Program Overview
What’s the difference between financial and management accounting? How can accountants help improve business for the better?
Accounting informs almost all areas of business, from strategy to outsourcing and operational planning to environmental policies. At
Essex Business School
, accounting means more than cutting costs and managing transactions. It’s vital for ensuring accountability by encouraging sound, ethical decision making so that you can make a positive impact in the workplace.
From an undergraduate accounting degree at Essex you gain a firm understanding of the financial drivers underpinning business leadership, strategy, planning, governance and ethics. You explore both financial and management accounting and use case studies to apply theory to practice, skills which will be in an increasingly high demand from employers over the coming years.
You’ll gain a broad understanding of accounting and benefit from academic expertise in a range of areas, studying topics such as:
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preparation and analysis of financial statements
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regulation in governing accounting practice
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principles of cost accumulation
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financial and management accounting theory
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providing information to managers to assist their decision making
We ensure you gain a fully-rounded business education by introducing you to subjects such as finance and management in your first year. In your second and final years, you can choose from selected optional modules to tailor the programme to your accounting career aspirations.
In your final year of your accounting degree, you have the opportunity to put your knowledge into practice by completing an in-depth, independent research project or dissertation. This will give you the chance to further develop vital employability skills in areas of research, time management and critical thinking.
You join an international community of students and staff, working to make organisations better places to do business.
Introduction to Accounting at Essex
Watch as
Dr Jacob Agyemang
, senior lecturer in Accounting at Essex Business School discusses how study at university differs to that at college level from an accounting perspective, he also goes on to outline what makes our undergraduate degrees unique.
Professional 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.
Accredited by the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW) for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations.
Completion of this course gives you accreditation exemptions from up to nine professional examination papers with
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
.
Depending on the module options you choose during your studies, you can currently obtain up to seven exemptions from professional examinations awarded by
the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
.
This course also enables you to take up to five exemptions for certificate level examinations offered by
the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
.
This means that you can gain a professional qualification by taking fewer exams when you graduate, giving your career a head start.
Why we're great.
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This course gives you exemptions from many professional exams, giving your career a head start.
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We are ranked in the Top 150 for Business and Economics in THE World University Rankings by Subject 2023.
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We teach you to be accountable, act ethically and make financial decisions that positively impact both organisations and society.
Study abroad
The four-year version of this course enables you to study abroad during your third year. In all other areas, this version of the course remains identical to the standard three-year variant.
You can
study abroad
with one of our exchange partners in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, the Middle East, Hong Kong and Japan. In doing so, you experience other cultures and languages, meet new people, and gain intercultural skills that are sought-after by employers.
Placement year
You may decide to opt for a placement year, where you develop your professional skills and build a network of business contacts. A placement year can give you a career advantage by showing future employers that you are a dedicated and experienced professional.
The Student Development Team
can offer bespoke support throughout the process of researching, applying and interviewing for placements. However, it is your responsibility to apply, prepare for and secure your own role. Most recently, our students have gained placements with organisations such as BMW, Samsung and Cummins.
Our expert staff
You learn from academics and industry practitioners whose research continues to have a real-world impact. Many of our highly qualified and enthusiastic team are published in world-leading journals and publications.
Our staff specialise in areas including:
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accounting and economic development in the public and third sectors
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regulation and corporate social responsibility
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finance and banking
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accounting and finance in developing economies
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contemporary financial markets and their participants
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corporate governance in developing countries
Dr Silvia Gaia
, Lecturer in Accounting at Essex Business School, researches the fields of Corporate Governance, financial and social-environmental reporting. She has publications in academic journals such as Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, British Accounting Review, Journal of Business Ethics and International Business Review.
Our
staff
embed the latest research into your course, so you learn about real-world issues affecting accounting right now.
Specialist facilities
Our BSc Accounting is based at our
Colchester Campus
.
In our landmark Essex Business School building, the first zero carbon business school in the UK, you’ll see our sustainable approach to business first-hand. Set around a lush winter garden, are a wealth of inspiring teaching and study zones.
