Accounting & Finance with Integrated Foundation Year

Accounting and finance brings together the recording, reporting and interpretation of financial performance with the analytical frameworks used to understand investment, risk, markets and corporate financial strategy. The two disciplines are deeply intertwined in professional practice: accountants provide the information on which financial decisions are based, while finance professionals use that information alongside market data and economic analysis to direct the flow of capital. Together they give you a comprehensive understanding of how organisations manage and deploy their financial resources.

At the University of Northampton this programme includes an integrated foundation year, designed to help students who have non-standard qualifications or who need additional preparation to develop the theoretical, practical and academic skills required for degree-level study. The full programme runs over four years full time and includes a sandwich year and work placement opportunities, giving you direct professional experience in accounting or finance alongside your academic development.

Graduates from accounting and finance programmes are consistently among the most employable, with professional qualifications from bodies such as the ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA and the CFA Institute widely pursued alongside or following graduation. Many enter the Big Four accounting firms or mid-tier practices, while others move into corporate finance, investment banking, financial analysis, treasury, risk management, management accounting and the public sector. The combination of accounting competence and financial analysis skills provides a strong platform for a very wide range of career paths in both private and public sectors.

Postgraduate study in accounting, finance or business is a natural further step.