Accounting and Finance offers some of the most stimulating and highly paid career opportunities in business. Our courses fully equip you to succeed in these exciting areas.
If you love numbers and variety, and want a sound technical knowledge of the business world, accounting and finance could be your ideal degree. Pursue your interests, develop your strengths, and move towards your ideal career with exemptions from many core professional examinations. This course is accredited by four globally recognised accounting bodies.
Finance is challenging, exciting and vital to the world economy. This degree offers the perfect balance of academic theory and practical experience to prepare you for a successful career in investment and finance. Lancaster has strong links with the Bank of England, top asset management companies, financial regulators and economists across the world to help you build your connections.
This course offers you the chance to gain a solid foundation in accounting while developing your knowledge of specialist management subjects such as human resources or marketing. You will study a degree that plays to your strengths with numbers, whilst building broader competencies in Management.
This degree is the perfect balance of theory and practice. Whether you become a banker, an accountant or a quantitative mathematician, your studies will equip you with the advanced mathematical and statistical techniques needed in the City of London and beyond.
Finance and economics are intrinsic to how the modern world functions. Our degree combines the broad sweep and critical thinking of economics with a focus on the markets and investing of finance giving you an excellent foundation for a career in management and finance. You will examine issues such as the crisis in banking, fairness in organisations and CEO salaries.
for employability with 94% of graduates in a career after 15 months
The Guardian University Guide 2025
The Guardian University Guide 2025
Awarded 5 Stars for Accounting and Finance by QS
in the UK and in the Top 100 in the world for Accounting and Finance in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024
for Accounting and Finance
The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
Fitch Ratings are offering a unique opportunity for current undergraduate second Year students. This consists of a one-year finance placement and a £5k scholarship opportunity for up to 5 students on the undergraduate industry degrees in the Department of Accounting and Finance. Top performing students will be selected to work at Fitch, gaining incredibly valuable work experience and giving them a fantastic springboard into a global financial organisation, as well as £5k to support their studies.
Studying Accounting and Finance isn't just about the theory, so many of our courses include a work placement to immerse you in the realities of business life. A placement in industry is a great way to put all your learning into practice, and gain extra skills and professional experience to give you an edge in the graduate job market. It's often regarded as the most memorable, exciting and fulfilling part of our students' degrees and is a great way to discover which direction you want to take your career.
Our industry degree courses include a twelve-month placement taking place in your third year. Equipped with two years' of study, and a dedicated careers skills module to prepare you for the workplace, you will take on a responsible job within an organisation, supported throughout by your supervisor at Lancaster. On completion, you'll bring all your insights back into your studies for your final year, including a dissertation where you'll explore an aspect of your placement experience.
Every year LUMS attracts placements with a large range of leading local, national and multinational employers such as KPMG, Deloitte, PwC and more, so competition for places is fierce. We're here to support you through all stages of the application process, to maximise your chances of securing your chosen position.
Industry placementsPreparing you for the jobs market is central to everything we do, so you'll begin to explore your career options right from the start of your studies.
My name is Paul McCormick, and I am the LUMS Financial Careers Coach. My job is to provide LUMS students with advice and support in taking their first steps into this exciting industry.
As a Lancaster University Accounting and Finance student you are in a position to take advantage of career opportunities from a wide range of industries; everything from being an accountant at a ‘Big 4’ firm, to a business position that is not specifically accountancy based, or a finance role defined as investment banking or asset management, or about a dozen different finance sectors that Lancaster University Management School career staff will explore with you.
For those interested in a finance role, you may care to refer to my opening city doors website which I operate in conjunction with LUMS for a taste of things to come for you!
From the start of your studies, you'll begin building the key skills you'll need to succeed and we'll help you to identify potential career options which might suit you best, along with a clear strategy to help you get there. You will study a series of specialist careers modules to learn key employability skills throughout your course, as well as developing practical skills and industry insights through academic modules tailored closely to industry demands. All of our degree programmes offer an industry placement variant, where you can choose to spend an extra year acquiring valuable on-the-job experience with a leading organisation.
We run two compulsory modules focused on developing key employability skills to help you achieve success in your future career:
The LUMS careers team offers personalised advice, guidance and coaching to guide you through all stages of your career planning from shaping your initial ideas, to assessment centre and interview training. If you've set your sights on a job in the City, our specialist careers coach can provide unique insight and guidance throughout the competitive recruitment process.
Every year the LUMS careers team provides a packed programme of events including campus visits by major employers, careers fairs and skills-based workshops. There are extra opportunities to enhance your skills, such as the Lancaster Award - an excellent way to provide tangible evidence of your achievements to potential employers.
Accounting and Finance is often the chosen route to becoming a professional accountant, but there's actually a much broader range of career options for Accounting and Finance graduates ranging from IT consulting to management consulting.
