Business and Management (Accounting) BSc

About the Course

Brunel Business and Management degrees will equip you with a broad knowledge and appreciation of business and management as well as the analytical, technical and interpersonal skills required to understand, analyse and address the problems that today’s companies face. The accounting pathway gives students a broad overview of management issues with specialist knowledge of the applications of accountancy to the world of commerce.

• Provides a skills based element that is vocational in nature;
• Sage Accounting module offers hands-on experience using an industry standard application;
• Offers professional exemptions in a total of 18 subjects across ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW;
• Provides the opportunity to participate in industry business challenge initiatives from IBM and PWC.

Core business modules offer you a range of skills in business and management (see Course Content), including an Introduction To Management; The Principles Of Marketing; Managing Information Technology; Organisation Behaviour, And International Business. Core specialist subjects will include: Management Accounting Decision Making, Planning and Control; Business Law; Strategic Financial Management; Auditing and others.

Every year Business and Management (Accounting) students are invited to participate in Industry Business Challenge Initiatives such as the IBM Business Challenge and PwC Bright Futures Business Champions Competition. You will also learn valuable technical skills along the way: numerical methods and statistical software packages such as SPSS and EXCEL without the need for ‘A’ level maths or the overseas equivalent.

Once you graduate, provided you have passed certain modules, you will be exempt from some entry level examinations of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the Chartered Institute for Management Accountants (CIMA), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Aims

You will learn about the world of business and management and develop the skills to get a good job when you graduate. You will enhance your ability to communicate your ideas and to take responsibility for your learning. The accounting pathway will help you to develop transferrable intellectual vocational and interpersonal skills appropriate for careers in accounting or financial management.

Also available as 4 year ordinary degree, see BSc Business & Management (Accounting) with Work Placement.

Enquiries

Course Director: Dr Tony Tollington
Email tony.tollington@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 267238

Admissions Centre: for applications already submitted
Contact Admissions online
Tel +44 (0)1895 265265

Business School Enquiries Desk: for enquiries prior to UCAS application
Email bachelorbbs@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 267124 or 265910

Related Courses

• Business and Management (Marketing) BSc
• Business and Management BSc
• Economics and Management BSc
• Economics and Management with Professional Development BSc
• International Business BSc

Special Features

• A year’s paid work placement (for those who undertake a work placement)
  
• Offers professional exemptions in a total of 18 papers across ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW
• Sage Accounting module offers hands-on experience using an industry standard application
• Includes a module on Management Enquiry to help you adapt to university study through active learning sessions on topics such as working in groups, report writing and time management
• Employability focused initiatives through the Business School’s unique Business Life Employability Programme (see Employability)
• Student Pastoral Care that goes beyond the assignment of a Personal Tutor, to offer continuous help and assistance on non-academic and social issues
• High quality teaching from lecturers with 'hands-on' experience in consultancy and training
• Tutors that are active researchers in one of the School’s six centres of business research – who bring up-to-the minute findings to course content
• Brunel graduates enjoy the 13th highest graduate starting salaries in the UK

Accreditation

Current graduates of Business and Management (Accounting) who successfully pass relevant modules can look forward to professional exemptions from a total of 18 papers from ACCA (5 subjects), CIMA (6) and ICAEW (7) – which exceeds the number offered by most UK universities. CIMA has also told us that Brunel graduates have a higher than average pass rate in both the accounting and management streams of their examinations.

Brunel Business School is in the top 7 best Business Schools in London

• The Complete University Guide ranked Brunel Business School 3rd in London for student satisfaction and 5th in London for business studies
• Sunday Times University Guide 2013 ranked Brunel Business School 4th in London and 21st in UK for business and management studies
  
• The Times Good University Guide 2013 ranked Brunel Business School 6th in London and 45th in UK for business and management studies
• Financial Times ranked Brunel Business School 6th in London, top 20 in UK and in the top 75 in Europe in 2011
• Guardian University Guide 2013 ranked Brunel Business School 7th in London and 45th in UK for business and management studies

John Bridger graduated with a 1st class honours degree in Business and Management (Accounting) in 2011

