Counting on a career in accountancy? Covering the latest practices and theories of accounting, our BA (Hons) Accountancy degree offers essential training for entry into this truly prestigious global profession, along with an impressive range of maximum exemptions from professional accountancy body examinations.

Key information

Award:

BA (Hons)

Mode of Study:

Part-time

Duration:

4.5 years

Location:

University of Bolton

UCAS points:

104

Start date:

23/09/2024

Course Details

Accountancy can trace its history back to the beginnings of civilisation. The necessity to keep track of goods and produce led to the development of writing and this ancient profession is a global necessity in the 21st century. Fundamental to planning and forecasting, budgeting and control, taxation and decision making, competent and resourceful accountants are essential to success in business and commerce, as well as the smooth running of government and public services.

Our BA (Hons) Accountancy is designed to give you a strong academic and vocational background for a professional career in accountancy. It will also support your career development if you are considering a broader management role, as it offers the financial knowledge that is central to many private and public sector careers.

Throughout the course, our dedicated and experienced team will draw on the latest accounting practices and theories. We’ll guide you as you explore the two key areas of management accounting and financial accounting and reporting. You’ll also be able to choose from several optional modules in your final year, which include (amongst others) taxation and audit.

Alongside developing your professional accountancy-related knowledge, we want to help you develop lifelong learning skills so that you can reflect on, articulate, transfer and take ownership of the development of your skills into the future, maximising your potential for success.

Highlights

Our Accounting and Finance courses are ranked third in the UK by the Guardian University Guide 2022.
Also, The Complete University Guide 2022 ranks our Accounting and Finance courses as first in the UK for student satisfaction.
The course is accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), and Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (ICAS).
We offer an enviable range of exemptions from professional accountancy body examinations, including ACCA, ICAEW, ICAS, CIMA and CIPFA, so once you have graduated, you can join their professional development programmes at an advanced stage.
Our graduates are also entitled to exemptions from the Association of International Accountants (AIA) papers and are eligible to apply for associate membership of the AIA and the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA).
We are an ICAEW accredited HEPiL (Higher Education Partner in Learning) and have links with AIA, IFA and CPA Australia.
Many of our graduates return to study towards the ACCA Applied Skills and ACCA Strategic Professional Level examinations at Bolton. The University is an ACCA Gold approved learning partner for these programmes and regularly exceeds the global pass rate targets set by the professional body.

Key Features

Our tutors are all qualified accountants with experience working in the profession and teaching undergraduate, postgraduate and professional accountancy qualifications.
We’ll encourage you to use mathematical and statistical techniques to solve general business and accountancy related problems. Learning from case studies will give you a good grounding in real business situations.
We use small group and tutorial teaching so that you have the opportunity to benefit from the excellent support offered by our teaching staff.
We regularly invite guest speakers who hold senior positions in industry and practice to share their experiences with you and your classmates so that you can benefit from their knowledge and advice.
We enjoy excellent support from local employers and the Bolton Society of Chartered Accountants, maximising industry-related opportunities.

Professional recognition

The course is accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (ICAS).

104 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3.
You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics.
If you hold the AAT Technician qualification, you'll be exempted from five modules at level HE4. You'll be offered direct entry into level HE5 and be required to study an additional HE4 module.
We'll be happy to consider your application if you don't meet the standard entry requirements but have non-traditional qualifications and/or relevant experience.
You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

The University of Bolton's BA (Hons) Accountancy degree will develop your understanding of accountancy practices, commerce, industry and finance.

During your studies, you'll develop a variety of technical and transferable skills that are sought after by a wide range of business sector employers and organisations. You’ll learn about commercial awareness, how businesses function and gain numerical and quantitative skills linked to the business context.

As a graduate, you’ll be able to solve problems, analyse data and statistics, and present information both orally and on paper. You’ll also have good attention to detail and strong organisational ability.

What can I do with this qualification?

After graduation, you may choose to enter the industry and get a job as a trainee company accountant or internal auditor, or join a professional practice and train as an auditor or tax consultant.

