Accounting and Finance

Award

BSc (Hons)

Location

Stoke-on-Trent campus

Stoke-on-Trent campus

Stoke-on-Trent campus

UCAS code

NN45

Start dates available

  • September 2027

Start dates available

  • September 2027

Start dates available

  • September 2027
University of Staffordshire Courses

Global Perspective

Students have the chance to spend a year studying at one of our renowned partner universities in Sri Lanka or Vietnam.

Professional Qualification Acceleration

On successful completion, students can be eligible for exemptions from some professional accounting examinations provided by ACCA and CIMA*

No. 1 in the UK for Teaching Quality for Business, Management and Marketing

Times and The Sunday Times UK University Rankings for Business and Management 2026

The world of accounting and finance is changing, with technology, data and new financial services transforming the profession. Our Accounting and Finance degree will give you the knowledge and practical skills to understand these changes and build your future in accounting, finance and business.

Whether your dream is to become a chartered accountant, work in banking or financial services, or pursue a wider career in business, you’ll learn the essentials for your future career. It is also an ideal springboard if you want to pursue postgraduate research.

Gain a head start towards becoming a qualified accountant. Our BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance is accredited by leading professional bodies, giving eligible students the opportunity to achieve up to nine ACCA exemptions and up to eight CIMA exemptions. This can reduce the number of professional exams you'll need to complete after graduation, helping you progress more quickly towards professional qualification.*

The course will give you an excellent grounding in core accounting, including taxation, financial accounting, auditing and corporate governance. You’ll also explore contemporary developments shaping the profession, including fintech, data analytics, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. Using real-life examples, you’ll understand the crucial role accounting and finance plays in organisational decision-making, while developing your analytical, digital and professional skills.

We pride ourselves on offering strong support to students to help guide your success. Our academic staff also bring lots of industry experience, including backgrounds as professional accountants and in banking. 

*Exemptions are subject to successfully completing the relevant accredited modules and meeting the professional bodies' exemption requirements. We continuously update our course modules to ensure our curriculum reflects the latest industry trends and insights. Our module content is refined in collaboration with professional and regulatory bodies and partners. As such, our courses are currently undergoing re-accreditation.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance

Duration

University of Staffordshire undergraduate courses are usually 3 years for full-time study.

Courses which offer other study options have longer durations:

  • Full-time with a placement year, 4 years
  • Full-time with a foundation year, 4 years
  • Part-time, 4-9 years

Work placements

A work placement can give you valuable professional experience before you graduate, allowing you to apply what you’ve learned to a real working environment and develop your confidence and skills.

We strongly encourage you to undertake a work placement, particularly with an accounting firm, financial organisation or other business. You can choose to complete a full placement year, giving you the opportunity to gain substantial experience before graduating.

There may also be opportunities for shorter or summer placements. Our Business School has established links with industry and can support you in finding an appropriate placement opportunity.

We will work with you to source an appropriate placement to gain valuable work experience. Our Business School has an established history of using our strong links with industry to secure placements for our students, and our courses offer you an immersive one year placement.

If you wish to study abroad, we have Partner Universities in Vietnam or Sri Lanka.

Course content

Our Accounting and Finance degree covers the key areas you’ll need to understand how organisations manage money, measure performance, make decisions and plan for the future.

You’ll develop your knowledge progressively throughout the course, starting with the fundamentals of accounting, finance and business before building your specialist knowledge in later years.

Year 1

In your first year, you’ll build a strong foundation in accounting and finance. You’ll explore accounting principles, management accounting, finance and data analytics, while also developing your professional and employability skills.

You’ll begin to understand how financial information is prepared and used, and how accountants and finance professionals contribute to organisational decision-making.

Year 2

As your knowledge develops, you’ll explore more advanced areas of accounting and finance. You’ll study financial reporting, performance management, corporate finance and contemporary developments in the profession.

You’ll also explore how technology is changing accounting and finance, including areas such as fintech, data and digital technologies. This will help you understand how financial information is increasingly produced, analysed and used in a changing business environment.

Year 3

In your final year, you’ll develop your specialist knowledge further through areas including corporate assurance and governance and taxation policy and compliance.

You’ll also complete an Applied Financial Research Project, giving you the opportunity to investigate an accounting or finance topic that interests you in greater depth. This will allow you to bring together the knowledge and skills you’ve developed throughout the degree while strengthening your research, analytical and independent-learning skills.

