Accounting and Finance

Accounting and finance are the quantitative backbone of commercial life, providing the tools through which organisations measure their performance, plan their activities, manage their resources, and report their results to the outside world. Accounting develops the skills to record and interpret financial transactions and to prepare statements that give stakeholders an accurate picture of organisational health. Finance addresses how capital is raised, how investments are valued, and how risk is understood and managed in markets and organisations.

Together, they provide one of the most direct and vocational combinations of knowledge available to undergraduate students.

At the University of Sussex, this three-year full-time programme includes a foundation year and is accredited by five industry accounting bodies, which means that graduates can gain significant exemptions from professional examinations, accelerating the journey to membership of the accounting profession. You will study financial reporting, management accounting, corporate finance, taxation, auditing, and investment, developing both the technical knowledge and the analytical skills that professional practice demands. The course also includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement, making this one of the more generously structured accounting and finance programmes in terms of professional and international experience.

These elements provide context, professional exposure, and a track record that employers value.

Graduates pursue careers as chartered accountants, management accountants, financial analysts, auditors, and financial managers in professional services, industry, banking, and the public sector. The multiple accreditations mean that the route to professional qualification is particularly efficient for graduates of this programme. Further study options include postgraduate programmes in accounting, finance, and business administration.