Our custom designed building provides you with superb
facilities
:
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a virtual trading floor with
Bloomberg Terminals
offering direct use of Bloomberg data, information and analytics
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light and spacious lecture theatres with ‘listen again’ recording to aid your study
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study pods and innovation booths for group working
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a café and adjacent foyer to enjoy on-site fresh food and drink
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study skills
support provided by the EBS Learning Team
Our Colchester building is located on the
Knowledge Gateway
, an innovation park housing some of the East of England’s most exciting science, technology and creative businesses. Parkside Office Village sits on the site, providing potential opportunities for networking, internships and work experience directly on campus.
Your future
Skilled and agile accountants are in high demand in the graduate job market, therefore, we embed a series of core and specific skills into our undergraduate curriculum for BSc Accounting to ensure that our graduates are suited to careers in finance, accounting and management roles.
All of our taught modules embed elements of our
skills map
which emulate the skills which are required by employers of accounting graduates, these generally include:
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Academic and cognitive skills
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Research skills
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Technology skills
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Communication skills
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Data analysis skills
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Soft skills
We embed a
structured approach to student development and skills support
throughout the curriculum and through additional support from the
Essex Business School Learning Team
.
Our students have gone on to become financial analysts, accountants, and management trainees, with
recent graduate destinations
including:
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Private Client Tax Senior Associate at
PwC
- a multinational professional services network
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Treasury Analyst at
Hiscox
, a multinational business insurance and home insurance provider
-
Junior Tax Consultant at
Deloitte
– the multinational and financial services network
-
Global Finance & Business Analyst at
J.P. Morgan
– global financial services provider
-
Junior Consultant - Valuation & Advisory at
Cushman & Wakefield
– commercial property and real estate consultants
Our
accounting
graduates enjoy successful careers in their fields.
Additional to the skills development offered by Essex Business School, BSc Accounting students can also take advantage of the
University of Essex Careers Service
which focuses in particular on supporting the development of
undergraduate employability
, including: careers fairs, career mentoring, skills development, careers advice and guidance, placement year support, job opportunities, start-up support and more.
Program Outline
Course structure
The course structure is designed to cover everything a future accountant would need to know, as well as taking a wider look at the industry. Some modules will focus mainly on the numbers whilst others will put these into perspective and teach you how managers use accounting information to make decisions.
In the first year our current students cover wider business topics that every manager needs to know. However, we are planning some changes to our first year and we’ll be tailoring it more closely to your chosen course. In second and third year you’ll have optional modules and by picking certain modules you’ll be able to maximise the number of exemptions available to you from bodies such as ACCA, helping you on the way to achieving chartered status. There’s also flexibility to study non-accounting modules through your options.
We offer a flexible course structure with a mixture of core/compulsory modules, and optional modules chosen from lists. Please be aware that we are planning changes to our first year to make it more relevant to your chosen course.
Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The following modules are based on the current course structure and may change in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, or in response to COVID-19, we’ll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.
Components
Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose.
Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.
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Status
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What this means
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Core
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You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
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Core with Options
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You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
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Compulsory
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You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
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Compulsory with Options
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You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
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Optional
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You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
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The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.
Modules
Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits.
In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available.
Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the
module code
. For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:
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HR
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100
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4
|
FY
|
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The department or school the module will be taught by.
In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.
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The module number.
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The
UK academic level
of the module.
A standard undergraduate course will comprise of level 4, 5 and 6 modules - increasing as you progress through the course.
A standard postgraduate taught course will comprise of level 7 modules.
A postgraduate research degree is a level 8 qualification.
|
The term the module will be taught in.
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AU
: Autumn term
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SP
: Spring term
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SU
: Summer term
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FY
: Full year
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AP
: Autumn and Spring terms
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PS:
Spring and Summer terms
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AS:
Autumn and Summer terms
|
Year 1
Year 2
Final Year
This module introduces financial accounting and basic principles and techniques needed to analyse and interpret financial statements. Although the module is intended as an introduction for students majoring in accounting it will also benefit students who wish to gain some insight into the practices of accounting.
You’ll look at the nature and role of accounting and consider who uses accounting information and for what purposes. You’ll discuss the contents of annual reports, especially the narrative sections, and the qualitative characteristics of accounting information. Finally, the module will be concerned with key elements and the format of financial statements. You’ll earn to prepare company financial statements using trial balance and cover the techniques that can be used to analyse and interpret financial statements.