As someone who grew up in Somerset, I was particularly attracted by the idea of studying in or near London. I was also keen to be able to continue to pursue my sporting interests which include running and swimming. It was therefore great being able to use the new Olympic-sized swimming pool in Uxbridge and Brunel's fantastic gym facilities. I started out studying for a BSc Business and Management but over the course of the first year I realised that I was a numbers person so I switched to the Accounting pathway – it’s really easy to switch at Brunel. As a subject, accounting is sometimes perceived as rather dry and uninteresting but this was not the case with the course. I particularly enjoyed the modules on strategic financial management as well as the one on corporate finance where we looked at how shares are valued. I chose to do my Final Year project on the issue of auditor independence, researching the extent to which the principle of auditor independence might be compromised should the same auditor also provide management consultancy services to the business. This proved an interesting topic. For my placement year, I was delighted to land an accounting role with IBM where I gained good experience of accounts in a large organisation. I also mentored secondary school students as part of IBM’s Giving Back to the Community scheme. When it came to looking for a job for after I graduated, the staff in the Careers & Placement Centre at Brunel were extremely helpful and I have now been appointed as a Foundation Technology Consultant in the Oracle Division of IBM working in a team of Consultants helping IBM clients with IT issues. I’m really excited about this.

Course Content

All Business School undergraduates study a common first year. All level 2 modules are core and specific to the general business pathway. At Level 3 you will study additional core modules, plus your choice of two elective modules from a selection. You will also study a particular area of business in depth by way of a final year project.

Level 1 modules

• Introduction to Management Enquiry
• Organisational Behaviour and Analysis
• Managing Information with Technology
• Introduction to Accounting
• Principles and Practices of Marketing
• International Business Environment

Level 2 modules

• Management Accounting – Decision Making
• Introduction to Business Law
• Principles and Practice of Financial Accounting
• Management Accounting – Planning and Control
• Quantitative Methods in Business and Management
• Accounting Information System

Level 3 modules

• Issues and Controversies in Accounting Project
• Strategic Financial Management
• Auditing
• Work Placement in Context (for those who undertake a work placement)
  

Level 3 optional modules

• Taxation
• Strategic Management
• Entrepreneurship and Small Business Ventures
• Business Ethics, Environmental Sustainability and Governance

Teaching and Learning

Staff expertise

Many of our lecturers are:

• Internationally or nationally recognised for their innovative work and research;
• Work as consultants for major companies worldwide;
• Have practical and personal experience in business/have run their own companies.

Lectures

These provide a broad overview of key concepts and ideas. They provide a framework from which to carry out more in-depth study. For each module there will be one lecture per week.

Seminars

Small seminar groups allow students to make individual contributions. You will undertake in-depth analysis of issues as you exchange and explore ideas with other students.

Workshops

Workshops in the Business School labs give students the opportunity to obtain valuable hands-on experience of industry software, computing equipment, business design and multi-media packages.

One-to-one sessions with tutors

In your first year you will assigned a personal tutor who will be available to help with academic or personal issues. In your second year this support will be continued through the Business School’s Pastoral Care programme – BBS Student Support – a team of specially chosen personal tutors who are available throughout the working week. Additionally, if you choose a four-year sandwich course, you will also be allocated an industrial tutor who will provide support during your work placement. In your final year you will receive one‑to‑one supervision for your major project.

Availability of tutors

Academic staff must be available for a number of hours each week for students who need to get advice. Their availability will be displayed on their office doors so that students can make an appointment or drop by to see them if they have any concerns about their studies.

Web-learning and support

eLearning and knowledge management are now standard ways in which companies communicate with their employees. Students will be expected to participate in email discussion groups and engage with online material using the university’s web‑based learning facility, u-Link.

Other

There will be email discussion groups, research talks on key management issues and presentations by outside speakers. Throughout the course, you will also be expected to undertake group work and individual projects and presentations.

Assessment

Each subject is assessed either by a combination of continuous appraisal and examination or by coursework or examination alone. As a rough guide, the split is approximately 50:50 exam to coursework but the exact ratio varies depending on the modules you select. Your results from Level 1 do not count towards your final degree classification, but you have to pass the first year to continue with the degree. Level 2 is worth a third of your final mark and Level 3 the rest. In your final year you will undertake an assessed project of around 8,000 words worth a third of your Level 3 marks.

Employability

On average 72.5% of our graduates were working or combining work with further study six months after graduating. This figure was substantially higher for students who opted for the Placement option as part of their course (4-year thick-sandwich).

Graduates from the Accounting pathway are interested in a wide range of careers. The financial and banking sector continues in its popularity, in particular investment banking and accountancy.

In 2010/11 Business and Management (Accounting) graduates were employed in the following positions:

• Finance Intern
• Client Service Manager
• Graduate Trainee Accountant
• Financial Analyst
• Procurement Analyst
• Recruitment Consultant
• Technology Consultant
• Corporate Markets Data Risk Analyst
• Trainee Accountant
• Operations Analyst
• Finance Assistant 

Read more about Business and Accounting (Management).

