Accounting and Finance with a Year in Industry

Accounting and finance is one of the most directly vocational of university degrees, providing the technical knowledge, analytical skills and professional understanding that underpin both accounting practice and the management of financial resources in organisations of all kinds. Accounting is concerned with recording, reporting and assuring financial information; finance focuses on investment decisions, capital markets, risk and the valuation of assets. Together they develop a rounded understanding of how financial systems operate and how financial decisions are made and evaluated.

The University of Liverpool offers this programme with a year in industry built into its four-year full-time structure. The year in industry is a substantial professional experience that allows you to apply your developing technical and analytical skills within a real organisation, to understand how accounting and finance functions operate in practice and to build the professional relationships and portfolio that employers value. The academic content covers financial and management accounting, corporate finance, financial reporting, taxation, audit, business strategy and quantitative methods, and is designed to provide a strong foundation for the professional examinations of the major accountancy bodies, potentially reducing the number of papers you need to pass after graduation.

The degree develops precision in working with financial information, the ability to build and evaluate financial models, sound analytical judgement and the communication skills needed to present financial findings to a range of stakeholders. The year in industry adds a practical dimension that academic study alone cannot replicate.

Graduates enter careers in public accounting practice, corporate finance, investment banking, financial management, treasury, internal audit, management consulting and the public sector. Many pursue professional accountancy qualifications such as ACA, ACCA or CIMA, and the strong technical foundation of the degree supports this progression well.