ACCOUNTING_BROCHURE_2010

ACCOUNTING& FINANCE Make it count

UNDERGRADUATE COURSE GUIDE 2011ABERDEEN BUSINESS SCHOOL•ROBERT GORDON UNIVERSITY•ABERDEEN

Introduction 2Prospects 4Placements 6

What and when: course overview 10…and course detail 12How will I be taught? 14How can I apply? 15What next? 16

Choosing a course isn’t straightforward. There’s loads of detail you need to know: where will I study? what topics get covered? how do I get assessed? You also want to gain a ‘feel’ for things – ideally, direct and honest from some current students and graduates. In this brochure we’ve combined hard facts about the degree as well as real views of students and graduates. And we’ve tried to keep things short and clear, so you don’t get put off by more information than you need.

Our aim is to give you a quick, genuine and useful insight into our courses. If there’s anything more you’d like to know, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

inTROdUCTiOn:YOU’ll Gain USEfUl SKillS…

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“RGU courses prepare students well for the world of work, giving a solid grounding in areas from Finance and Taxation and Financial and Management Accounting.”

iain abernEthyLEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, JOHNSTON CARMICHAEL

… currently has four RGU placement students. “We’re delighted with the calibre. In return, they get good experience; are expected to pick up information and take a degree of responsibility. A key element is developing communication and teamwork skills – it’s where students see a big diff erence. They gain an appreciation of business, the do’s and don’ts of meetings, writing skills… Our objective is that RGU students return after graduation and study for professional exams. Such students tend to do very well in their exams, then progress well with their career.”

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCEBA (Hons) UCAS N420

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Accountancy and finance is a great career: challenging, rewarding and packed with opportunities to succeed, try new areas and work globally.

Giving you a head start in it has always been our priority. That’s why our accounting and fi nance course rates as 100% for graduate employment (Virgin Guide to British Universities 2010). It leads the way in providing practical hands-on skills, together with broader abilities – all of which make you an ideal employee.

There has long been a demand for high-calibre graduates like ours. With (on average) just 65 students a year, you’ll be joining an elite group.

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PROSPECTS:…TRain fOR ThE REal wORld

“I chose RGU for its friendly, relaxed atmosphere; the reputation of the course and the high graduate employment – a priority for me. Another advantage is the paid placement year: graduate employers seem to really appreciate this.”

frazer nicol

… is in his second year. “I’m impressed by the facilities, the staff, and the modern way the course is taught: mixing lectures, computer work, group work, self study and tutorials, with all the materials you need available online. I start my placement this summer with Anderson, Anderson & Brown – I’m looking forward to building up my business experience. The lecturers and placement office staff provide plenty of information and events, making the application process easy.”

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE BA (Hons) UCAS N420

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Career options

Our graduates are highly sought after by employers. You’ll be well-prepared for a career in areas such as financial and management accountancy, taxation, auditing and corporate finance.

In the past few years, over half our graduates have gone on to work as a Trainee Chartered Accountant, and qualify with The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).

Many others work for companies in industry and study for qualifications with The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) or Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

The Honours degree is fully accredited with ICAS, and both ACCA and CIMA give exemptions from many of their exams. Our graduates have had an excellent pass rate in these exams.

Job options

> CA Trainee> Financial Analyst> Tax Consultant> Treasury Accountant

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE BA (Hons) UCAS N420

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“This stood out from other universities in Scotland because it was the only one that offered a paid placement year, where I could gain valuable experience in a real life working situation.”

Kristopher Thomson

… spent his third year placement at Total E&P UK Ltd, and has returned to them following his final year. “Because the lecturers are in liaison with professional bodies such as ICAS and CIMA, I now have exemptions from some CIMA exams, and this opportunity has been thanks to ABS.”

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PlaCEMEnTS:…GET REal EXPERiEnCE

Who can I work for?

Your placement must be in either a professional accounting firm, or in the accounting or finance department within another relevant employer.

We have a number of firms who have offered placements for many years, and used successive placement students to fill a permanent post within their organisation.

Placements

Nothing beats real experience. It makes your studies seem real, tests your understanding of topics, and helps you get an idea of what you might like to do after graduating.

Plus it’s a great thing to have on your CV. (In fact, many of our graduates are offered full-time jobs by their placement employer.)

Ours is the only accounting degree at a Scottish university with a year-long work placement.

How do I find my placement?

Our Placement Office arranges opportunities with a wide range of employers, who then advertise the position using the University’s internal IT system. You choose which to apply for, and employers decide who to interview and subsequently employ.

