Accountancy and Legal Studies

Accountancy and legal studies is a combination that addresses two of the most practically important professional disciplines, examining how financial information is recorded, reported and used alongside the legal frameworks within which business and commercial life operates. Accountancy gives you the technical and analytical foundation for understanding financial statements, management accounts, audit and assurance, taxation and financial regulation. Legal studies introduces the principles of law, including contract, company law, employment law and commercial regulation, giving you the professional context in which accountancy is practised.

Together the disciplines build a foundation for careers at the intersection of finance and law.

At the University of Aberdeen you will study across four years of full-time study, including a year abroad that broadens your perspective and develops your understanding of how different legal and financial systems operate. You will gain highly developed analytical and academic skills alongside a thorough grounding in the theory, practice and application of financial and business concepts. The combination prepares you both for the professional accountancy training routes and for careers in commercial law, business and finance more broadly.

Graduates in accountancy and legal studies are well positioned for training contracts with accounting firms and for graduate roles in corporate finance, banking, financial services, tax, audit and commercial law. The legal element also provides a strong foundation for the further study required to qualify as a solicitor, and the combination of financial and legal understanding is valued in insolvency, corporate restructuring, financial regulation and compliance roles. Many graduates pursue professional qualifications with bodies in accounting or law, building on the undergraduate foundation to achieve full professional status.

The breadth of career options reflects the genuine utility of combining rigorous financial training with legal knowledge.