Accounting and Finance with Professional Placement Year

Accounting and finance are the disciplines through which organisations understand and manage their financial resources, making and communicating decisions about investment, risk, and performance. Accountants produce and audit the financial information that shareholders, regulators, and managers rely on; finance specialists evaluate investment opportunities, manage portfolios, and structure the transactions through which capital is allocated across the economy. Together, they represent two of the most consistently employable degree subjects available.

At the University of Salford, this four-year full-time programme includes a professional placement year that gives you a substantial period of work experience in an accounting, finance, or business organisation, and a year abroad for those who want an international dimension to their studies. You will study financial reporting, management accounting, corporate finance, investment analysis, taxation, and the regulatory frameworks that govern financial professionals, developing both your technical knowledge and the quantitative and analytical skills that employers demand. The combination of academic rigour and professional placement experience is a significant advantage in the competition for graduate accounting and finance roles.

The typical entry tariff is 120 UCAS points.

Graduates pursue careers in public practice with accounting firms, moving towards professional qualifications such as ACA, ACCA, or CIMA, and in finance roles within industry, banking, investment management, insurance, and the public sector. The professional placement year typically makes a substantial difference to graduate employability, often leading to a job offer from the placement employer or providing a strong foundation for targeted applications on graduation. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in finance or accounting, or prioritise completing their professional qualification as the next step.