Business Life

Business Life is a unique employability programme offered free of charge to all of our students alongside their academic study. It was conceived, developed and is delivered in association with leading employers from business, industry and the public sector. The programme begins the moment you join us and lasts throughout your degree. By the time you graduate you will have an impressive portfolio of work experience, certificates, industry contacts and skills.

• High quality personal, technology, language and business skill training courses and workshops
• Career development and planning services, including mentoring, industry taster sessions and guest speaker series
• Sector leading work experience programme covering placements, volunteering, internships and vacation work
• Help with marketing your capabilities, through networking events, CV development, employer exhibitions and student showcases
• Lifelong continuous professional development, including short courses and Masters programmes at preferential rates

As part of the Business Life Employability Programme you will be invited to participate in events and training that will help you obtain job-ready skills, recognised certificates and to build up and valuable examples of your work that will give you a real employability advantage.

Placement & Careers Centre (PCC)

Brunel’s award-winning Placement & Careers Centre (PCC) is your one-stop-shop when it comes to employment and career planning and is based at the heart of the university on the first floor of the Bannerman Centre. Business School students are supported by dedicated Placement Officers and Careers Consultants that work with you from the day you start until two years after you graduate.

Within the PCC is the Job Shop, which is visited by most students on arrival at the University. The Job Shop helps students find temporary or part-time work whilst studying for their degree which enables you to develop the transferable skills sought after by employers.

The Work Placement Year

One of Brunel’s most distinctive features is a commitment to include periods of work experience within 'sandwich' degrees – degree study that includes a year’s paid work placement as part of the course. Four-year sandwich degrees help students to develop the practical knowledge and skills required to succeed in the competitive graduate job market.

Placements are on offer at different sized organisations across the public and private sector, providing the opportunity to choose the type of experience most suited to you. In addition to providing a valuable opportunity to put what you’ve learnt in your degree into practice and to earn some much appreciated money, students find their work placement experience significantly enhances their employability when they come to graduate. In fact many students are offered employment with their work placement company upon graduation.

How the Placement Scheme Works

Students undertaking a work placement spend at least 44 weeks in an organisation working for a particular department, performing a role relevant to their studies. Work placements are carried out at the end of a student’s second year at Brunel.

Whilst a student is out on placement, an academic member of Brunel Business School keeps in touch and all placement students and their employers are invited to attend a tutorial day at Brunel. Most work placements are organised with companies based in the UK, but where a student has contacts overseas, it is possible to organise a placement outside the UK, subject to certain conditions being met.

Features

• A sandwich placement is totally different from the kind of work experience you may have had whilst at school;
• A work placement is a proper job with a proper organisation – quite often the organisation is a household name;
• Work placement students earn proper salaries: currently students are generally being paid between £13,000 and £17,000 per annum, depending on the market sector and location – some have been known to earn considerably more than this.

Employers of placement students from Brunel include:

• IBM
• Adidas
• Lloyds TSB
• British Airways
• Orange
• Microsoft
• Warner Bros
• Morgan Stanley
• Air France
• Walt Disney
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• United Biscuits
• Nissan

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £9,000 full-time; £1,000 placement year

International students: £13,500 full-time

We are introducing over 700 scholarships for 2013, meaning that one in five applicants who join Brunel next year will receive financial support from the University. See our fees and funding page for full details

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements for 2013 Entry

• GCE A-level Typical offer AAB (General Studies or Critical Thinking accepted as one of three A-levels). Applicants who have already achieved at least BBB at A-level and have Personal Statements showing a strong interest in the course and transferable skills will also be considered. Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants within this range.
  
• Irish Leaving Certificate AAABB.
• Scottish Advanced Highers AAB.
• Advanced Diploma Progression Diploma grade A (in Business, Administration & Finance or Public Services, plus one A level at grade B in an academic subject. For applicants undertaking the Public Services diploma the A level must be in a business related or science subject.
• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma D*D*D in Business or a Business related subject.
  
• BTEC Level 3 Diploma D*D in Business or a Business related subject with an A Level at grade A.
• IBDP 35 points.
• Access Complete and pass Access to Business or related subject course with 45 credits at Level 3 Distinction and 15 credits at level 2. Applicants should also have some relevant work experience.

For all of the above, 5 GCSEs or equivalent at Grade C or above are also required, to include English and Maths (please note that minimum grades must be achieved by the time you submit your UCAS application).

NB: Accounting pathway students are required to have a GCSE Maths at grade B or above, or A/S Level Maths at grade C or above.

English Language Requirements

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.