Businesses rely on effective accounting to succeed – which is why our BSc Business Accounting gives you the skills, networks and experience you need to make an impact in the global business environment. Our business accounting course helps you develop the knowledge, expertise and skills that directly apply to companies across all sectors of the global business environment.
You’ll explore a range of financial management approaches and learn how to apply different concepts to real-life scenarios. You’ll also have the flexibility to tailor your studies with optional modules that complement your personal interests and career goals.
Our flexible three-year and four-year study options give you the chance to develop your professional and practical skills through work experience in the industry. You’ll have the opportunity to take two 18-week summer placements as part of a three-year degree, or a 36-week paid work placement in your third year as part of a four-year approach.
After your first year, you’ll have the option to switch to our accounting course if you decide that a career as a qualified accountant is a better fit for you, though this is dependent on the standard of your academic results.
Unlimited access to our business resources gives you the chance to enhance your industry knowledge and gain a competitive edge when it comes to launching your career.
We received a CIMA Employability Global Silver Excellence award from our professional body as recognition of commitment to employability enhancing education and workshops for our students.
We aim to provide our students with all the knowledge and tools they will need to achieve their desired employment goals. Below are some of the key focus points you will cover throughout your degree.
During your course, you’ll get personalised support from your Personal Tutor, Student Learning Assistant, and Graduate Academic Assistant. Their first-hand experience in your subject area means they understand how to best support you.
We’re in the top 5 in London – and in the top 300 worldwide – for Accounting and Finance (The Complete University Guide 2020 and Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019). Our graduates have secured careers with the likes of Western Union, Noor Islamic Bank, Consult AIV, Central Bank Nigeria, Santander, Barclays, RBS and the NHS.
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Middlesex was the first university in the UK to provide certificated CIMA Sage training and you will learn to use CIMA Sage accounting software and gain an official CIMA Sage user's certificate. From the second year onwards you will choose from an extensive range of modules that explore the broader business environment, and gain an understanding of the pivotal role of accounting to the success of organisations across the globe.
You will develop a set of transferable skills to support you on your career journey, such as advanced analytical thinking and problem solving. You will learn how to work effectively in teams as both a leader and collaborator and become a confident communicator both written and verbally, ensuring you can communicate effectively in a business environment.
This module is an introduction to bookkeeping and financial accounting. Its main aim is to provide you with the basic techniques and skills required to record transactions by the method known in accounting as “double entry” and then prepare a set of single company accounts based on those records. You will also start to be able to interpret the accounts prepared by others.
This module aims to equip students with the basic accounting tools that aid management with its core functions of planning, decision making and control, both in a business or a not-for-profit environment. Key areas covered are cost classifications for decision making, product costing techniques applicable to different industries, budgeting, short term decision making using cost volume profit analysis, and long term investment appraisal.
This module provides a thorough grounding of the basic statistical methods and computer software for the analysis and presentation of accounting and economic date. It caters for those with some prior mathematical knowledge, and while you are expected to complete mathematical calculations by hand and using a computer, the emphasis is on the interpretation and communication of quantitative results.
This module aims to introduce and highlight the significant role accounting information plays in each fundamental business transaction process. You will learn to analyse and handle information using accounting systems and advanced IT techniques.
This module introduces the concepts of corporate responsibility and business ethics as well as the knowledge of key stakeholders, together with the rights and responsibilities that businesses have in connection with them. You will explore external influences that affect a business in its environment and examine how behaviour at all levels within business should be underpinned by accepted professional ethics and professional values. You will also have the opportunity to research and debate how a business should respond to ethical concerns and how it should discharge its corporate responsibility.
This module aims to provide you with an understanding of economics from a business perspective. This includes an understanding of how competition, the behaviour of the financial markets and government economic policy can influence an organisation. You will also gain the ability to apply economic theory in both microeconomic and macroeconomic contexts.
This module aims to develop your knowledge of financial accounting techniques and practices by introducing issues which involve more than one possible accounting treatment and examine the impact of international regulatory frameworks. You are encouraged to adopt a critical attitude to the quality of corporate reporting, particularly in areas of non-mandatory narrative disclosures such as corporate social responsibility and governance.
This module examines the application of management accounting information and its influence on management behaviour and decision making. It will provide you with an opportunity to apply, interpret and analyse management accounting techniques and enable you to consider their wider and strategic uses. The module will explore the impact on organisations of strategic issues of contemporary management accounting.
This module aims to introduce the techniques and practices in project management. During the first part of the module you will examine the conceptual frameworks and key theories that underpins each phase of project management. The second part, you will critically evaluate project optimisation mechanisms and explore ethical issues in project management. You also have the opportunity to manage a simulated project throughout the time of this module.
This module will examine the laws regulating the conduct of business and business organisations. The first part of the module sets the context and provides essential material on English Business law (English Legal system, Contract, Tort & Employment) whilst the second part covers Company law and Corporate Governance.