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PlaCEMEnTS:…and BOOST YOUR CaREER ChanCES

“I jumped at the chance to go back after completing my degree. Many of my classmates also had the opportunity to return to the company that employed them during their placement year.”

lucinda Morrison

… recently graduated, and has “no doubt that my years at ABS have given me the best possible grounding for my career and future prospects.”

Some of our placement partners

Chartered Accountancy Firms

> Anderson Anderson and Brown> Deloitte> Ernst and Young> Hall Morrice> Howath Clark Whitehill (based in London)> Johnson and Carmichael> KPMG> Meston Reid> PricewaterhouseCoopers

Companies

> BP> Deutsche Bank (based in London)> Marathon> Shell> Simmons International> Talisman> Total

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE BA (Hons) UCAS N420

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What will I do?

Put your knowledge of accounting and finance into practice, and develop many new technical and interpersonal skills.

At a firm of Chartered Accountants you’ll probably be involved in preparing financial statements; audit; taxation and corporate finance. At a company, this might be: prepare monthly financial statements and budgets; compare actual vs budgeted figures and prepare specialist reports for management.

How will I know how I’m doing?

The employer will assess you, and you’ll be supported by an academic member of staff who will make several visits to monitor your progress during the year.

Can it help beyond my degree?

Absolutely.

At the end of their placement, many students are offered the option to return to the firm after graduation.

If your placement was in a Chartered Accountancy firm, then the firm can also opt to count the placement as part of the three years of CA training. This means you could qualify much earlier than graduates from other accounting and finance degrees.

YEaR 1

You develop generic skills: writing reports, presenting and working in a small team. You’ll use these throughout your course. They’re also skills employers view as essential.

Approximately 75% of our students have studied accountancy before coming to ABS. However, you don’t need to have done so to enter at this stage – and if you haven’t, we give you extra support if you require it.

The financial accounting module includes the basic theoretical and practical knowledge needed to prepare fi nancial statements. A book-keeping case study and the SAGE computer package allow you to record accounting transactions as they would be in a real company.

Management skills are taught in several modules in years 1 and 2, this allows you to apply your technical accounting and finance knowledge in a general management context to prepare you for working in the business world.

You study specialist modules in financial and management accounting and business finance.

The two financial accounting modules cover many of the international accounting and financial reporting standards, and preparing published financial statements using these standards.During semester 1, we advise you on writing your CV and interview techniques. This helps when applying for the year 3 work placement.

YEaR 2

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ACCOUNTING AND FINANCEBA (Hons) UCAS N420 whaT & whEn:

COURSE OVERViEw…

In year 3, almost all students undertake a one year (minimum 48 weeks) work placement in an accounting or finance position.

You could work in a professional accounting firm, or the accounting department of a company (including one in financial services).

You also further develop your academic knowledge by studying two modules in auditing, using distance learning. International standards on auditing are taught in these modules.

If you choose not to do a work placement, or can’t get one, then you’ll study classroom-based modules instead.

In each semester, you study compulsory modules in financial accounting, management accounting and taxation.

You also choose two more modules, from a list of accounting, finance and more general management subjects including corporate ethics, entrepreneurial studies and e-business.

The grade you achieve in each module in this year determines your Honours classification.

Completed an HND in Accounting at one of our partner FE Colleges?

You can enter directly into year 3. There, instead of doing a placement, you study financial and management accounting, business finance and auditing, as well as completing a literature project which develops your research and report writing skills.

After passing year 3 on this non-placement route, you can either:

graduate with an unclassified > BA Accounting and Finance degree, OR

go into year 4 to complete > the Honours degree

YEaR 3 YEaR 4 dEGREE linK PROG.

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Semester One

Business Ethics >Financial Accounting >Management Concepts >Personal and Business Finance >

Semester Two

Business Law >Introductory Economics >Management Accounting >People Management >

If you left now, you’d have…

Certificate of Higher Education Accounting

Semester One

Advanced Business Law >External Reporting >Financial Decision-making >Quantitative Business Techniques >

Semester Two

Business Information Systems >Enterprise Development >Finance for Business Decisions >Management and >

Cost Accounting

If you left now, you’d have…

Diploma of Higher Education Accounting

YEaR 1 YEaR 2

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ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE BA (Hons) UCAS N420 …& COURSE detail

Placement Route Semester One

Financial Reporting Issues > and Applications

Management Accounting > Decision-making and Control

Personal and Business Taxation >One option >

Semester Two

Corporate and Capital Taxes >Financial Accounting for >

Groups and Companies Management Accounting >

Issues and Applications One option >

If you left now, you’d have…

BA (Honours) Accounting and Finance

YEaR 3 YEaR 4

Semester One

The Theory of Auditing >Placement >

Semester Two

The Practice of Auditing >Placement >

Non-Placement Route

Semester One

Accounting and Finance > Literature Project

Corporate Financial Management >The Theory of Auditing >One option >

Semester Two

New Business Project >The Practice of Auditing >One option >

Semester One

Accounting and Finance > Literature Project

External Reporting >Financial Decision-making >The Theory of Auditing >

Semester Two

Finance for Business Decisions >Management and Cost Auditing >The Practice of Auditing >One option >

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There is no exit award at the end of the placement route.