Throughout the course, you’ll be encouraged to connect your learning to real-world accounting and finance issues and consider how developments in technology, regulation and the wider business environment are shaping the profession.

Professional body accreditation

Accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) for the purpose of exemptions from some professional examinations.

Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations through the Accredited degree accelerated route.

ACCA accreditation CIMA accreditation

Our course is designed to prepare you for a career in accountancy and finance and is accredited by leading professional bodies.

Eligible students studying at our Stoke campus can achieve:

  • Up to 9 exemptions from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
  • Up to 8 exemptions from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

These exemptions recognise learning you've already completed during your degree, meaning you could have fewer professional examinations to take after graduation and reach chartered status sooner.*

*Exemptions are awarded subject to successful completion of the relevant accredited modules and the professional bodies' exemption requirements. 

Modules

The tables provide an indicative list of the modules that make up the course for the current academic year. Each module is worth a specified number of credits. Our teaching is informed by research, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. We aim to ensure that all modules run as scheduled. If for any reason a module cannot be run we will advise you as soon as possible and will provide guidance on selecting an appropriate alternative module where available.

Year 1 compulsory modules
Accounting Principles And Law 30 credits
Employability Skills For Financial Industries 30 credits
Finance & Data Analytics 30 credits
Management Accounting 30 credits
Year 3 compulsory modules
Applied Financial Research Project 60 credits
Corporate Assurance And Governance 30 credits
Taxation Policy And Compliance 30 credits

Progression routes to masters

Entry requirements

What do I need?

UCAS

112-120 UCAS points

A Levels

BBC

BTEC

DMM

Work out your estimated grades using the UCAS calculator

Other UK qualifications
  • Access to HE Diploma - Pass Access with a minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points. Applicants to Staffs who are taking the Access to HE Diploma receive a reduced tariff point offer as part of our access and participation plan activity
  • Level 3 Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales: BBC
  • UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma - grade of Merit overall
  • OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma - grade DMM
  • T Levels - Eligible T Level applications will be asked to achieve a minimum overall grade of P (A*-C) or Higher Pass as a condition of offer
  • GCSE English and Maths - Grade 4 or above

We welcome applications from students studying a range of international and UK qualifications, including Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales, Scottish Highers/Advanced Highers and the Irish Leaving Certificate. Offers will normally be made in line with our standard entry requirements and may include specific grade requirements in relevant subjects.

We understand that you might have experienced a challenging run up to higher education and may have not met the entry requirements as listed. If this is the case don’t worry, contact us and our team of expert advisors can guide you through the next stages of application, or help you find the perfect course for your needs.

Facilities

Staffordshire Business School is housed in the Catalyst Building, featuring innovative teaching and learning spaces, a flexible events space and catering provisions.

The Catalyst

The Catalyst combines business, networking and apprenticeship opportunities with dynamic teaching spaces and state-of-the-art digital facilities – the perfect launchpad for your future career. Read more

The Catalyst brings together the delivery of apprenticeships and skills, in a flexible, high-quality, digitally enabled space. It offers open, social and flexible learning spaces, emulating real world working environments and opportunities for digital engagement. The Catalyst is a unified building, bringing together social, study, teaching and support functions, where students can browse digital and physical resources, including books and a number of special collections. 
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Careers

Accounting and finance graduates are valued across a wide range of organisations and industries.

Your degree could prepare you for careers such as:

  • Professional or chartered accountant
  • Management accountant
  • Financial analyst
  • Auditor
  • Tax adviser
  • Finance manager
  • Business or financial consultant
  • Banking and financial services professional
  • Finance and data analyst

You could work in an accounting practice, financial institution, public sector organisation, charity, multinational company or other business.

The skills you develop can also provide a strong foundation for postgraduate study and research.

Students on this programme have the opportunity to enhance their studies with a placement year, gain valuable work experience, and take part in international activities.

Students on this programme have the opportunity to enhance their studies with a placement year, gain valuable work experience, and take part in international activities—potentially supported by the Turing funding.

All students have access to Careers, Placements & Employability, our dedicated careers team.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

You will be taught via a combination of lectures, tutorials, industry visits and independent study. You will use resources including books, journals and digital databases, social media resource banks and more to immerse yourself in each discipline and you will be challenged to picture what the Accounting and Finance landscape of the future will be.

