BA (Hons) Accounting & Finance

Level 2 Modules

Compulsory Modules

These are the modules you must study on your award

Corporate Finance
On completion of this module you should be able to:
Describe the purpose of the business, the impact of divorcing corporate ownership and control, the role of the treasury department and the role of financial managers;
Explain the rationale, importance and functions of a well-organised stock market, the scale of stock market activities around the world and demonstrate a grasp of the UK regulatory framework;
Explain the concept of stock market efficiency and the implications of research findings for investors and corporate management;
Distinguish between different long-term sources of finance and explain their characteristics, especially in relation to risk and return;
Describe, compare and contrast sources of short and medium term finance and identify reasons for the importance of working capital in management planning;
Explain the theoretical justification of discounted cash flow techniques based on the concept of the time value of money and the opportunity cost of capital in investment decision-making;
Compare and contrast sunk, incremental and opportunity costs in investment appraisal;
Describe traditional investment techniques and the extent of their use as part of the overall capital-allocation planning process. / UMAC3F-20-2
Financial Accounting (pre-req IFA)
On completion of this module you should be able to:
interpret and critically analyse company financial reports;
discuss the information needs of the various user groups in the financial reporting process;
critically evaluate extensions to the corporate reporting framework beyond the statutory financial statements;
explain and discuss the application of accounting standards in relation to selected accounting topics such as tangible and intangible assets, accounting for provisions, deferred tax, creative accounting;
discuss the developments and implications of the adoption of international accounting standards. / UMAC38-20-2
Management Accounting (pre-req IMA)
On completion of this module you should be able to:
apply marginal and absorption costing techniques to manufacturing companies;
prepare flexed budgets;
calculate and interpret variances using standard costing;
reconcile budgeted and actual performance of manufacturing and service companies using both absorption and marginal costing;
prepare process and abnormal loss/gain accounts, allocate joint costs to products using alternative methods, and account for by-products;
discriminate between relevant and irrelevant information for decision-making purposes;
calculate appropriate selling prices using cost-plus, target costing, tabular, and differential calculus approaches;
prepare forecasts of financial results using time series and regression analyses;
discuss the advantages and disadvantages of divisionalisation and assess the performance of cost, profit and investment centre managers;
discuss the objectives of transfer pricing and alternative models available;
discuss the behavioural consequences of budgetary control;
apply appropriate management accounting techniques and extract, process and present numerical information to inform decisions including the use of information technology;
critically evaluate information and make reasoned judgements in uncertain situations. / UMAC37-20-2

Core Modules

You need to choose a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 from this section:

Good Business, Bad Business and Sustainability
This module is designed to raise questions of business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability and to discuss what makes a “good” or a “bad” business. The areas of ethics, CSR and sustainability are of increasing interest to employers and professional bodies, and thus to student employability. The module aims to develop critical and evaluative capacities, essential for decision making in complex environments. / UMED33-20-2
Tax and Tax Planning
Aspects of taxation, together with appropriate EU and international tax issues where relevant, are covered in this course. Methods by which individuals and business minimise the tax burden are explored. / UMAC3A-20-2
Credit Management: Theory & Practice
The aim of this module is to develop an understanding of theoretical and practical aspects of credit management within different organisations and sectors. It will also provide an overview of the importance of the credit function, the role of the credit manager and the contribution that credit management can make to companies in all sectors and enable students to understand the methods/ techniques of credit policies such as the evaluation of customer creditworthiness, credit assessment, and credit costs/benefits. / UMACR8-20-2
Business Law
The aims of this module are to:
To promote a rigorous approach to the study of law in a business context;
Ability to appreciate and utilise legal rules in a business context;
Ability to question, evaluate and analyse legal concepts;
Ability to demonstrate logical and practical approaches to the analysis of legal issues. / UJUTNE-20-2

Option modules

Choose 1 module from this section ONLY if you have chosen just 2 core modules:

Human Resource Management(AEF)
The module analyses human resource management (HRM) from a societal, organisation and individual perspective. It examines the ways in which HRM operates in terms of organisation resourcing, performance and reward, the employment relationship and human resource development. The module is underpinned by current theoretical debates in HRM and evidence from empirical studies and research. The nature of work and how people are recruited and managed in the workplace are critically analysed, debated and assessed. The module encourages you to explore and analyse the complex nature of organisations, their HRM processes and the employment relationship. / UMPD3D-20-2
Competing Through Operations (AEF)
The programme is about the central activity of any organisation, i.e. producing an output to customers. This might be a type of product or a range of services. We use the concepts of delivery systems and the transformation model. We consider the mechanisms used by organisations tom perform in their marketplace; strategies ofpurchasing and supply, processes that can be applied to deliver consistent standards of products and services, tools and techniques which can aid this decision making and process control. We also explore latest thinking with regard to the role that effective, efficient and economic operations can play in an organisation’s success. / UMMCYV-20-2
International Business
The aims of this module are to provide students with a basic and intermediate international business knowledge, especially on the usual three giants (North America, the EU, and East Asia) and the emerging markets (China, Brazil, Russia, and India). It will allow students to learn the nature of country competitiveness, industrial policies, and country cultures and allow students to critically assess the competitive advantage of a global corporation in terms of home country, competitor country, partner country, supplier country, and customer country comparisons. / UMSCUF-20-2
Marketing (AEF)
This module attempts to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to provide and communicate effective solutions to marketing problems and to enable students to appreciate the role of marketing as a means of ensuring that business organisations deliver the benefits that customers need at an acceptable long-term profit. / UMKD3P-20-2

