Accounting and Finance

Accounting and finance is a highly practical and rigorous combination that develops the technical skills for analysing and reporting financial information alongside the broader financial knowledge needed to understand investment, capital markets and corporate decision-making. Accounting provides the tools to prepare and interpret financial statements, apply management accounting techniques, understand audit and taxation, and navigate the regulatory frameworks that govern financial reporting. Finance examines how organisations raise and deploy capital, how financial assets are valued, how risk is managed and how financial markets operate.

Together they form the core knowledge base of a professional career in finance.

At the University of Southampton you will study accounting and finance over three years of full-time study on a research-informed programme kept current with the latest financial, regulatory and accounting requirements. A sandwich year provides substantial professional experience, and a year abroad broadens your perspective on how financial systems and accounting practice operate in different national and international contexts. Work placement is integrated throughout the programme, connecting your academic learning to the realities of professional financial work.

The typical tariff of 136 reflects the analytical demands of a programme at a research-intensive institution with strong professional connections.

Graduates are well placed for careers in accounting and auditing, corporate finance, investment analysis, financial management, banking, consultancy and the public sector. Many pursue professional qualifications through bodies such as the ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA or CFA, using exemptions earned through the degree to shorten their qualification journey. Others go directly into financial roles in industry, where the combination of accounting and finance knowledge is highly valued for roles in financial planning and analysis, treasury, risk management and financial control.

Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in finance, accounting or management.