Accounting and Economics with Placement

Accounting and economics is a combination that provides both the technical financial expertise and the broader analytical framework for understanding how organisations and economies function. Accounting gives you the ability to produce, interpret, and audit financial information, ensuring that organisations account for their resources accurately and that decision-makers have the data they need. Economics provides the theoretical tools for understanding markets, incentives, and the macroeconomic forces that shape the environment in which those organisations operate.

Together, the two disciplines produce a particularly well-rounded preparation for careers in finance, business, and the public sector.

At Birkbeck, located at the heart of London with the capital's global financial centre nearby, this four-year full-time degree with a placement year gives you both rigorous academic training and direct professional experience. You will master essential accounting knowledge, covering financial reporting, management accounting, auditing, and taxation, alongside economic theory at both the micro and macro levels. The placement year provides structured industry experience that significantly strengthens your professional profile and your understanding of how academic knowledge applies in real financial and commercial settings.

Birkbeck's London location provides exceptional access to the finance, business, and public sector organisations that accounting and economics graduates enter.

Graduates go on to careers in accounting, financial analysis, investment banking, management consultancy, the civil service, and a wide range of roles in business and the public sector. Professional qualification through one of the leading accounting bodies, including ICAEW, ACCA, or CIMA, is a common next step, and the degree typically provides exemptions from some of those examinations. Many graduates also continue to postgraduate study in accounting, finance, or economics.