Accounting and Financial Management and Economics BA

Core accounting and financial management modules:

Introduction to Financial Accounting

You will develop an understanding of accounting as an essential business function. Accounting is the term used for recording and analysing the financial dealings of organisations rather than individuals. The content of this module is concerned with how, in current practice, financial transactions are recorded in accounting records and summarised in financial statements to provide a range of 'users' with an account of what has been going on in the business. The module begins with a brief historical overview of accounting and current debates in accounting, followed by an understanding and evaluation of the principles and conventions on which they are based. You will develop the ability to  construct financial statements for sole trader-type businesses and limited companies. The module focuses on the preparation, interpretation and limitation of financial statements and the regulatory framework in which they are prepared.

20 credits

Foundations in Financial Management

In this module, you will develop a solid foundation in financial management, equipping you with the knowledge and analytical skills needed to make informed financial decisions. You will explore key principles, theories, and techniques used in the field, and learn how to apply them through relevant calculations and real-world scenarios. You will also examine contemporary issues and developments in the financial markets, helping you understand the broader context in which financial decisions are made. This module is designed to prepare you for more advanced study in years 2 and 3 and is aligned with the foundation-level content of professional accounting qualifications.

20 credits

Introduction to Management Accounting

This module introduces you to the core techniques of Management Accounting, with a focus on its application in business decision-making, financial planning, and performance evaluation. You will develop an understanding of key concepts such as cost classification, budgeting, costing methods, and capital investment appraisal. The module highlights the role of the management accountant in providing valuable insights through cost analysis, supporting both short- and long-term decisions, and enhancing organisational performance through behavioral and responsibility accounting. Additionally, you will explore the integration of management accounting with social, environmental and sustainability indicators, and their impact on both financial and non-financial outcomes, ensuring that future decisions align with sustainable business practices.

20 credits

Core economics modules:

Microeconomic Analysis and Policy

This module introduces you to the fundamental principles of microeconomic theory, focusing on the behaviour and decision-making processes of individuals, households, and firms. You will gain a solid understanding of key microeconomic concepts, such as choice theory, market structures, consumer behavior, and firm decision-making. The module explores the practical application of microeconomic analysis to contemporary policy issues.

20 credits

Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy

This module introduces you to the foundations of macroeconomic theory and analysis. You will explore how economies operate at the aggregate level and develop the tools to understand key economic indicators such as interest rates, national output, inflation, and exchange rates. Through real-world examples and policy applications, you will learn how macroeconomic analysis informs and shapes economic decision-making and policy evaluation in national and global contexts.

20 credits

You will take one of the following economics modules:

Mathematical Methods for Economics 1

This is a core module designed for students who do not have an A-Level in Mathematics or equivalent. It will provide you with specialist support and training to introduce you to relevant key elements of maths taught at A-Level. You will learn to apply these elements in ways that are essential for problem solving in economics. The tools you gain from this module will be used throughout the rest of your degree.

20 credits

Mathematical Methods for Economics 2

This module is designed for students with an A-Level in Mathematics (or an equivalent qualification). You will revisit key mathematical tools covered in A-Level Mathematics (such as differential calculus) and learn to use them to formulate and solve problems in economics and finance. You will also be introduced to other techniques that are essential for problem solving in economics. These tools will be used throughout the rest of your degree. The topics covered include: sequences/series and the economics of finance, functions, univariate optimization, elasticity, integration, multivariate optimization, constrained optimization, and matrix algebra.

20 credits

Core accounting and financial management modules:

Intermediate Management Accounting

In this module, you will build on previous knowledge on management accounting, viewing the management accountant as a key communicator and provider of information within organisations. You will learn how management accountants support decision-making and control by analysing and presenting information drawn from both internal and external sources. Emphasis will be placed on how management accounting services at policy, executive and operational levels. You will therefore explore how management accountants are involved in the evaluation of alternative courses of action and contribute to their implementation. You will also examine how management accounting techniques are evolving in response to the need for sustainable organisational performance and consider such as corporate social responsibility and ethics. You will gain a deeper understanding of the developing contribution to be made by management accountants in the creation, evaluation and control of sustainable organisations.

20 credits

Financial Management

This module aims to provide knowledge and understanding of key management issues in corporate finance with a focus on a broad range of issues including corporate investment and the financing of such investments. Students will critically assess various analytical techniques in relation to specific corporate finance applications and develop a knowledge of key board-level considerations.

The function of financial management is the acquisition and use of funds for investment purposes. Thus, this unit focuses on ways of raising and deploying investment finance, the institutions involved, and the tools and techniques that are used when making financial decisions. Financial decisions are not isolated from the rest of society, so the module also considers perspectives on the relationship between finance and society and the prospective impact of financial decisions on other parties.

20 credits

Intermediate Financial Accounting

This is an intermediate level financial accounting course, building on your learning on the year1 'introductory' module. It follows that some of the concepts, techniques and skills acquired during the study in year 1 remain examinable (revision exercises are provided throughout the module). In addition you will engage in examination of a range of accounting standards and underpinning rationales, a review of the major conceptual debates currently preoccupying both accountants and standard-setters, and an exploration of the practical problems associated with the reporting of the results of limited companies and groups.

