2 GCE ‘A’ LEVELS and 3 GCE ‘O’ LEVELS (one of which must be Mathematics). Those without the A levels may alternatively qualify through the University of London's Diploma in Economics

In the first year of the Accounting and Finance degree, students study four compulsory subjects designed to give them the necessary platform for more advanced courses in years 2 and 3 of the degree programme.

The year 1 subjects are:

After which students are left with 8 remaining papers which must be split four-four over years 2 and 3.

There are four compulsory papers, and four option papers. Whichever options they select, students of the Accounting & Finance degree must study:

Most students select to pursue two of these course in their second year (while also pursuing two elective subjects) and do the other two in their final year (along with a further two optional subjects).

The range of options is very wide. Students who have set their heart on a career as an accountant (and are looking for exemptions for the ACCA examinations) typically choose electives such as:

Students who are more interested in concentrating on the “finance” part of the Accounting & Finance degree tend to select papers such as:

Students need to plan ahead, carefully, at the start of their second year, as although the range of elective subjects is extremely wide, there are certain regulations governing how many options can be taken from (what the University of London calls) each “Selection Group”. For example, if a student is keen to study Banking Operations & Risk Analysis, they must first study its pre-requisite, Principles of Banking. This, in itself, is not a problem; the problem lies in the fact that Principles of Banking comes from one of UoL’s Selection Group F, and Accounting and Finance students are only allowed to select one elective from this group. So, if a student wants to do Banking Operations & Risk Analysis, they must – by default – select Principles of Banking the proceeding year, and this prohibits them from selecting electives such as Introduction to Information Systems, Introduction to Business & Management, Introduction to Politics Law, etc., etc., - at any stage of their degree.

For Accounting & Finance students who are NOT seeking ACCA exemptions, but are simply aiming at maximising the quality of their degree – i.e. obtaining the highest grades possible – there are a wide range of subject selection possibilities.

For those who prefer qualitative subjects, typically the four electives selected could be:

For students who prefer more mathematical papers, options such as

… can be selected.

A surprising number of Accounting & Finance students end up enjoying economics more than accounting, and yet still wish to pursue an “accounting” degree rather than changing pathway. For people like this, their electives could have a significant economics bent, such as:

Whichever options you select, or however you intend to split your compulsory papers/ elective loads over years 2 and 3; think ahead carefully …. and seek the Academic Director’s advice, if necessary.