Accounting and Finance with Placement Year

Accounting and finance together provide the language and the analytical tools through which organisations measure performance, allocate resources, manage risk, and report to investors and stakeholders. Accounting is concerned with the recording, classification, and communication of financial information, while finance focuses on the management of money, investments, and financial risk. Together they underpin the functioning of every organisation from small businesses to global corporations, as well as financial markets and public institutions.

At the University of Reading, this four-year full-time programme is designed to prepare you for careers in accountancy firms, financial institutions, and large multinational enterprises. The curriculum covers the core subjects of professional accounting education, including financial reporting, management accounting, auditing, taxation, and corporate governance, alongside financial theory, investment analysis, portfolio management, and the quantitative methods that underpin modern financial practice. You will develop a rigorous understanding of both the regulatory frameworks that govern financial reporting and the analytical tools used in financial decision-making, becoming comfortable working with financial data and interpreting it for a range of purposes.

The programme includes a placement year, giving you the opportunity to spend time in a professional environment. Placements with accountancy practices, investment banks, corporate finance teams, or other financial organisations provide experience that is both practically valuable and highly regarded by employers. Reading's connections with the financial services sector and the proximity of the campus to London make the placement year an especially significant feature of the degree.

Many accounting and finance graduates go on to pursue professional qualifications with bodies such as the ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA, or CFA Institute, and some exemptions from professional examinations may be available depending on the degree content you complete. Careers span audit and assurance, tax, management consulting, corporate finance, investment banking, asset management, financial analysis, treasury management, and financial roles in industry and the public sector. Postgraduate study in accounting, finance, or business is also an option for those wishing to develop further expertise.