Accounting and Finance for International Business BSc Top-Up 2021/22 entry
Overview
Do you speak another language? If finance piques your interest too, then international accounting could be an ideal potential future career option for you.
Successful completion of this ‘top-up’ programme will enable you to qualify to Bachelor’s level in Accounting and Finance, provided you already hold a Level 5 qualification, such as a Higher Diploma, DipHE or Foundation Degree, for final year entry, or a Level 4 qualification, such as a Higher National Certificate, Higher Apprenticeship, on CertHE, for second year entry. Existing qualifications should be in a related field. For more information, please refer to the Entry Requirements tab.
Primarily targeted at international students, this course is designed with a specific focus on accounting and finance in an international context, incorporating the study of English language for business, to better prepare you for potential global career options in areas such as business, accountancy or financial management.
You can benefit from industry-standard facilities, including our Trading Floor, which features 42 dual-screen Bloomberg terminals. Rated ‘excellent’ in 2019 by Eduniversal, an annual ranking of Business Schools, Coventry Business School has close relationships with some of the leading professional bodies in the UK and are active members of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS).
Why Coventry University?
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
COVID-19
The University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2020/2021 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedTeaching Excellence
Taught by lecturers who are experts in their fieldCourse essentials
A degree which offers you more, at no extra costAccreditation and Professional Recognition
This course is accredited and recognised by the following bodies:
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
This course is accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) for the 2021/22 intake. Upon successful completion of the course you will be able to secure certain exemptions from ACCA papers, depending on your choice of modules. Please note that additional papers will be required to be taken to become qualified through the ACCA, which will incur additional costs, and you will also need to fulfil the practical experience requirement. Qualifying will be subject to competitive application, availability, and meeting any applicable visa requirements. If the accreditation of this course changes, we would seek to notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
Chartered Practising Accountants of Australia (CPA)
This course is accredited by the Chartered Practising Accountants of Australia (CPA) for the 2021/22 intake. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to secure exemptions from certain requirements to achieving CPA status. Please note that you will still be required to complete the CPA programme and fulfil the practical experience requirement to become certified, which may incur additional fees. This may also be subject to competitive application, availability, and meeting any applicable visa requirements. If the accreditation of this course changes, we would seek to notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD)
European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) – Coventry Business School is currently an active member of the European Foundation for Management Development, a global membership organisation dedicated to management development, covering over 900 members across 91 countries.
Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS)
Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) – Coventry Business School is currently an active member of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, which has a membership of over 120 business schools and higher education providers, and supports its members in maintaining world-class standards of teaching and research.
This course is recognised by the above memberships for the 2021/22 intake. There is currently no intention for either of these memberships to lapse however if either of these memberships were not to be renewed we would notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
Chartered Insurance Institute (CII)
This course is recognised by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) for the 2021/22 intake. CII recognition allows you to gain certain exemptions from some professional examinations, upon successful completion of this course (subject to application, availability, meeting applicable visa requirements and additional fees may apply). If there is any change to the recognition of this course by the CII, we would seek to notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
Chartered Institute for Management Accountants (CIMA)
This course is recognised by the Chartered Institute for Management Accountants (CIMA) for the 2021/22 intake. Upon successful completion you will be able to secure certain exemptions from CIMA papers, depending on your choice of modules. Please note that additional papers will be required to be taken to attain the CIMA qualification, which will incur additional costs, and you will also need to fulfil the practical experience requirement. This may also be subject to competitive application, availability, and meeting any applicable visa requirements. If there is any change to the recognition of this course by the CIMA, we would seek to notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
Our Facilities
Trading Floor
Students have opportunities to practice simulated trading and other finance-related activities using the various types of demo software available in the Trading Floor.
Business Simulation Suite
Coventry Business School's Business Simulation Suite utilises the latest business simulation software to give students the opportunity to improve their business skills.
DigiComm Lab
Designed to build creative minds, the DigiComm Lab is equipped with the latest industry-standard marketing and advertising software and devices to support your creative development.
Course information
Aimed at international students, this top-up course has been designed with specific emphasis on international accounting and finance. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach, which covers economics, business strategy, marketing, financial planning and accounting through a range of mandatory and optional modules.
An advanced module in English is mandatory, which aims to support development of your English skills to a higher level and with a focus on the language used in international business arenas. You will have the chance to practise and learn how to write reports in a suitable academic style on recent accounting, finance and international business topics, such as recent financial crisis and Brexit, then present your findings to help build your confidence in communication skills.