Seminars enable you to discuss and develop your understanding of topics covered in lectures in smaller groups of around 16-18 students. In addition, you will have timetabled meetings with your academic mentor at least twice a year. You will be taught in first-class learning spaces throughout your course. Our course are accredited or recognised by professional, statutory or regulatory bodies.

Assessment

Assessment methods depend on the modules you will be studying. The primary methods of assessment are examinations, coursework, portfolio development, in-class tests and presentations (both individual and group). 

Learning support

In addition to the excellent support you will receive from your course teaching team, our central Academic Skills team provides group and one-to-one help to support your learning in a number of areas. These include:

  • study skills such as reading, note-taking and presentation skills
  • written English, including punctuation and grammatical accuracy
  • academic writing and how to reference
  • research skills
  • critical thinking and understanding arguments
  • revision, assessment and examination skills
  • time management

Additional support

Our Student Inclusion Services support students with additional needs such as sensory impairment, or learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

Feedback

Your course will provide you with opportunities to test your understanding of your subject informally before you complete the formal assessments. Each module normally includes practice or 'formative' assessments for which you receive feedback from your tutor. There is a formal or 'summative' assessment at the end of each module and the grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark. You will normally receive feedback on coursework assessments within 20 working days following the date of submission. Examination feedback may take a variety of formats. However, as a minimum, generic feedback will be made available to all students who take written examinations.

Staff

Our teaching staff have a wealth of industry experience and are research active with links to business partners throughout the local region and internationally.

Please note, teaching team staff members may change during your studies.

Profile Image

Dr Mayowa Akinbote

Senior Lecturer

Mayowa, a Chartered Accountant with 17+ years of experience in public and private sectors, holds an ACCA Fellowship and a PhD in Finance. He brings extensive expertise and is particularly interested in financial markets and investor behavior.

Mayowa's profile
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Dr Syed Zaidi

Senior Lecturer

Syed is the Award Leader for BA (Hons) Finance and Business Enterprise. He teaches across undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programmes and also supervises postgraduate taught and research students.

Syed's profile
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Karl Mccormack

Senior Lecturer

Karl has experience teaching on Apprenticeship and Foundation Degrees, BA accounting programmes, MBA modules. He has also taught as a subject specialist in forensic accounting, computerised accounting and management accounting.

Karl's profile

Fees

For the course starting on 20 September 2027, the tuition fees are:

Study option UK / Channel Islands International
Full-time £10,050 per year of study £17,285 per year of study

UK and Channel Island students: This tuition fee is agreed subject to UK government policy and parliamentary regulation. If the UK government passes appropriate legislation, the fee for subsequent years of study may increase in each academic year. But this increase will not exceed the rate of inflation as measured by RPIX**. Any change in fees will apply to both new and continuing students. The University will notify students of any change as early as possible. Further information about fee changes would be posted on the University’s website once this becomes available.

**RPIX is a measure of inflation equivalent to all the items in the Retail Price Index (RPI) excluding mortgage interest payments.

Included in the fees:
  • Cost of assessment for Micro Credentials
  • Costs for study trips on core modules
Not included in the fees:
  • Any optional Study Trips
  • Travel to and from work placements
Accommodation and living costs

Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees. 

Sources of financial support

If you receive funding from Student Finance you may be eligible to apply for additional benefits. Details can be obtained by reading our additional funding web pages, or visiting www.gov.uk.

Scholarships and additional funding

As an undergraduate student at Staffordshire, you may be eligible for additional financial support through one of our scholarships and bursaries. You can visit our funding page to find out more and check your eligibility.

Which Business Path Fits You?

Feature

You don’t need to have it all figured out. But you might already know what excites you. Discover which Staffordshire Business School course fits your interests, strengths and future goals.

Apply now to Accounting and Finance

Location Award Study option Start date
Stoke-on-Trent campus BSc (Hons) Full-time 20 September 2027 Apply now

Not ready to apply yet?

Rules and regulations

If you are offered a place at University of Staffordshire, your offer will be subject to our rules, regulations and enrolment conditions, which may vary from time to time.

Students of University of Staffordshire enter into a contract with us and are bound by these rules and regulations, which are subject to change. For more information, please see: University Policies and Regulations.

Have you considered?

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2025

for Social Inclusion

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026

for First Generation Students

The Mail University Guide 2026

in the UK for Games Education

Rookies Games Design and Development 2023, 2025

TIGA Best Games Institution 2024, 2025

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021