20 credits

Core economics modules:

Statistics and Econometrics

This module introduces dual honours economics students to Statistics and Econometrics and in particular how they are used in economics, to investigate economic relationships and to test economic theories. The first part of the module describes the key statistical ideas and methods that economics students need to know, and provides opportunities to practise their use. The second part of the module focusses on econometrics, providing students with the knowledge of how to model economic data, again with opportunities to develop practical experience in this area.

20 credits

Optional modules (choose two):

Public Economics

Public economics uses the tools of microeconomics and empirical analysis to study the impact of government policies on economic behaviour and the distribution of resources in the economy.

20 credits

Macroeconomic Policy

The module will focus on applying macroeconomic theory to a variety of economic policy issues. The module will consider fiscal and monetary policy and will include how policy responds to economic shocks. The course builds on the knowledge of the core first year economics modules.

20 credits

Economics of Financial Institutions

This module covers introductory monetary, banking and finance theory and issues relating to policy and regulation of the banking and finance system. The module introduces the basic concepts in money and banking while it supports and expands on the material provided in ECN201 and ECN202, the second year micro and macro modules.

20 credits

Economic Decision-making

In life we are constantly making economic decisions: whether to go to university; whether to leave a tip in a restaurant; whether to buy a house or rent; whether to declare all our income to the tax authority; whether to play the lottery; whether and how much to invest in the stock market. In this module we study economic theory and evidence related to decision-making in these different contexts with a view to understanding human decision-making, how it deviates from standard notions of economic rationality.

20 credits

Intermediate Microeconomics

This module builds on Level 1 modules in microeconomics and mathematical economics, using the mathematical training to allow a more rigorous investigation of the principles of microeconomics. It aims to develop an understanding and ability to undertake economic analysis of models of the behaviour and interaction of economic agents (consumers, firms and government) in a market economy, the functioning of different types of industries, decision making under uncertainty and economic welfare.

20 credits

Intermediate Macroeconomics

The aims of this course are to provide firm grounding in the analytical tools of modern macroeconomics; to use these tools to understand critically the conduct of economic policy nationally and internationally. The course builds on level 1 modules in macroeconomics. The main subject areas covered are: Basic macroeconomic models: consumption/leisure choice, closed economy one period-macro models, models of search and unemployment; Savings, investment and government deficits: consumption/savings choice (two-period model), credit market imperfections, real intertemporal model with investment; Money and business cycles: flexible price models, New Keynesian economics (sticky prices), inflation; International macroeconomics: international trade, money in open economy; Economic growth: Malthus and Solow growth models, convergence, endogenous growth model.

20 credits

*Students can only take one of either Intermediate Microeconomics or Intermediate Macroeconomics)*

Core accounting and financial management modules:

Advances in Financial Accounting

The module follows on from the financial accounting modules taken at year 1 and 2. It extends your technical competency in financial accounting and allows for a deeper analysis of financial reporting issues in a number of key areas. You will study  segmental reporting, consolidated balance sheets, consolidated profit and loss accounts, vertical group balance sheets, associated company accounts, joint ventures. In addition, you will learn the effects of changing prices in accounting, foreign currency translation, capital instruments, financial instruments, related- party transactions and the international harmonisation of accounting standards.

20 credits

Advances in Management Accounting

This final-year module builds on knowledge from Years 1 and 2, with a focus on critically applying management accounting techniques in real-world and strategic contexts. Using contemporary case studies, you will examine how management accounting supports decision-making in complex organisational environments.The module explores both critiques of conventional accounting and emerging approaches such as value-based management, strategic management accounting, and sustainability reporting. Topics include performance measurement, supply chain accounting, and the accountant's role in addressing environmental and social challenges.Through critical engagement with academic research and practice-based developments, you will assess the evolving role of management accounting in a rapidly changing business landscape. The module also develops collaborative learning and the ability to produce informed, practical responses to contemporary accounting issues.

20 credits

Case Studies in Accounting and Consultancy

In this module you will learn and apply the critical thinking skills needed to explore contemporary issues in the global economy, based on real-world case studies. Each year, a selection of companies will be chosen for you to explore key social and economic themes, including the shareholder value drivers of corporate restructuring, the impact of 'Fair Value' accounting techniques, and creative and aggressive accounting in large outsourcing firms.

With lectures and tutorials based on developing your qualitative research skills, you will be encouraged to generate your own empirical findings from a review of financial accounting data and to link these to contemporary themes in social scientific research. We will provide you with the in-depth support needed to achieve this, with a syllabus that offers training in how to explore company databases and corporate accounts.

Transferable skills you will gain upon completion of this module include the ability to analyse financial accounting data, critically discuss your findings, and present your findings in written and verbal format. The module therefore provides excellent practical experience for careers in analysis and consultancy for public, private and third sector organisations.