Level3 Modules

Compulsory Modules

These are the modules you must study on your award

Advanced Management Accounting (pre-req MA)
At the end of this module the student should be able to:
describe the context of contemporary management accounting theory and its recent historical development;
trace key management accounting concepts such as activity-based costing, throughput accounting and return on investment from their roots;
explain the principles behind absorption/marginal costing, how the contribution concept can be used in decision making and the ideas of responsibility accounting and control through variance analysis;
illustrate the use made of management accounting techniques by reference to appropriate surveys and cases;
discriminate between relevant and irrelevant information, especially in relation to decision making;
evaluate the role and limitations of techniques such as activity-based costing and economic value added. / UMAC3J-20-3
Corporate Reporting Theory and Practice (pre-req FA)
The overarching aim of this module is to develop students’ critical understanding and evaluation of international accounting regulations and the implications for users of financial statements and to understand the main accounting rules in the following circumstances:
Accounting for financial instruments for leases; for tangible and intangible assets, including reviewing for impairment ; the substance of transactions; employee benefits and investment property. Plus consolidation of financial statements for a variety of groups and financial reporting in hyperinflation economies. / UMAC3N-20-3
Financial Management (pre-req CF)
This module examines the work of financial managers within businesses. We analyse the problems of, for example, project investment and risk, how big a dividend to pay, whether to take-over a rival, has value being created for shareholders? We place these issues within a wider context by looking at the way in which the stock market values firms and what drives movements in share prices. We also look at interest rate and foreign currency risk and ways of mitigating it by using, for example, derivatives. The module will also help you develop your study skills including written and oral discussions. / UMAC3L-20-3
Accounting in Context (pre-req: 2 of MA, FA or CF)
The aims of this module are to provide students with the opportunity to:
develop a spirit of enquiry;
take a multi-disciplinary approach to business issues/problems;
develop a critical appreciation of the nature, development and application of knowledge in business;
integrate technical knowledge acquired from study across the programme;
develop as critical consumers of research. / UMACMC-40-3

Option Modules

You also need to choose ONE of these modules

International Financial Management
All business decisions contain an element of risk. This module explores the extra risks that an entrepreneur must consider when deciding whether to operate abroad, and how to choose the business form most appropriate for the enterprise. / UMACY9-20-3
Investment Management
This module aims to review finance and investment theory and practice, and to examine alternative strategies of long term fund managers. It also aims to examine the types of decisions undertaken by investment fund managers. / UMAC3Q-20-3
Personal Financial Planning
To introduce students to the concept of financial planning as a lifelong process, and develop applied knowledge in the individual features and collective uses of personal finance products (eg retail investments, life assurance, mortgages, health and income protection products and pensions). / UMAC3H-20-3
Credit Risk Analysis and Management
The aim of this module is to equip students with an understanding of the analysis and management of credit risk and to provide an overview of current practices in credit riskanalysis, modelling and management practices. Students will be introduced to a wide range of techniques for managing credit risk in an international context and in a variety of industries. / UMACR7-20-3
Audit and Corporate Governance
The aims of this module are:
To critically examine the nature and scope of auditing and assurance and corporate governance within the UK: its social and economic context and issues of accountability, risk, control, auditor independence and auditor liability.
To develop a critical awareness of, and ability to apply, audit techniques in the conduct of an audit.
To develop a range of further cognitive and key (transferable) skills, in particular: to use information technology effectively to research issues, to present, discuss and defend ideas in writing. / UMACVB-20-3
Organisation Analysis(AEF)
People in organisations are rewarded if they are able to provide solutions to organisational problems. The aim of the Organisational Analysis module is to encourage you to become more creative by extending the way you can interpret situations and 'read' organizations. The module will enable you to make sense of any work experience and develop your ability to operate effectively when you leave UWE. It is focused at the organisational strategic level rather than the group or individual and will introduce you to a range of perspectives (such as organisational learning, culture, and politics and power). By the end of the module you should be able to make clear links between the theory and your own experience, and to make a critical evaluation of organisational events and situations from multiple perspectives. / UMOD3T-20-3
Strategic Management(AEF)
The aim of this module is to help students understand the different ways organisations formulate strategy and then take the strategic action necessary to bring about that change. At the conclusion of the course students should be better equipped to think and to act from a strategic perspective. / UMSD37-20-3