You will consolidate your previous studies, while having the chance to develop the higher level skills needed for international business. For example, by examining real-life case studies in financial accounting, management accounting, financial theory and international finance, you will have the opportunity to develop your analytical and critical thinking skills. We encourage you to adopt a problem-based approach to identify, analyse, apply and evaluate real-world business problems, such as the implication of globalisation and relevance of international/corporate social responsibility.
You will study how organisations interact with stakeholders within the external environment, with the opportunity to identify the different users of financial data and their varying needs, investigating the adequacy of information disclosure in corporate annual reports.
You will also look at some of the challenges facing financial management in an international context, such as overseas initial public offerings and variances of regional accounting standards. You will have the opportunity to gain experience in a range of accepted techniques and practices, like consolidation of financial statements and investment appraisal, considering how to apply them in different contexts, for example, evaluation of overseas investment opportunities.
13th
Ranked in the top 13 UK universities
Guardian University Guide 2019
Course Specification
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Modules
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
In more detail...
If you are seeking to build a successful potential future career in the finance industry, this career-focused course aims to help prepare you for potential future career options such as financial advisers, finance managers, management accountants and financial analysts. Drawing on your previous studies and experience, you will have the chance to develop your knowledge, understanding, critical thinking and problem-solving skills within the context of international accounting and finance.
We focus on the tools, techniques, challenges and issues facing modern international business organisations, reflecting on contemporary accounting and financial thought and practice. We will examine issues such as regional differences with regard to accounting and financial standards and their impacts on overseas initial public offerings.
Wherever possible, teaching is geared towards embedding professional skills and putting theory into practice. You’ll have the chance to participate in trading games using our Trading Floor, which incorporates analytical, news and data platforms to give you first-hand experience of these industry-standard tools.
Academic staff members teaching on the course include qualified accountants with experience in practice and industry all over the world, having worked for large scale international firms. Other staff are research active, and have had work published in peer-reviewed journals, on topics such as corporate social responsibility and international accounting standards (please note that staff are subject to change)
- Specialist content covers the identification, analysis and solution of financial decision making.
- Outstanding facilities include our Trading Floor, currently one of the largest of its kind in Europe, featuring 42 dual screen Bloomberg terminals.
- Opportunity to access support from the university’s sigma centre, which can provide maths and stats help and advice through drop-in sessions with experienced staff (subject to availability)
- Professional accreditation from some leading professional accounting bodies, including those with a global reach, such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Chartered Practising Accountant Australia (CPA). Please refer to the Accreditation and Professional Recognition and Exemptions section.
- Experienced staff, who have worked as auditors for large scale professional services firms in different countries and as ACCA markers in the UK (please note that staff are subject to change).
- Opportunity to join a variety of student led societies, including the Accounting and Finance society, the Investment Society and the Financial Trading Society.
- Study at Coventry Business School, ranked ‘excellent’ by Eduniversal, an annual ranking of business schools in over 150 countries, in 2019.
- Opportunity to network with like-minded professionals and visit key financial institutions, which have previously included the London Stock Exchange and Bank of England (subject to availability and additional costs may apply).
Opportunity to network with like-minded professionals and visit key financial institutions, such as the London Stock Exchange and Bank of England.
Our main study themes are:
- Advanced English for Business and Management: Supports development of your proficiency in English language within the context of accounting, finance and business. The emphasis is on developing practical reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and will involve activities and tasks designed to increase the range and effectiveness of your use of language and the development of study and communication skills in a professional and academic context.
- International Corporate Reporting: Focuses primarily on the preparation and analysis of published financial statements by public limited companies. You will be introduced to some of the key International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS’s), enabling you the chance to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and apply a number of IFRS’s and accounting theory in the preparation of the published financial statements of entities, including a simple group. You will have the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to critically analyse and interpret these financial statements and become aware of their limitations.
- International Finance: Explores the international dimension of finance and how this impacts upon business which aims for you to be better able to appreciate the workings and operation of currency derivatives markets, the international money and capital markets and the principles of currency risk management. We will explore currency markets, international parity conditions, international money and capital markets, the nature and importance of currency risk and strategies for managing currency risk, including the application of derivatives to manage such risks.
- Financial Theory: Aims to further develop your understanding in the key concepts in finance, including the function of capital markets, the relationship between risk and return and how to price a variety of financial assets.
This course is studied full-time over one or two years, depending on the level of entry. You can start in September and January.
Seminars and workshops are smaller group teaching environments, they are interactive and may involve hypothetical problem questions, simulations, case studies and the analysis of more theoretical issues.