20 credits

Core economics modules:

- Economic Policy and Practice

Optional modules (choose one):

International Trade

The first part of the course will cover neoclassical trade theories in which countries trade following their comparative advantage. The second part of the course deals with more recent trade theories based on economies of scale and/or imperfect competition that helps us to explain some recent patterns observed in the data. The third part of the course is an introduction to trade policy and the political economy of trade policy.

20 credits

Monetary Economics

This module covers monetary theory and monetary policy. It presents several economic models and discusses what monetary policy can and cannot do, as well as an introduction to the New Keynesian model. The module aims to enable students to apply the skills of economic analysis to the conduct of central banks and to the mechanisms underlying the monetary transmission mechanism.

20 credits

Urban Economics

Urban economics is concerned with understanding the spatial form of cities and the spatial distribution of economic activities within a country, making use of theoretical models and empirical evidence. Three fundamental questions are: (1) Why are economic activities within a country so unequally distributed across space? (2) Why do cities, and more broadly agglomerations of firms and workers, emerge and in what locations? (3) What are the consequences of unequal distribution of activities for productivity, innovation and wages? This module covers topics such as:- Why do cities exist and why do firms cluster?- What determines equilibrium city size and features of the urban system?- City growth, spatial transformation and the implications for productivity, knowledge and wages.- Real Estate economics and the housing market.- Diseconomies in cities: Urban location, land rents and land use patterns.- Unequal distribution of economic activities and levelling-up.- Transportation economics.- Urbanisation in developing countries.

20 credits

Health Economics

Economics is the study of how society allocates its scarce resources across competing alternatives. This notion of scarcity is as relevant in the health care sector as it is elsewhere and, thus, it is important that the resources available to health and health care are used in the best possible ways. This course will: look at how best should be defined in the context of health care; consider the roles that market forces and governments might play in achieving the sector's objectives; and discuss what information is needed so that resources can be deployed where they will do the most good. The aims of the module are: 1. To enable students to develop a critical understanding of the basis of health economics.
2. To introduce students to the health economists' toolkit, the ways in which it can be used in to inform health care resource allocation, and its limitations.

20 credits

Economic Analysis of Inequality and Poverty

This module will cover the economic theories used for the analysis of inequality and poverty.
The theories will be backed by evidence from both the developed and the developing countries. The module starts off by a discussion of issues around measurement of inequality and poverty; the different measures that are used and the inherent assumptions behind these measures. We then move on to explain the existing global trends in inequality and poverty. Different theories are used to explain these trends; for example: role of human capital, poverty traps etc. Finally we discuss the policy response of different countries to address the issues of inequality and poverty, drawing on the specific examples of welfare programmes in the developed countries and the conditional cash transfers in the developing countries.

20 credits

Optional modules (choose one):

Education Economics

The amount of education possessed by individuals will influence their decisions in future. Education relates to issues such as health and labour market decisions. This module examines the demand for and provision of education, incorporating a mixture of economic theory such as human capital; rates of return to further and higher education and course type all of which directly relate to the labour market. The graduate labour market is analysed, incorporating changes in the provision of higher education and an understanding of the rationale for the introduction of top-up fees. A final section considers schools, analysing and evaluating issues such as class size reduction, competition and selection, the performance of teachers, and the importance of pupils' family backgrounds, all in terms of their effect on pupil performance.

20 credits

Political Economy

Important economic processes cannot be fully understood without taking into account political and institutional factors and governments' political motivations. This module introduces insights from politics into the study of public policy and economic performance. In particular, it aims to give students: 1. an opportunity for interdisciplinary study within the undergraduate economics degree; 2. familiarity with the modern literature in theoretical and applied political economy; 3. an opportunity to develop their research skills through research-oriented assignments.

20 credits

Environmental Economics

Economic choices shape nature just as nature can shape our choices. This module provides students with the opportunity to apply economic concepts and methods to issues related to the use and management of the environment and natural resources. The module explores issues, arguments and analysis of market failure in the protection of the environment. It also offers public policy responses to issues of sustainability and climate change.

20 credits

Behavioural Economics

Standard economic models can successfully model human behaviour. However, the strong assumptions required of economic actors in those models will make systematic mispredictions in some contexts. Behavioural economics tries to overcome the systematic mispredictions by adopting non-standard assumptions, often inspired by insights from other disciplines. The module will discuss empirical evidence that underpins these non-standard assumptions, and will reflect on how insights from behavioural economics can be relevant in real life.

20 credits

Economics of Race and Gender

The Economics of Race and Gender first presents an overview of differential outcomes by gender and ethnicity in the UK labour market and discusses the possible drivers of these differences.  It then presents economic theories of discrimination in labour markets before discussing the strategies that economists use to test for discrimination in the real world.  

20 credits

The Economics of Innovation

The aim of this module is to provide an overview of the economics of innovation. The module will study firms' incentives to invest in innovation and the resulting policy implications. Expanding your knowledge of microeconomics this module will include the relationship between market structure and innovation, the role of firm cooperation and the effects of mergers on innovative activities. We will also look at the role of intellectual property rights / patent systems and policy interventions. As many innovations in recent years are in the areas of digitalization, artificial intelligence, and big data, the module will also cover those topics.

20 credits