As a graduate of our BA (Hons) Accountancy with foundation year degree, you'll be able to enter a range of sectors, including banking, investment and insurance, retail and sales, IT, recruitment and human resources, management consultancy, and government agencies such as HM Revenue and Customs. Many of our accountancy graduates have gone on to qualify as professional accountants, either with CIMA, ACCA, ICAS or ICAEW.

You'll also be able to explore graduate schemes. These are are long-term employment contracts, often with very large, multinational accountancy firms such as Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY. They use large-scale recruitment campaigns and assessments to attract the most promising graduates and have high-minimum requirements.

Alternative career options

Graduates can use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. They include:

Purchasing
Tax and pensions advice
Law
Teaching, education and training
Transport and logistics
Stocks and shares
Charity work
Loss adjusting
Credit and investment analysis
Claims inspection
Advertising, marketing and PR
Investment banking
Insurance
Statistics and market research

Course fees

Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £6,000 for the academic year 2024/25.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2023-2024 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

For 2023-2024 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2023-2024 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:

You should have to hand:

Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions@bolton.ac.uk

Apply online: University of Bolton BA(Hons) Accountancy - 23 September 2024

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

University of Bolton Group Partners

Bolton College
University Collegiate School
Alliance Learning
University of Bolton

For valued members of the University of Bolton Group and progressing students, we try to make our application process as simple and as fast as possible.

By selecting the link for your chosen course from the list shown below, you will be taken directly to our online application form. Please read the user guidance before completing this, and ensure you upload all supporting documents such as certificates and your personal statement when you apply.

When you are asked to add a contact email address, please ensure you add your college/university email account address as well as your personal address. If you do not add your college address as your contact address, we will be unable to identify you as a partner and offer you the benefits of being part of our group.

If you are ready to apply directly, please select your chosen start date from the list below.

Before applying, please read the entry requirements section of this page.

If your course runs at multiple locations or has various start dates, please be sure to select the correct application link from the list below.

Before beginning your application, you should have the following information to hand:

Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
Details of any employment history, including name, address, dates and role
Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
Details including email addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Undergraduate Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or UGadmissions@bolton.ac.uk

Apply online: University of Bolton BA(Hons) Accountancy - 23 September 2024

We look forward to receiving your application and you continuing your academic journey with us!

Lectures are used to introduce the core course content, while seminars allow you to explore subjects in greater detail and consider the policies and practices involved. Tutorials give you space to ask questions to ensure you understand the topics covered in lectures and seminars. We use case studies and practical scenarios to help you learn to apply academic theory to real-life problems, allowing you to gain insights into accountancy practice in a working business environment.

Guest lectures/presentations by visiting speakers from relevant employment areas and professional bodies give you the chance to further develop your knowledge and understanding.

In terms of assessment, you can expect time-constrained exams, essays, reports, presentations, portfolios, and others. These contribute to your final module marks and allow you to demonstrate that you've met the learning outcomes whilst addressing the requirements of the professional bodies.

We also use other forms of assessment to help you learn, provide you with feedback and inform your development, though these do not count towards your final module mark. During seminars, you’ll be provided with a series of structured tasks to complete to test your understanding of the topics covered; for instance, quizzes and workshop exercises such as case studies. You’ll also receive feedback on assessment drafts. These help to identify any areas which would benefit from extra attention on your part or where you need extra support from your tutor.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

Financial Accounting Fundamentals
Introduction to Law for Accountants
Principles of Economics
Management Accounting Fundamentals
Accountant in the Business Environment
Quantitative Methods for Accountants
Financial Accounting and Reporting
Management Accounting and Decision-Making
Personal and Business Tax
Auditing and Assurance
Professional Accountant in Practice
Contemporary Business Management
Advanced Financial Accounting and Reporting
Advanced Taxation
Financial Management
Financial Crime
Strategic Management Accounting
Advanced Auditing Practice
Investigative Study
International Business and Finance

Assessment methods

Level	Assesment method
Level one	Coursework 37%, Practical exams 5%, Written exams 58%
Level two	Coursework 33%, Written exams 67%
Level three	Coursework 42%, Written exams 58%

Learning activities

Level	Learning activity
Level one	Guided independent study 72%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 28%
Level two	Guided independent study 75%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 25%
Level three	Guided independent study 76%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.