Accounting and Finance

Accounting and finance are the disciplines at the heart of how organisations understand and manage their financial position, and how capital is allocated across markets. Accounting creates and maintains the financial records that allow organisations to understand their condition, comply with legal requirements, and report to investors, regulators and other stakeholders. Finance applies economic reasoning and quantitative analysis to investment decisions, the valuation of assets and businesses, the management of risk, and the operation of financial markets.

Together, they give you a comprehensive and rigorous understanding of the financial world.

At the University of Essex, this three-year full-time degree offers a distinctive feature: access to a virtual trading floor equipped with Bloomberg Market Data Feed, the same real-world financial information and analytics used by professional traders and analysts in City finance firms. This practical tool gives you the opportunity to apply your theoretical knowledge of financial markets, securities and trading in a simulated professional environment, which is an unusually direct preparation for roles in financial services. You will study financial and management accounting, financial reporting and regulation, corporate finance, investment analysis, financial modelling, and the quantitative methods that underpin modern financial analysis.

Numerical precision, analytical rigour and the ability to communicate complex financial information clearly are developed throughout. The programme is typically structured to provide exemptions from some professional accounting and finance qualification examinations.

Graduates move into investment banking, asset management, financial analysis, accountancy, audit, corporate finance, treasury management, insurance, financial technology, and a wide range of quantitative roles in financial services. Professional qualification routes through ACCA, ICAEW, CFA, and other bodies are the standard post-graduation pathway, and postgraduate study in finance or accounting is an option for those who want to pursue research or academic careers.