View Introduction to Accounting I on our Module Directory
This module is intended for students majoring in accounting and those who have a keen interest in gaining an understanding of elementary financial accounting. Learn the basic principles and techniques for preparing and constructing a set of comprehensive financial statements.
The module commences with an introduction to double-entry booking keeping and accounting equations that govern the recording of business transactions. You’ll then discuss the recognition and measurement principles for accounting for some key items in financial statements, including inventory, accruals, prepayments, long-term assets, and long-term finance, using International Financial Reporting Standards as reference. Finally, the preparation of financial statements from the trial balance for various types of entities, incorporating a variety of simple adjustments.
View Introduction to Accounting II on our Module Directory
Quantitative Methods and Finance is an introduction to the subject of quantitative methods and their applications in finance, accounting and management. The module is designed to provide a sound foundation for your future studies in finance, accounting or management. The topics covered include maths revision, the time value of money, rates of change (calculus), statistics, probability distributions and simple regression.
View Quantitative Methods and Finance on our Module Directory
Introduction to Finance is designed to give you an introduction to the wider finance subject area ass well as firm foundation for further studies in finance. You’ll gain a overview of the financial system, instruments and markets, and ideas about finance concepts and problems. The topics covered include investment companies, return and risk, and behavioural finance.
You’ll develop and be able to transmit knowledge about the financial system, instruments and markets and ideas about finance concepts and problems at an introductory level; be aware of, at an introductory level, different ways of thinking about and analysing financial phenomena; and, reflecting the principles of how we approach Finance at Essex Business School, you’ll gain an appreciation of the role that finance plays in society as whole.
View Introduction to Finance on our Module Directory
Introduction to Management is a broad-ranging module intended to provide a foundation in the most significant issues in management theory and practice, as well as to prepare you for related modules in subsequent years of your degree course.
Because theoretical explanations – i.e., academic interpretations of what managers do and even of what they say they do – and what managers actually do in real organisations on a day-to-day basis may differ, we will also draw out some of the connections and dis-junctures between management theory and management practice. Our teaching also emphasises the ethics of managing and how to balance the bottom line of the business with the organisation's wider responsibilities to society and other stakeholders.
View Introduction to Management on our Module Directory
In keeping with Essex Business School's research and intellectual strengths and interests in Business and Society, the overall aims are that students will learn about and critically reflect on the past, present, and futures of values, value and value creation. It will explore themes of what is considered "valuable" and why, along with different models of value creation. The latter will, of course, acknowledge the traditional business school focus on the private sector but move beyond this to include the public and third sectors as well as the social economy and frameworks for de-growth necessitated by the Climate Emergency
Be well prepared for the world of work, management, and leadership in the 21st century.
View Understanding Value and Values on our Module Directory
A key module across all our Accounting coursers; Professional and Academic Development (Accounting) is a foundation in core academic skill requirements with the intention of improving the standard of work across all first-year modules. The module will also enable you to begin to focus on career planning and employability skills and establishing a career path. In addition, this module ensures all students have adequate access to their personal tutor on a regular basis.
The primary aim of this module is to deliver a range of study skills and introduce professional development at the start of Essex Business School students’ undergraduate programmes.
View Professional and Academic Development (Accounting) on our Module Directory
Giving you a broad overview of economics for business, The Business Economics module provides an introductory overview of modern economics, including examples in microeconomics that have a bearing on the world of business, i.e., the organisation of firms, the economic implications of their objectives, and the markets in which they operate, and examples in macroeconomics, i.e., the global environment where firms operate.
You’ll gain a basic understanding of the key ideas in economics, both in micro and in macroeconomics, and to apply these to explain contemporary issues in the news, in the business world and policymaking.
View Business Economics on our Module Directory
Extend your knowledge of financial accounting by mastering the preparation and analysis of the published financial statements of limited companies operating on their own, or within group structures. You investigate the regulation of financial reporting, the function and content of the main published statements, and problems connected with the treatment of taxation, depreciation, and specific aspects of the asset-expense distinction.
View Financial Reporting and Analysis on our Module Directory
Management accounting enables you to provide three key areas of information to any business: costing, decision-making, and planning and control. In this module you focus on costing, but also see how this area overlaps with the other two, as all three areas always interact. You also develop your knowledge and understanding of management accounting and the context in which it operates.