This module will aim to introduce you to a variety of personal finance products and issues so as to increase your financial literacy. It will also provide you with an understanding of personal financial behaviour which demonstrates how market anomalies, financial bubbles, fake news and manipulations in financial markets can influence individual financial decision making. You will also gain the ability to apply cognitive and emotional behaviour biases in irrational behaviour contexts.
This module explores the mathematics that underlies financial processes and financial decision making, and complements the study of these areas in economics and accounting. Specific areas include probability, extending interest ideas to annuities and bonds, modelling financial data using time series models and Markov chains, applying discrete methods for option pricing, and using utility to make decisions in risky environments.
The aim is to introduce you to the key areas of HRM and to build on relevant knowledge and skills developed in Year 1 modules. By the end of the year you will be familiar with a wide range of generalist HR policies and practices within the five key areas of the discipline - employee resourcing, employee reward, employee relations, performance management and employee training and development.
This module examines accounting theory and its influence in accounting. The module aims to provide you with an opportunity to evaluate and apply different strands of accounting theory to research in accounting. The first part of the module is designed to provide an in-depth exploration of philosophical debates connected to the generation of knowledge, whilst connecting such debates to those currently employed in accounting. The second part enables you to undertake a research investigation into an accounting area.
This module explores and applies several quantitative methods and computer software for the retrieval, analysis and presentation of project management accounting data. The emphasis being on the interpretation and communication of quantitative results for project planning, control and decision making.
This module aims to provide you with a conceptual understanding of contemporary corporate finance and the practical tools and techniques for the financial decision-making process. You will explore the main aspects of financial management, including capital budgeting and investment decision-making, capital structure and finance decision-making, and working capital management. You enabled to form a critical appreciation of the link between accounting and finance, and the interaction between financial decision-making and capital market behaviour.
This module aims to introduce you to UK personal and business taxation. It deals with the fundamental principles of UK tax law and practice, including the computation of tax liabilities. This leads you to tackle more complex computational problems and to identify tax planning opportunities. You are also introduced to tax software packages, and gain hands-on experience of their use.
The aim of this module is to provide you with the critical tools and mindset to analyse and identify responses to modern ethical business challenges. You will be sensitised to different ways of thinking, learning from debating and collaborating with your peers from different cultural backgrounds so as to build your methodological, analytical and communication skills.
The work internship module will give you the opportunity to undertake a period of work experience (minimum of 30 days) from which you learn about business in general, and the organisation and the sector within which it operates as well as the key drivers of business success. The work placement will provide an insight into the world of work and appropriate conduct at work. The module will therefore facilitate you in the process of becoming and staying employable through assertiveness, continuing development and reflection on both your development and the link between theory and practice.
This module aims to develop your knowledge of modern investment theory and practice. A detailed study of classic portfolio theory provides the basis for an appreciation of, and further investigation into, themes that are currently at the forefront of reflection and research in investment theory, including sceptical views of the classic paradigm whose status has been boosted by the international banking crisis that began in 2008. In tandem with a critical approach to theory, the module offers insights into the quantitative methods (and supporting technology) that are used to inform the construction and management of investment portfolios. Furthermore the module analyses institutional, product and technological innovation in the sphere of investment management, particularly in relation to a heightened concern with risk control, market liquidity and disclosure of information.
The aim of this module is to introduce the complexities of starting a business. It draws together a range of theories, concepts and notions from several sources such as Finance, Marketing and Strategy. In particular, the module facilitates the development of a unique business plan in which you will learn, practice and apply the necessary academic and practical knowledge and skill sets, including team working, required for the establishment of a new business, as well as an understanding of the complexities relating to the functioning of a small business.
More information about this course
See the course specification for more information:
We are accredited by:
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the fastest growing, most supportive gateway to your career in accountancy, finance, business and management. The ACCA Qualification will arm you with the skills and experience to build a successful career anywhere in the world. With our strong presence in 181 countries around the world, your skills will be in demand internationally.
ACCA offers you more flexibility than other accountancy qualifications thanks to our unique option papers. This gives you a really broad, yet thorough set of skills as well as an opportunity to specialise in whichever area you wish, from audit to management accounting. You don't have to choose your specialism until later in your studies, giving you time to decide where your interests lie.
We know how important it is to be able to fit your studies around work and lifestyle and we offer you a range of study options to suit your budget and situation. We are proud of our unparalleled level of study support via wealth of online resources and dedicated 24/7 care line.
Starting your qualification whilst you're still at university will make you stand out from other candidates when looking for an internship or job. It will prove to employers that you are a self-starter with initiative and dedication to your future career.
Depending on your degree, you will most likely be eligible for exemptions from some of our exams.
To find out more about ACCA, and how you can start a successful career straight out of university, visit ACCA webpage.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a world leading professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports over 142,000 chartered accountants worldwide. They provide qualifications and professional development, share knowledge, insight and technical expertise, and protect the quality and integrity of the accountancy and finance profession.
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is a globally recognised professional qualification in accounting, business and finance. Students are eligible for exemptions from CIMA meaning you have will have completed part of your professional qualification as part of your degree.
