-compliance.
Your final year has a greater focus on developing your specialist knowledge of capstone accounting and finance areas with an array of optional modules to tailor the course to your interests. Choose to do modules in auditing, taxation, managerial and financial accounting that will maximise your exemptions from our professional bodies or develop your competencies in other areas like risk management or corporate finance that might better suit your career goals.
The module helps prepare students to acquire and develop the employability and transferable skills necessary to search and successfully apply for work experience and graduate opportunities in the commercial and public sector and postgraduate study.
This module begins with a focus on the financial system of the UK, including the major players in the markets and key interrelations. It then proceeds to cover key topics, including: advanced portfolio theory, the capital asset pricing model, arbitrage pricing theory, the implications and empirical evidence relating to the efficient market hypothesis, capital structure and the cost of capital in a taxation environment, interaction of investment and financing decisions, decomposition of risk, options and pricing, risk management, dividends and dividend valuation models, mergers and failures and evaluating financial strategies.
This module will cover the following topics:
• The historical development of auditing
• The nature, importance, objectives and underlying theory of auditing
• The philosophy, concepts and basic postulates of auditing
• The regulatory and socio-economic environment within which auditing process takes place
• Auditing implications of agency theories of the firm
• Auditing implications of the efficient markets hypothesis
• The statutory and contractual bases of auditing, including auditing regulation and auditors' legal duties and liabilities
• Truth and fairness in financial reporting
• Materiality and audit judgement
• Audit independence
• The nature and causes of the audit expectation gap
• Auditors' professional ethics and standards
• Audit quality control, planning, programming, performance, supervision and review
• The nature and types of audit evidence
• Principles of internal control
• Systems based auditing and the nature and relationship of compliance and substantive testing
• The audit risk model and statistical sampling
• Audit procedures for major classes of assets, liabilities, income and expenditure
• Audit reporting.
The module examines contemporary management accounting issues at an advanced level. It takes an interdisciplinary perspective and draws on the knowledge and techniques acquired in Stages 1 and 2 core modules. The module explores the role of management accounting within the context of strategic management and management control. The module traces and evaluates recent major changes in management accounting and aims to increase students' awareness of how management accounting is used in managing organisations and the impact of organisational and social context on management accounting practice and effectiveness.
This module is designed to build upon financial accounting topics taught in previous modules and assess them at a more advanced level. It will also introduce topics, not previous taught.
The following is an indicative list of topics to be covered:
• Accounting for complex transactions in financial statements
• Analysing and interpreting financial statements
• CSR
• Preparation of financial statements including those for complex groups
• Content and application of International Accounting Standards, as appropriate.
This module is designed to explain the operation and scope of the UK tax system and the obligations of business to pay tax and the implications of non-compliance. This is a further development of the personal taxation module taught in an earlier stage. Areas covered are as follows:
The UK tax system including the overall function and purpose of taxation in a modern economy, different types of taxes, principal sources of revenue law and practice, tax avoidance and tax evasion.
Corporation tax liabilities including the scope of corporation tax, profits chargeable to corporation tax, the computation of tax liability, the use of exemptions and reliefs in deferring and minimising corporation tax liabilities
Understand how VAT is accounted for and administered, calculate amount of VAT payable/recoverable, recognise the tax point when goods or services are supplied.
Compute and explain the treatment of chargeable gains within a company, understand the treatment of disposal of shares by companies, explain and apply the pooling provisions.
Explain the PAYE system, how benefits can be payrolled and the purpose of form P11D
The obligations of taxpayers and/or their agents including the systems for self-assessment and the making of returns, the time limits for the submission of information, claims and payment of tax, the procedures relating to enquiries, appeals and disputes, penalties for non-compliance.
This module is concerned with International Investment Banks' products and strategies that involve the description and analyses of the characteristics of more commonly used financial derivative instruments such as forward and future contracts, swaps, and options involving commodities, interest, and equities markets. Modern financial techniques are used to value financial derivatives. The main emphasis of the module is on how International Investment Banks value, replicate, and arbitrage the financial instruments and how they encourage their clients to use derivative products to implement risk management strategies in the context of corporate applications.
In particular, students will first cover the topics related to forward, futures. They will then be introduced to options and various strategies thereof. Valuing options using Black-Scholes model and binomial trees is also an important part of the module. The important finance concepts of no-arbitrage and risk-neutral valuation and their implications for pricing financial derivatives are also covered in the module. This will help students to learn the techniques used in valuing financial derivatives and hedging risk exposure.
This module will cover the following topics:
- Features of debt instruments and risks associated with investing in these instruments
- Debt and money markets (participants, operations, trading activities)
- Fixed-income instruments (Government bonds, corporate bonds, credit ratings, high-yield bonds, international bonds, mortgage-backed securities, etc.)
- Money market instruments (Treasury bills, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, bills of exchange, etc.)
- Fixed-income valuation (traditional approach, arbitrage-free approach, yield measures, volatility measures)
- Term-structure of interest rates and classic theories of term structure, derivation of zero-coupon yield curve
- General principles of credit analysis (credit scoring, credit risk modelling, etc.)
- Fixed-income portfolio construction and management strategies (portfolio's risk profile, managing funds against a bond market index).
BUSN6002, Finance with Excel, 15, This module will examine how Excel can be used for financial data analysis.
A brief revision of each financial concept will be presented. The syllabus will typically cover:
Introduction to Excel:
• Basic functions, mathematical expressions
Data Analysis with Excel:
• Data analysis, charts, solver, goal seek, pitot tables and pivot charts
Financial Valuation:
• Applications of time value of money
• Applications of capital budgeting techniques in Excel (IRR, NPV, Scenario Analysis, Monte Carlo simulation)
• Company Valuation Models
Portfolio Analysis and Security Pricing:
• Portfolio models, calculations of efficient portfolios, variance-covariance matrix
• Beta coefficient estimations and security market line
• Bond Valuations
• Binomial option pricing, Black-Scholes model.
The module covers the principles of risk management and explores the ways in which management of the overall risks could generate value. Students are introduced to recent developments in governance and regulatory systems, industry practices for managing common types of risks, and critical evaluation of these practices.
Topics covered include:
• Introduction to general risk management theory, how and why it generates value
• Taxonomy of Risks
• Introduction to Regulation
• Risk measures
• Risk-Adjusted Performance Measures
Our enthusiastic team of international teaching staff are all experts in their field of study and are regularly published in leading journals worldwide. They guide and support your learning, bringing their subject to life and drawing you into the conversation through lectures, seminars, presentations and computer-based simulations.
Your progress is assessed through a mix of coursework – including reports, essays and presentations - and exams. Undergraduate students can expect around 8 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
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.
Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
For programme aims and learning outcomes please see the programme specification.
I use my knowledge from my studies every day.
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.
Recent graduates have taken up positions with a wide range of companies, including:
The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course 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.
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
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 have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Our ASPIRE labs offer a unique and exciting entrepreneurial education via informal drop in sessions and our Business Start-up journey.
Next steps
If you are from the UK or Ireland, you must apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not from the UK or Ireland, you can apply through UCAS or directly on our website if you have never used UCAS and you do not intend to use UCAS in the future.
We welcome applications from students all around the world with a wide range of international qualifications.
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