Keele University Prospectus Undergraduate | 2016 | Page 44

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

Accounting and Finance
Overview

Accounting and Finance is a single honours degree
that enables you to specialise in accountancy within
the broader context of studying finance. While it is a
strongly vocational subject, Accounting and Finance
draws on principles from the social sciences including
management, economics and law enabling you to
develop your knowledge and understanding across
these areas.
Our Accounting and Finance course offers you the
opportunity to gain a firm grounding in accountancy
and finance while allowing you to tailor your studies
to your individual requirements through a series
of electives. As well as developing subject-specific
skills, this course will equip you with a wide range
of transferable skills, enabling you to undertake
research, work independently or in a group,
manage your time efficiently, interpret and evaluate
information and develop your communication
and writing skills. These skills are highly valued by
prospective employers.
The degree is currently recognised by the
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
(ACCA), the Chartered Institute of Management
Accountants (CIMA) and the Chartered Institute
of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and
provides exemptions from a range of membership
examinations of those bodies.

Course content

First year
You will study six core modules to enable you to
understand the underlying concepts and techniques.

Asset Pricing enables you to study how assets
are priced including arbitrage pricing theory
and the capital asset pricing model.
Cost and Management Accounting provides an
introduction to the core principles and techniques
of recording, defining and reporting costs.
Taxation introduces the operations of the UK tax
system, including the preparation of income tax
and corporation tax computations.
Introduction to Econometrics uses statistical
methods to investigate economic and financial issues
such as consumption functions, household labour
supply and the capital asset pricing model.
Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility
provides a broad introduction to the ethical dilemmas
which modern business encounters.
Portfolio Choice enables you to construct optimal
asset portfolios for private investors or large financial
institutions such as insurance companies.
Intermediate Financial Accounting examines the
ways that enterprises and other organisations
account for complex financial transactions.
All the issues are considered within the international
regulatory framework.
Third year
You will take five core modules:

These are:

Corporate Finance undertakes an analysis of
company financing investment projects, corporate
tax policy, financial decisions and real activity.

Management in Context introduces the nature of
management, including planning, decision making,
organising, staffing, leading and controlling.

Management Accounting explores the use of
management accounting information for planning,
control and decision making.

Accounting Principles introduces the basic ideas
of financial accounting, for example, how to read
financial documents.

The Audit Framework develops knowledge
and understanding of the roles of the external
and internal auditor.

Financial Accounting extends the basic principles of
accounting and explains the role of costs for pricing
and other business decisions.

Advanced Financial Reporting or Options
and Futures

Economics of Financial Markets studies the
connections between the financial system and the
wider economy, financial situations and financial
products and the markets in which they operate.
Business Law examines the legal framework that
informs contemporary business practice, focusing
on contract law and corporate governance.
You will chose a further two modules from a range
of electives offered by Keele Management School
and elsewhere in the University.

www.keele.ac.uk/ugcourses
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Second year
You will build on the basic knowledge gained in
the first year and study seven core modules:

Advanced Management Accounting
or International Finance
You can then choose a further three modules. 
Popular choices include:
• Advanced Financial Reporting
• Options and Futures
• Advanced Management Accounting
• International Finance
• Applied Financial Analysis
• Analysing Company Performance