Accounting and Finance
BA (Hons)

• We put you on the fast track to achieving membership of a professional body. By taking relevant modules, you’ll be eligible to apply for all nine maximum exemptions offered by ACCA as well as exemptions from CIMA, ICAEW, CPA Australia and AIA qualifications
• Through our partnership with international accountancy firm Mazars we offer a Mazars Accelerate Pathway (MAP) with guaranteed, paid student placements to a select number of students, providing valuable experience of working in a professional environment
• Your employability is our focus: how you study and what you learn is grounded in professional practice, helping you hit the ground running from day one in your career.
• Exciting opportunities for live consultancy projects and fieldtrips will introduce you to the realities of the modern business world
• In our Financial Markets Lab, you’ll gain hands-on experience and harness the same technology used by financial experts worldwide
• You’ll learn from professionally qualified staff who know the industry inside out and can share insights from the front line of contemporary accounting and finance

Accounting – your questions answered

In the below video, Senior Lecturer, Darren Byrne, answers some of the most frequently asked questions about Accounting at the University of Derby.

Our BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance prepares you for the professional world in a way that is relevant, inspiring and practical. It gives you a sound understanding of all the key accounting and financial principles so that you’re ready to take up a management position in industry and commerce or to become a professional accountant.

Mazars Accelerate Progamme (MAP) 

The BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance course, in partnership with international accountancy firm Mazars, offers our students the opportunity to secure a paid placement at one of the Mazars offices. This will be subject to a successful application process. Students can apply for the Mazars industrial placement in their first year. This is exclusive to students studying on the BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance programme. If successful, your placement will commence at the start of your third year. 

Depending on your performance in your placement year and your final degree award, Mazars may offer you a place on their audit graduate trainee programme. You’ll also benefit from mentoring and insight visits to their offices in your first and second year. 

Hands-on learning

Between stages two and three, you could broaden your experience with an optional placement year. Our students have undertaken placements with organisations such as Boots, the NHS, Faurecia and local accounting practices including Smith Cooper and Duncan & Toplis. Students on placement have the opportunity to study for a ‘Diploma on Professional Practice’ to gain an extra qualification while on placement. 

Fieldtrips will help you to translate theory into practice. We have visited companies such as PKF Cooper Parry as well as a council finance department. A recent fieldtrip to Chatsworth House featured an informative talk by the Chief Executive of the Devonshire Trust and the Head of Visitor Experience for the Chatsworth Group. Such opportunities deepen your understanding of the wider business world and underpin your live coursework projects. 

Preparing you for a career in accountancy

During the first stage of the course, you’re introduced to the most important concepts of accounting within a business framework. As your studies progress, you learn advanced techniques and cover various accounting specialisms. The final stage sees you tackling more complex projects, considering ethical questions, evaluating strategic business issues, and using your skills in research and critical analysis to devise solutions to real management problems.

Choice and flexibility are cornerstones of this course. After stage two, you can opt to take a work placement or move straight to the final stage. In the final year, you can select two options to specialise in an area that particularly interests you or which matches your career aspirations. You’ll also complete an independent study on a relevant theme of your choice. 

Throughout, you’ll also develop your teamwork, leadership and project management skills to enhance your employability.

Global thinking

We’re committed to helping you develop an international outlook and you could take part in optional overseas fieldtrips. On a trip to Copenhagen, our students visited the Louisiana Modern Art Museum to learn more about the problem of art fraud, bringing to life themes such as business ethics, forensic accounting, audit and assurance.

Expert teaching

Our accounting and finance teaching team are all professionally qualified, with industry as well as academic experience. Because they have also taught on courses for ACCA and CIMA, they can keep you up to date with the latest professional standards.

In the PQ Magazine Awards, for the last two successive years, our department was nominated for ‘Accountancy College of the Year’ and ‘Innovation in Accountancy’ accolades. Our staff have recently edited an influential book entitled Contemporary Issues in Accounting – the Current Developments in Accounting Beyond the Numbers, exploring the challenges and opportunities which are likely to impact accounting professionals in the near future.

