Accounting, Finance & Economics

Why choose us?

We’re accredited by a number of professional organisations, including the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) – an accreditation held by fewer than 5% of the world’s business schools. Our courses are also accredited by the relevant professional bodies –the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and the institute of Financial Accountants (IFA). As well as adding relevance to your qualification, graduates may also benefit from exemptions from some further professional qualifications.

Every student has the option of taking a minimum 30-week work placement and we have links with an impressive list of companies who often return to us to take on our placement students. Among them are EDF Trading, Mercedes Benz, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Rolls Royce, IBM, NBC www.bournemouth.ac.uk/ug-afe

Universal, J.P. Morgan, Ernst & Young, Oxford Economics, Motorola and GE. By the time you take your placement, you’ll have been trained in the use of accounting software packages to ensure you’re ready.

One of the most exciting opportunities open to our accounting, finance and economics students is the chance to attend a five-day intensive study programme abroad. This event sees students from various European universities working together on case studies and financial analysis techniques. We are the only UK university that has membership of this group, so this is a truly unique opportunity for you to share your knowledge and learn from others.

Shannon Knight, Accounting graduate

If I’m honest, I didn’t even know that financial advice and wealth management was a profession until I started looking at placement roles in my second year at BU – and thanks to that discovery, I’m now four years into a really enjoyable career.

The more I read about wealth management, the more it appealed. The combination of finance, tax and trust law was really fascinating, so I focused my applications on wealth management roles and secured a placement role at FP Wealth Management (FPWM). It was a competitive placement to secure, and it took determination and hard work to get my foot in the door – but I’m so glad I persevered. I absolutely loved it. On my placement I was involved in all aspects of the business – report writing, client reviews, investment committee meetings, investment seminars, streamlining processes, and even hiring my successor as their placement student! I also started my professional exams with the CII Diploma In Regulated Financial Planning.

My degree of difference

Helping people gain control of their finances

Most of all, I enjoyed helping people with their money, and helping them to gain control of their lives by managing their money effectively. Sound financial advice can help to change people’s present living conditions and their future. It can also help make sure that their families are well looked after should the worst happen, and helping people to safeguard the future not just for themselves but also their loved ones is a really rewarding experience. After I graduated, I returned to FPWM as a paraplanner, continuing with the role I held on my placement but taking on more responsibility. In the last three years, I’ve achieved a number of professional qualifications and once I have five years’ experience in the industry, I’ll become a Chartered Financial Planner. In July 2020, I was promoted to Head Paraplanner, and I now supervise the rest of the paraplanning team. It’s a great industry to work in, and I’m really proud of what I do. I’m helping people to achieve their goals and gain control of their finances, and taking that placement opportunity was the best decision I ever made.

To find out more about how our Fusion approach can benefit your BU education, visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/fusion Accounting, Finance & Economics