Accounting and Finance

Description

Accounting and finance are concerned with more than just computational skills. Both subjects are central to the way in which management, shareholders and society at large perceive, understand and seek to change and control the nature of organisations, as well as to an understanding of how the market allocates finances to firms.

Recent graduates have gone on to work in the areas of professional accountancy, investment banking, investment analysis and management, management consultancy and financial management, as well as to more advanced academic study.

Our programme is widely regarded as being at the forefront of international teaching in this field. We are known for pioneering new approaches to the study of the modern practice of financial management in organisations. Our aim is to give you an understanding of accounting and finance that will be useful throughout your career. This means that, unlike professional courses, we do not teach accounting or finance techniques with the aim of immediate application, but to enable our students to critically evaluate their usefulness in different contexts.

Our staff includes internationally acknowledged leaders in both academic research and in professional accountancy and the financial markets.

We will encourage you to adopt a critical and flexible viewpoint and to look at the subject from a variety of perspectives, including the international dimension.

The Department of Accounting strongly supports the activities of the LSESU Accounting Society, which is a highly enterprising group of students within the School.

Detailed Course Facts

Home UK/EU £3,375 for the first year. Non-UK/EU £14,592 for the first year.

• English

Course Content

First year:

(*half unit)

• Elements of Accounting and Finance
• Economics B
• Probability and Statistics for the Social SciencesorQuantitative Methods (Mathematics)*, andQuantitative Methods (Statistics)* orElementary Statistical Theory
• Mathematical MethodsorBasic Quantitative Methodsor an outside option
• LSE100 (Lent Term only)

Choices of these courses will depend on your previous level of mathematics.

Second year:

• Managerial Accounting
• Principles of Finance
• Microeconomic PrinciplesorMacroeconomic Principles
• One option in econometrics, management, business statistics, commercial law or an outside option
• LSE100 (Michaelmas Term only)

Third year:

• Financial Accounting, Analysis and Valuation
• One option in accounting
• One option in finance
• One option from a list including options in accounting, finance, economics, management, business statistics, Commercial Law or an outside option

First year

The first year specialist introductory course, Elements of Accounting and Finance, will bring you into contact with students from other departments who can take it as an option. The aim of the course is to introduce students to the preparation, uses and limitations of accounting information and to some issues in finance and investment. There is also a course in Economics. Your choice of quantitative methods courses will depend on your background in mathematics and statistics. You may be able to choose one of your first year courses as an outside option from a wide range taught in other departments in subject areas including anthropology, computing, economic history, geography, law, mathematics, philosophy, politics, psychology and sociology.

If you have not studied A level Mathematics, you will be required to take courses in mathematics and statistics to give you access to the full range of options in years two and three. This means you will not be able to take an outside option in your first year.

Second and third years

There are three core accounting and finance courses. Managerial Accounting focuses on planning and control in organisations, operational and strategic decision-making, and includes an assessment of emerging topics, such as comparative cost management practices, and management accounting and e-business. Principles of Finance examines companies' longer term investment decisions, and the ways in which these may be financed in the financial markets. Financial Accounting, Analysis and Valuation provides an insight into the theory and practice of corporate financial reporting to investors and other interested parties.

You take two further courses, one in accounting and one in finance, in your third year (and may also take a third course in either accounting or finance in place of an outside option). These are chosen from Management Accounting, Financial Management and Organisational Control (cost management and planning and control practices in complex organisations), Auditing, Governance and Risk Management (the framework of accountability relationships between corporate managers, investors and other stakeholders), Corporate Finance, Investments and Financial Markets (corporate finance, investments and performance evaluation, international finance, and market microstructure), and Quantitative Finance (asset pricing, risk management, financial forecasting and derivatives pricing).

In the second year you take a further course in economics and in each year you will select a course from a range of options. Management related options include Process of Management, Organisational Theory and Behaviour and Operational Research Methods. Business statistics options include Introduction to Econometrics. Alternatively, you may choose from courses offered by other LSE departments. If you wish to gain exemptions from professional accountancy examinations you will normally need to take Commercial Law as an option.

English Language Requirements

IELTS band : 7 CAE score : 80(Grade A) TOEFL paper-based test score : 627 TOEFL iBT® test : 107

To study at this university, you have to speak English. We advice you to

Requirements

GCSE pass at grade A or above in Mathematics, or A level at grade B or above in Mathematics (or equivalent). No specific subjects are required at A level, but candidates will normally have an level Mathematics (or equivalent). Those candidates who do not have A level Mathematics (or equivalent) should be prepared to develop their mathematical skills and will be provided with support including tailored first year courses in mathematics and statistics.

Usual standard offer: A level: grades A A BInternational Baccalaureate: Diploma with 37 points including 6 6 6 at Higher level.
Other qualifications are considered.

English language requirements

Although it is not necessary to have the required grade in an acceptable English Language qualification when you make your application to LSE, if you are made an offer of a place and English is not your mother tongue, it is likely that you would be asked to obtain an acceptable English Language qualification as a condition of your offer.

The following qualifications are acceptable to LSE:

• GCSE English Language with a grade B or better.
• International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) English as a First Language with a grade B or better including the Speaking and Listening coursework component (Edexcel) or grade 2 in the optional speaking test (CIE).
• International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) academic test with a score of 7.0 in all four components.
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum score of 627 in the paper test including 5.5 in writing and 50 in TSE, or 107 in the internet based test with a minimum of 25 out of 30 in each of the four skills.
• Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) with grade B or better.
• Cambridge Advanced Certificate of English (CACE) with a grade A.
• Cambridge English Language (1119) conducted overseas by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate: B4 or better.
• O level (1120 Brunei, 1125 Mauritius A, 1127 Singapore) grade B or better.
• Singapore Integrated Programme (IP) Secondary 4 English Language grade B or better.
• Pearson Test of English (General) with a distinction at level 5 in both the written and the oral test.