We also use a range of innovative practical exercises, such as trade games to reinforce the integrative nature of accounting assessment. For example, you may be acting on behalf of a UK company with overseas subsidiaries, which requires knowledge of international corporate reporting, UK and overseas taxation and management reporting.
At every stage, we will introduce professionally relevant coursework and experiences. You may be tasked with essays/reports of current financial or business issues or take part in a range of simulation and practical exercises, giving you the chance to put theory into practice. In the past, students have analysed the financial performance of companies such as BA, Marks & Spencer and EasyJet.
Teaching methods include: lectures, seminars, workshops and personal study.
Teaching methods include: lectures, seminars, workshops and personal study.
Meet our staff
Dr. Torri Wang
Dr. Wang worked in accountancy in China and the UK before becoming interested in international students’ experience in UK universities. Her current job involves teaching financial accounting and providing academic and pastoral support for international students.
Read full profileThis course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will could vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods include formal examinations, coursework, test and essays, group work and presentations.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes. Assessments may include exams, individual assignments or group work elements.
On successful completion, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate sound knowledge and understanding of the fundamental functions of and contexts in which accounting and finance operates in an international context.
- Communicate accounting and finance concepts, models and techniques – including interpretation and forecasting of financial statement and business valuation – in a clear and precise style through written and oral work.
- Analyse and draw reasoned conclusions concerning structured and unstructured problems from sets of data drawn from a range of sources, such as corporate annual reports, FAME and Bloomberg etc.
- Analyse and discuss contemporary accounting and finance issues using appropriate accounting and finance principles and conventions.
- Record and summarise transactions and other economic events in accounting systems for presentation and decision-making purposes.
- Prepare and analyse financial statements through the use of recognised accounting conventions, statistical methods and computer-based techniques.
- Analyse and produce financial solutions to complex business decisions.
We set out below the typical teaching contact hours that you will receive on this course. Teaching contact hours will vary in different semesters of study. In addition to the contact hours below, we offer the opportunity to attend additional optional sessions, including sessions with the Faculty’s progress coaches, or to meet with staff during their advice and feedback hours.
Within your first and second years, you will typically have around 12 contact hours of teaching a week which includes:
- Medium group teaching: practical classes, seminars or workshops per week
- Large group teaching: lectures each week.
Additionally, if you are undertaking a project/dissertation, there is a greater emphasis placed on independent study and therefore total contact hours may be reduced.
In addition, you will be expected to undertake a significant amount of studying and revising in your own time each week, including some guided study using, for example, handouts or online activities.
The University is committed to providing an international perspective for all of our students, not least from the multicultural experience that comes from learning alongside students and staff from across the world. We are also committed to organising a range of collaborative online international learning projects, which vary year to year, and which enable you to work on projects online with students studying in other countries (subject to availability).
Entry Requirements
Tuition Fees
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis and offer a wide range of scholarships to support students with their studies. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
For more information, please visit our Finance pages.
Course essentials – additional costs
This course may incur additional costs associated with any field trips, placements or work experience, study abroad opportunities or any other opportunity (whether required or optional), which could include (but is not limited to) travel, accommodation, activities and visas.EU student fees
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
This top-up course is designed to give you the opportunity to develop the practical skills and experience so that you can explore potential international employment options, upon successful completion of the course, in accounting or finance with the confidence to give sound financial advice and make effective financial decisions.
Upon successful completion, you can also benefit from a wide range of desirable professional skills, including: team working; critical evaluation; self-directed learning; problem-solving; action planning and organising; written and oral communication; questioning and listening. The following personal qualities will also be addressed in each of the skills modules: achievement orientation; initiative and creativity; self-confidence; decisiveness; reflectiveness; adaptability and flexibility.
On successful completion, you should be well placed to pursue a wide variety of potential future career options in finance, management, accounting, banking, personal and corporate finance and IT in private, public and third sector organisations. You could explore potential future roles as an accountant, auditor, business analyst, investment consultant, stock controller, tax assistant or teacher.
Alternatively, you may decide to pursue postgraduate study opportunities by studying courses such as MSc Accounting and Financial Management or MSc Finance here at Coventry Business School, which could further enhance your employability. Please note that further study opportunities are subject to competitive application, availability, meeting any applicable visa requirements and additional costs may apply.
Coventry University is committed to preparing you for your potential future career options and giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. The University's Careers and Employability team provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your potential future career.
Disclaimer
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2021/22 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
