Finance: Business Management

Finance and business management sit at the heart of every organisation, from small enterprises to global corporations. Combining these two disciplines gives you a rigorous understanding of how money flows through businesses, how decisions are made under uncertainty, and how organisations are structured and led. The subject draws on economics, accounting, organisational behaviour and strategy, training you to think analytically about resources, risk and performance.

At the University of Exeter you will explore financial theory alongside the practical dimensions of managing people, operations and markets. You will develop skills in financial analysis, investment appraisal, budgeting and corporate governance, while also studying the strategic and human dimensions of running a business. The programme spans three years of full-time study and includes both a sandwich year in professional practice and a year abroad, giving you an extended period of international and workplace experience that few graduates elsewhere will match.

Your placement year means you enter the job market with genuine commercial experience, having applied classroom knowledge in a real organisational setting.

The combination of finance and management opens doors across a wide range of sectors. Graduates typically move into roles in corporate finance, investment banking, management consulting, financial planning and analysis, and general management. Others progress into accountancy training with major professional firms, or move into roles in the public and third sectors where financial oversight is increasingly valued.

A strong foundation in both disciplines also prepares you well for postgraduate study, whether that is an MBA, a specialist master's in finance or accounting, or further academic research. Employers consistently seek candidates who can bridge the gap between financial rigour and leadership capability, and this programme is designed precisely to develop that combination.