Exceptions

If students offer the IGCSE in English as a First Language or O level (other than those specified above) and have been educated in the medium of English during their five most recent years of study (prior to 1 September 2011), then we will accept the qualification as sufficient evidence of English Language proficiency.

Please note that test scores must be achieved from one sitting of the relevant qualification. We will not accept individual component scores from multiple tests

Work Experience

No work experience is required.

Related Scholarships*

• Academic Excellence Scholarship

  "The Academic Excellence Scholarship can provide up to a 50 % reduction in tuition per semester. These scholarships will be renewed if the student maintains superior academic performance during each semester of their 3-year Bachelor programme. The scholarship will be directly applied to the student’s tuition fees."

• Access Bursary

  Bursary for UK students all subjects where the variable tuition fee rate is payable.

• Alumni Bursary

  Alumni Bursary for UK Undergraduate students

* The scholarships shown on this page are suggestions first and foremost. They could be offered by other organisations than London School of Economics and Political Science.

Funding

Financial support for 2011 entry

The School recognises that the cost of living in London may be higher than in your home town or country. Government support, in the form of loans and grants, is available to UK and some EU students, while LSE provides generous financial support, in the form of bursaries and scholarships to UK, EU and overseas students.

Government support

for students from England

Student loan for maintenance

The student loan for maintenance helps students pay living costs during term times and holidays. The maximum loan available for students studying in London and living away from their parents' home is currently £6,928.

Maintenance grants

The means-tested maintenance grant (currently worth up to £2,906) also helps students with living expenses during their time at university. The amount a student is eligible to receive is assessed by Student Finance England. The grant does not have to be repaid.

Special Support Grant

The special support grant replaces the maintenance grant for some students who during the course of the academic year, meet the conditions for being a 'prescribed person' under the income support or housing benefit regulations. Students who are likely to qualify include:

• Single parents
• Other student parents if they have a partner who is also a student
• Students with certain disabilities

Other students may be eligible for the Special Support Grant. You don't necessarily have to receive or even have applied for Income Support or Housing Benefit.

for students from elsewhere in the UK

Different financial support packages are available for students from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Students from these countries should refer to one of the following websites:

Student Finance Wales

www.studentfinancewales.co.uk

Student Awards Agency Scotland

www.saas.gov.uk

Student Finance Northern Ireland

www.studentfinanceni.co.uk

for EU students

Students from the EU are not usually eligible for UK Government financial support. However, EU nationals (or children of EU nationals) who have lived in the UK or islands for three years before the start of their course (ie, since 1 September 2008 for a course starting on 1 September 2011) may now qualify for a student loan and grants.

for overseas students

Students from outside the EU are not eligible to apply for UK Government funds. However, there is a range of funding available for overseas students from external agencies, bodies or your home government, details of which are available from your home government or nearest British Council office (www.britishcouncil.org/learning), or UKCISA (www.ukcisa.org.uk).

LSE financial support

for UK students

LSE Bursary

The LSE Bursary is available for students from low-income backgrounds (from England and Wales) and is worth up to £7,500 over a three-year programme. The value of the LSE Bursary is linked to students' (or their family's) income levels, which will be assessed when calculating the maintenance grant. The maximum LSE Bursary of £2,500 per year is awarded to those students with the lowest residual income. These Bursaries do not have to be repaid.

LSE Discretionary Bursary

The LSE Discretionary Bursary is available for new LSE students (from the UK and the EU) who face exceptional financial needs, including, for example, caring responsibilities, financial need related to disability or an unavoidable requirement to live at home. The value of the award may vary according to need. These Bursaries do not have to be repaid.

LSE Scholarships

Each year LSE awards a number of scholarships - funded by private or corporate donation - to UK applicants to the School. The number, value, eligibility criteria and type of awards vary from year to year. Awards are made on the basis of financial need and academic merit.

Stelios scholarships

Four Stelios scholarships, currently worth £5,444 per year, are available for UK students applying for business subjects at LSE.

Access to Learning funds

Registered UK students from low-income households can apply directly to LSE for Access to Learning funds. These funds are designed for students who may need extra financial support for their course, and are provided by the Government to assist with living expenses.

for EU students

LSE Discretionary Bursary

The LSE discretionary bursary is available to EU students. For information about this bursary and how to apply, please see the section on LSE financial support for UK students.

LSE scholarships

LSE offers a number of undergraduate scholarships of varying amounts each year to EU students.

Stelios scholarships

Six Stelios scholarships, currently worth £5,444 per year, are available for EU students applying for business subjects at LSE.

for overseas students

LSE undergraduate support scheme

The LSE undergraduate support scheme (USS) is designed to help overseas students who do not have the necessary funds to meet all their costs of study. In 2008, the School disbursed nearly £1 million in entrance awards available to self-financing students of all nationalities. This financial aid is available only for study at LSE. If you are made an offer of admission, we will advise you on how to apply to the USS online. This system is able to provide an immediate indication of an applicant's eligibility for assistance. In the first instance, you will be assessed on the basis of your financial circumstances. Awards are renewable for each year of your course. Applications will be considered between the end of February and the middle of August.

LSE scholarships

The School offers a limited number of undergraduate scholarships of varying amounts each year for overseas students.