Our extensive professional networks bring an extra dimension to the teaching on this course. We have introduced employer mentors who provide students with one-to-one support and guidance. A team from HMRC also visits the University to run a mock assessment centre, especially useful for students taking taxation modules.

Further networking opportunities are arranged through our dynamic Accounting Society, established and run by students. They organise activities such as mentoring sessions, social and fundraising events. 

Facilities and resources

You can make the most of our exciting Financial Markets Lab, a high-specification facility used in various modules and assessments on the course. You could even work towards the Bloomberg Market Concepts Certificate to enhance your CV.

In addition, you’ll learn how to use Microsoft Excel for accounting applications and there is the opportunity to become familiar with SAGE, the accounting bookkeeping package.

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

During the first and second stages, you will learn mainly through: 

• formal lectures
• tutorials
• workshops

From the second stage, you are expected to work more independently and take greater charge of your own learning, while receiving guidance and direction from the academic staff.

Examples of projects

The Independent Study module is an important element of the final year, enabling you to pursue in-depth research into a theme of your choice. Recent examples include investigating issues such as the impact of sugar tax on businesses in Derby, financial fair play rules in football and the movement towards narrative or integrated reporting.

Some of these projects involve live briefs for employers: one student completed a study on internal control systems on behalf of Derby Museums.

How you are assessed

In the first stage of the BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance, assessments are designed to help you gauge your own level of learning through constructive feedback. The range of assessments includes: 

• computer-based assessments
• examinations
• essays
• business reports
• portfolios

In the second and third stages, you’ll be assessed mainly by examinations, but also by essays, business reports, portfolios and presentations. Again, there is substantial feedback to guide your progress.

2023 entry

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2023 entry.

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.0 (with at least 5.5 in each skills area)

2024 entry

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2024 entry.

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.0 (with at least 5.5 in each skills area)

2023/24

Further information about our fees and support you may be entitled to.

Additional costs and optional extras

Setting sights on your accounting and finance future

Accounting and finance graduates are in demand the world over, so you will have the opportunity to work in many diverse fields. Our former students have gone on to excel in local practices, multinational accounting firms, merchant banks and other major businesses. 

On graduation – and depending on the module pathway you have selected – you can apply for exemptions from ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW, CPA Australia and AIA professional qualifications. This will shorten the time you need to become a fully qualified member of your chosen professional body. Representatives from the various professional bodies visit the University to explain more about their institutions, the exemptions available and the potential career paths you can consider.

Our Careers and Employment Service will provide you with support from day one of your course to ensure you leave Derby as a ‘work-ready’ graduate – industry aware, motivated and enterprising. Throughout your studies, you’ll also benefit from our Development Planning (PDP) scheme which enables you to reflect on your learning and develop your career ambitions. In addition, your programme will support you in your preparation for the work place. Your second year module, Professional Development Skills for Accounting Graduates, is tailored to the needs of the accounting profession. The module is designed to ensure that you are ready to apply for internships, placements and or graduate roles.

The support continues once you’ve completed your course too: you are entitled to further help and guidance from the Careers and Employment Service for up to three years after leaving the University. 

Further study

You can choose to continue your studies at Derby with the MSc Accounting and Finance. You may be entitled to an alumni discount on your fees if you decide to extend your time with us by progressing from undergraduate to postgraduate study.

Contact us

If you need any more information from us, eg on courses, accommodation, applying, car parking, fees or funding, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help you.

† Additional information about your studies

4 years with optional placement year

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Additional costs and optional extras

We’re committed to providing you with an outstanding learning experience. Our expert teaching, excellent facilities and great employability prepare you for your future career. As part of our commitment to you we aim to keep any additional study costs to a minimum. However, there are occasions where students may incur some additional costs.

The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.

Included in your fees

• Opportunities to enter ICAEW Business Challenge, CIMA Global Business Challenge
• Opportunity of part funded trips, optional with limited places available
• Visit to an organisation - linked to live brief.

Optional costs not included in your fees

• One-off joining fee for Professional Accounting Body

Please note: Our courses are refreshed and updated on a regular basis. If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.

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