We fully value not only your academic but your professional development at Middlesex. In partnership with CIMA, students will be sponsored to have CIMA Student Membership (paid for by Middlesex) whilst studying - taking our support beyond your degree into the professional world!
In addition CIMA will support your time at Middlesex with employability talks and skill sessions as well as providing internship, placement and graduate opportunities with employer partners across all industries.
Middlesex University enjoys partner in learning status from the ICAEW, which allows BA Honours Accounting and Finance graduates to be granted up to six exemptions towards ICAEW professional qualifications.
The Association of International Accountants (AIA)
AIA is recognised by the UK Government as a Recognised Qualifying Body for statutory auditors under the Companies Act 2006, across the European Union under the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications directive and as a Prescribed Body under the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003 in the Republic of Ireland. Middlesex BA Accounting and Finance students are granted twelve exemptions towards AIA professional qualifications.
The Chartered Institute of Public Finances and Accounting (CIPFA)
CIPFA is the leading professional body for accountants working in the public sector. Transforming at an unprecedented rate, the public sector offers excellent career opportunities for innovative professionals, keen to make a difference. Middlesex BA Accounting and Finance students are granted six exemptions towards their CIPFA qualifications, meaning that they can potentially qualify in eighteen months.
A Business Accounting degree opens the doors to a range of careers, many with excellent progression routes and competitive salaries. You could progress into a wide range of financial management and business roles in prestigious international organisations including:
You would also have the skills to set up your own successful business or take leadership roles within family companies. Additionally, you can go on to further study on courses such as MA International Business Management and MSc Investment and Finance.
Teaching interests: Management Accounting, Issues in Financial Accounting
Research interests: Education and use of learning technologies
Alison is a Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) and has connections with professional accounting bodies and employability. Prior to joining Middlesex University, Alison worked at HSBC, Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corporation and Lendlease. She is interested in the development of online technologies and applying these into Higher Education.
Teaching Interests: Financial Accounting, Audit, Entrepreneurial Finance
Research Interests: Accounting Education, Technology in Education, Accounting History
Ellie is a Middlesex University alumna. She trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte gaining experience of a diverse range of clients in the banking and finance industry. She is heavily involved with the activities of the British Accounting and Finance Association – Accounting Education Special Interest Group.
Teaching interests: Financial Accounting; Managerial Finance
Research interests: Financial Reporting; Audit Quality; Corporate Governance
Kooi See has extensive accounting experience in a public accounting firm prior to joining the teaching profession. She has taught in Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
Teaching interests: Taxation and Corporate Valuation
Research interests: International Taxation and Risk Analytics for Financial Institutions
Richard is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He specialises in taxation and has been leading the teaching of Taxation at Middlesex for many years. Richard’s professional focus has been on communicating the implications of changes in tax law and practice to small practitioners and their clients. He is also involved in the design, implementation and delivery of Risk Analytics training for one of the world’s largest banks.
Teaching interests: Financial Accounting and Corporate Finance
Angeli is ACA qualified and holds a BA Hons degree in Accounting from the University of Dundee. She was the Finance Director at BD London, an advertising and marketing agency, and at Earls Court and Olympia exhibition venues prior to joining Middlesex University.
Teaching interests: Social Reporting and Corporate Accountability
Research interests: Sepideh is particularly interested in how companies endeavour to attain and maintain the level and standard of social reporting in different cultural contexts. She has published in a range of journals, amongst which are the British Journal of Management, Journal of Business Ethics and International Journal of Human Resource Management.
Teaching interests: Audit and Assurance, Financial Analysis and Evaluation
Toby qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989 with a firm which is now part of Baker Tilly. After spending time in audit, corporate finance and corporate recovery, Toby moved to Speciality Retail Group becoming its Finance Director between 1996 and 2003, a period of rapid expansion and success for the company. Toby joined Middlesex University in 2003 but continues involvement with private companies through corporate consultancy and advising social enterprises. Toby sits on the board of a social enterprise, is Treasurer of St Matthew's Westminster and parent governor and Chair of Finance at Queens Park Community School.
Tony has many years of teaching finance at London South Bank University, Coventry University and, now, Middlesex University. His teaching portfolio extends across corporate finance, investment analysis, financial markets and financial risk management. Tony’s produced teaching material for the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) and is currently the coordinator for an ICSA module in Portfolio Management. His interests lie in the evolution of investment management, financial markets and risk assessment practices.
The course is excellent and very well taught! Make sure you take advantage of the facilities and the highly skilled and experienced lecturers to ensure you gain the necessary knowledge and can excel in your exams.
We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.
Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.
Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.
At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.
Start: September 2023, September 2024
Duration: 3 years full-time, 4 years full-time with placement, 6 years part-time
Code: N420
Start: September 2023, September 2024
Duration: 3 years full-time, 4 years full-time with placement, 6 years part-time
Code: N390
Start: September 2023, September 2024
Duration: 3 years full-time, 4 years full-time with placement, Usually 5 years part-time
Code: N302
