BSc Accounting

The course is designed to help students understand the accounting profession from a number of different perspectives:  
- Ethics, and the accounting profession:  Students will be required to explore the links between ethics and accounting and what it means to be ‘a professional accountant’ bound by a code of ethics. Students will apply ethical theory  to dilemmas that can be faced in accounting practice. Students will learn about the nature and operation of the accounting profession, including its development, regulation and internationalisation and how it has been shaped by ethical considerations.
- Areas of professional practice and career planning: This section provides an introduction to some specific areas of professional practice, such as taxation services and forensic accounting, and insolvency, which students may not have considered as potential career paths. Students will also learn how to navigate the graduate/placement recruitment process used by different organisations alongside common errors and pitfalls.
Students will reflect on their own skills, strengths and weaknesses and set goals to close any gaps identified.

 

BMAN10760 is pre-requisite for BMAN24652. Compulsory for and available only to students on the BSc Accounting and BSc Business Accounting.

Pre-requisite course units have to be passed by 40% or above at the first attempt unless a higher percentage is indicated within this course outline.

Pre-requisites: BMAN10760 Auditing & Professional Accounting Practice, Compulsory.
Co-requisites: None
Dependent courses: None
 

This course aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of aspects of accounting and auditing represented in industry or professional practice . In so doing, the course will help students to understand more about how to apply for and undertake an internship i in the third year of their programme of study and/or apply for employment after graduation.

Specifically the course aims to provide students with:

- an understanding of ethics as applied to issues in professional practice and business;

- an awareness of aspects of the development of the accounting profession; and

- an understanding of what is involved in areas of professional practice such as and forensic accounting and taxation services, to aid career planning

 -  practical advice on applying for placements and internships, support in CV writing, job hunting, interviewing, approach to assessment centres and networking and will create a plan for navigating the accounting recruitment process. Students will develop their reflective skills to help their professional development.

On completion of this course students can be expected to be able to:

1. Explain and discuss ethics , ethical dilemmas and related professional standards as applied to issues in accounting practice;

2.. Develop awareness of  professional accounting services beyond the audit profession, such as taxation advice, insolvency, and forensic accounting.

3. develop a thorough understanding of the graduate recruitment process used by different organisations.

4. reflect on their learning and skills to aid career planning and professional development.
 

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Methods of delivery
Lecture and seminar hours: 20 hours (Weekly two-hour sessions incorporating both lecture delivery and workshop or seminar style discussion)

Private study: 80 hours

Total study hours:  100 hours
Total study hours: 100 hours split between lectures, classes, self-study and preparation for classes, coursework and examinations.

Informal Contact Methods
1. Office Hours

A portfolio of coursework will be produced demonstrating the unit learning outcomes. Part 1 of the portfolio worth 50% will cover ethics and the accounting profession and will be due part way through the semester. Part 2 of the portfolio worth 50% will relate to career planning and will be due at the end of the semester. Students will be able to tailor the career planning part of portfolio to their own specific requirements.

Feedback on progress will be provided in a number of ways:

- General feedback comments and notes on study exercises will be made available through Blackboard;

- Formative feedback will be given on completion of each individual coursework assignment.

- Queries can be posted through discussion streams in Blackboard and will be answered by staff. In addition, students can arrange to see staff to get feedback on specific queries.

Because this course involves a range of syllabus topics, students will be referred to a number of readings rather than a single text and to a variety of resources. In addition to the content of lectures and class meetings, these will include:

- Readings from texts, journals and periodicals;

- Regulatory standards applicable to the profession;

- Case studies and scenarios for discussion;

- Where possible and relevant, professional presentations.

Preliminary reading :

K McPhail and D Walters: Accounting and Business Ethics, Routledge, 2009

Bassot, B. (2016) The Reflective Practice Guide: an interdisciplinary approach to critical reflection. Routledge, London, [England] ; New York, New York ; London, [England]

Bassot, B. (2020) The Reflective Journal. Third edition. Macmillan Education UK, London:

Work Placements, Internships & Applied Social Research by Jackie Carter (2021).

Stella Cottrell, Skills for Success – Personal Development and Employability Third Edition, (2015).

Martin Sedgley, Skills for Business and Management, Macmillan International (2020).

Length of course: 11 teaching weeks.

Industry and practice professionals will present  on topics such as forensic accounting, taxation, and insolvency). Employability coaching workshops or similar will be provided.

Pre-requisite course units have to be passed by 40% or above at the first attempt unless a higher percentage is indicated within this course outline.

Pre-requisites: BMAN10760 Auditing & Professional Accounting Practice.
Co-requisites: None
Dependent courses: None
Programme Restrictions: Compulsory for and available only to students on the BSc Accounting programme.

For Academic Year 2023/24
Updated: March 2023
Approved by: March UG Committee