If you left now, you’d have…

BA Accounting and Finance

Degree Link Programme

If you left now, you’d have…

BA Accounting and Finance

In the classroom

You’ll take four modules per semester. Each module involves around three hours of class teaching per week. While this differs from module to module, most have two hours of lectures delivered to the whole class, plus a further one hour tutorial taught to a small group of about 15 students.

Outside the classroom

In addition to lectures and tutorials, you have to spend approximately another 24 hours outside class time working on your own. For example doing the prescribed reading, preparing answers to the tutorial assignments or researching and writing coursework reports.

Assessment

We use a mixture of assessments. Most modules are assessed by a two hour exam at the end of the semester, and by coursework submitted during the semester. Other modules are assessed only by exam, or only by coursework.

All of the teaching staff on the accounting modules are Chartered Accountants, and most completed their training in a Big 4 accounting firm.

The degree is taught in two semesters. Each semester has a block of 12 weeks of teaching.

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how will i be taught?

Alternative qualifications

Equivalent overseas qualifications and some access programmes will be considered. Entry to year 2 for relevant HND qualifications.

Degree link programme

Entry to year 3 of the course is possible if you’ve completed an HND in Accounting at one of our partner FE Colleges. (If you enter via this route, you won’t undertake a placement in year 3.)

Study options

Honours Degree – Full-time: 4 years

Unclassified – Full-time: 3 years This refers to the non-placement year 3 routes.

Placement

A year’s paid placement in year 3 (minimum 48 weeks). This placement experience can count towards an ICAS training contract requirement.

Professional accreditation

The Honours degree is fully accredited by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and receives excellent exemptions from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Students who entered the degree in years 2 or 3 are considered on an individual basis by the Professional Bodies.

Entry Requirements

SQA Higher: BBBB GCE A level: CCC ILC Higher: BBC1C1 International Baccalaureate: 26 points

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how can i apply?

The next thing to do is talk to us.

We can answer any questions you may have. Simply call us on 01224 262728 or email [email protected]

We also provide a range of opportunities for you to visit us – so you can see what we can offer you first hand.

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This course guide is intended as a guide for applicants for courses delivered by Robert Gordon University. In compiling it the University has taken every care to be as accurate as possible, and the information in this course guide is correct at the time of going to print, but the course guide must be read as subject to change at any time and without notice. The University undertakes to make every reasonable effort to provide the teaching and academic facilities necessary for applicants’ programmes of study. However the University reserves the right, if such action is considered to be necessary, to make variations to fees and/or to vary the content or delivery method of any course at any time. In addition, the University may, at its sole discretion, discontinue or amalgamate any course(s). In these rare cases the University will notify applicants as soon as possible and reasonable steps will be taken to provide a suitable alternative to a discontinued course.

whaT nEXT?

Open Day

We organise two annual open days in October and November each year. It’s a perfect opportunity to visit us, meet the academic staff, experience the first-class facilities and talk to current students.

For full details of dates and times, and to see a full programme please see www.rgu.ac.uk/openday or request a brochure on 01224 262044.

Applicants’ Day

When you apply for any course at ABS, you’ll be invited to one of our course-specific Applicants’ Days – scheduled for February and March 2011.

We realise there’s a lot involved in making your final choice, so we hope to give you all the insight and information you need.

Visit Afternoons

We hold monthly Visit Afternoons, held on a Wednesday between 1:00–3:00pm at either our Schoolhill or Garthdee Campus.

For upcoming dates, follow the link on www.rgu.ac.uk/visitafternoons

The visit includes a talk by a Schools’ Liaison Officer, a tour of the facilities and a chance to speak to a lecturer on the course you’re interested in.

Aberdeen Business SchoolRobert Gordon UniversityGarthdee RoadAberdeenAB10 7QE

Talk to us. We can answer any questions or queries you may have.Simply call us on 01224 262728,email [email protected] or visit us at rgu.ac.uk

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