View Management Accounting I on our Module Directory
Explore how financial theory can aid financial decision-making in corporations. You discover how to apply the value maximization principle to corporate decisions, such as investment decision, borrowing decisions, and dividend decisions.
View Corporate Finance on our Module Directory
Develop your understanding of the role of management accounting in organisational decision-making and control. You explore the uses of management accounting information in facilitating planning, control and decision making by managers.
View Management Accounting II on our Module Directory
COMPONENT 05: OPTIOL
2nd year EBS (Colchester Campus) option(s) from list
(30 CREDITS)
COMPONENT 06: OPTIOL
2nd year EBS (Colchester Campus) option from list
(15 CREDITS)
This module links subject understanding to employability, ensuring you’re prepared to take advantage of graduate opportunities at the point they’re advertised. You gain an understanding of the graduate labour market and recruitment processes, as well as timelines for recruitment and interview and assessment centre techniques. You also learn about options for postgraduate study.
View Successful Futures on our Module Directory
This compulsory module equips you with effective study practices to excel in your second year at Essex Business School. It gives your guidance on how to use feedback effectively to improve and develop your academic skills and improve your performance. It provides the opportunity to create an action plan for your personal and professional development whilst at university.
View Student Success Tutorial on our Module Directory
This module looks to deconstruct what accounting and regulation is, and the role of international standard setters and politics in standard setting. You will look at accounting theory which forms the foundations for the approaches to accounting that are currently taken in society, we will look at the way that this forms the conceptual framework and the discuss the measurement approaches that are taken. It continues with a more in-depth look at corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, including discussions about recent initiatives as well as academic findings. You’ll then look at fair value accounting in terms of its valuation measurements, its strengths and weaknesses in comparison with historical cost accounting and its relationship with the global financial crisis.
Other issues covered are of foreign currency translation - to compare the different methods which can be used to account for it. And issues related to Off-balance Sheet accounting with a particular focus on lease contracts and the role that these tools have played in encouraging opportunistic behaviours that lead to the bankruptcy of global companies and to the recent global financial crisis. Finally, you’ll discuss the accounting treatment of goodwill and other intangible assets.
View Current Issues in Financial Reporting on our Module Directory
Management accounting serves the purpose of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit management and workforce make informed judgements and decisions. Investigate the technical issues in cost management and performance measurement systems, and wider issues concerning the role of management accounting in shaping management structures and decisions in manufacturing and service contexts.
View Advanced Management Accounting on our Module Directory
In this module, you evaluate contemporary developments and research in the field of management accounting, using real-life business case studies. You explore management accounting within economic, political, social and cultural contexts, exploring issues such as deregulation, globalisation and increasing customer demands. You examine strategic issues such as cost management, performance measurement and management controls and explore how organisational and technological changes are impacting the discipline both nationally and internationally.
View Critical Debates in Accounting on our Module Directory
Develop your legal knowledge by studying Partnership Law, followed by various aspects of Company Law (including professional negligence), together with the rules of Agency, Insolvency principles, the offence of Insider Dealing and Employment Law.
View Elements of Corporate and Business Law on our Module Directory
COMPONENT 05: COMPULSORY WITH OPTIONS
BE936-6-FY or CS316-6-FY or BE944-6-FY
(30 CREDITS)
COMPONENT 06: OPTIOL
Final year Accounting option and/or EBS option(s) or outside option(s)
(30 CREDITS)
Placement
On a placement year you gain relevant work experience within an external business or organisation, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.
Year abroad
On your year abroad, you have the opportunity to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.
Teaching
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Teaching includes a combination of lectures, seminars and computer-based lab sessions
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Modules delivered by experts in the field as well as guest speakers
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Contribute and interact in lectures through the use of smart technology
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Lecture presentations and notes are uploaded online beforehand to help you prepare in advance
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Complete your final-year project in consultation with a personal supervisor
Assessment
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Assessed through traditional methods of end-of-year exams and multiple choice questions in class tests and essays
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Plus more innovative and creative assessments include laboratory work, poster presentations, real-business case problems and group presentations
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Your first year marks do not count towards your final degree