If you choose to pursue a career as a professional accountant, you'll need to gain work experience with an accounting firm after you graduate, and pass a series of exams set by one of the four professional accountancy bodies. This is the standard process, and applies to all graduates regardless of the degree subject studied - it's one of the reasons that the accounting professional boasts members drawn from such a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds. The four major professional accountancy bodies are:
Professional accounting firms are grouped into three broad areas, each offering different rewards and benefits. Larger firms usually offer the more generous financial rewards, better study support and a wider range of post-qualification career opportunities whilst smaller firms normally have a more personable and relaxed working environment. Choosing the right organisation for you will depend on several factors including your degree result, personality, career aspirations, location and lifestyle.
The procedures can vary from firm to firm, but most of the large firms use the following selection methods:
The financial sector includes a range of highly desirable career pathways, which is why many of our students aspire to work in this area. As the rewards are high, the competition for graduate jobs is fierce so achieving a competitive edge is crucial to your success. Our dedicated approach to financial careers support is designed to provide you with relevant insight, specialist expertise and knowledge of hiring practices to help your secure your dream career.
Standing out in the competitive financial sector requires a deep understanding of the organisations that operate within it. That's why we've partnered with a financial careers coach, Paul McCormick, who has more than 30 years' experience at several leading investment banks and financial technology institutions including Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Barclays and Thomson Reuters.
Together, we've created a unique package of specialist financial careers support that sets LUMS apart from other institutions, with an excellent track record for helping LUMS students secure placements, internships and graduate programmes with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg and many more.
"Opening City Doors and Paul McCormick helped me prepare for every step of the recruitment process but most importantly made me realise what employers really look for. Paul McCormick is a markets professional and that makes the difference." Konstantina Kalantzi, MSc Advanced Financial Analysis
“What differentiates Paul from other career coaches is his extensive market knowledge. He knows the industry inside-out and is an excellent teacher who’s always happy to answer any of your queries however urgent they may be. I managed to secure an internship in a tier 1 financial institution and all the credit for it goes to Mr McCormick. I am very lucky to have been working with him and I will always value his advice”. Dominika Stylinska, Accounting & Finance
If you're planning to qualify as an accountant, our exemptions from professional accounting exams for specific modules will fast-track your career journey, giving you more time to focus on developing your expertise. Visit our partners below to find out more.
Many of the modules studied during an Accounting and Finance degree will help you gain exemptions from your professional accounting exams. For those interested in qualifying as accountants, this will mean far fewer exams to take when you are working and will give you more time to become an expert at work.
Studying Accounting and Finance will give you exemptions from some exams for all the main accounting bodies (ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA and CIMA). For those wanting to qualify with the ICAEW (to get the ACA qualification), exemption is for up to 6 of the first (certificate) stage and for Financial Management at the second (professional) stage exam. For those interested in ACCA, exemptions are available for up to 7 papers at the Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills levels.
Our degrees give you far more than just exemptions from professional exams. You will develop a broader understanding of business and be able to choose options which help develop your knowledge and expertise. This means that for those who want to become professional accountants, they will also have a wider range of skills as well as great technical knowledge. We know this because our students go on to get great jobs with top firms.
Accounting body |
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Lancaster degree |
ICAEW |
ACCA |
CIMA |
ICAS (2021 onwards) |
CIPFA |
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BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance (and industry variant) |
Accreditation for all certificate level and Financial Management at professional level** |
All Applied Knowledge level and Applied Skills: Corporate and Business Law* |
All Certificate level* |
Test of Competence: Financial Accounting* |
Exemptions: Financial Accounting*, Management Accounting*, Business Planning & Financial Management*, Business Reporting*, Tax and Law** |
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Applied Skills: Performance management, Financial Reporting and Financial Management** |
All Operational level** |
Test of Competence: Finance, Business Acumen, Management Information & Technology, Assurance & Reporting, Principles of Tax** |
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BSc (Hons) Accounting and Management (and industry variant) |
Accreditation for all certificate level and Financial Management at professional level** |
All Applied Knowledge level* |
All Certificate level* |
Test of Competence: Financial Accounting* |
Exemptions: Financial Accounting*, Management Accounting*, Business Planning & Financial Management*, Business Reporting**, Tax and Law** |
|
Applied Skills: Corporate and Business Law, Performance management, Financial Reporting and Financial Management** |
All Operational level** |
Test of Competence: Finance, Business Acumen, Management Information & Technology, Assurance & Reporting, Principles of Tax** |
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BSc (Hons) Accounting, Finance and Mathematics (and industry variant) |
Accreditation for all certificate level (except Law) and Financial Management at professional level** |
All Applied Knowledge level* |
All Certificate level* |
Test of Competence: Financial Accounting* |
Exemptions: Financial Accounting*, Management Accounting*, Business Planning & Financial Management**, Business Reporting* |
|
Applied Skills: Performance management, Financial Reporting and Financial Management** |
All Operational level** |
Test of Competence: Finance, Business Acumen, Management Information & Technology, Assurance & Reporting, Principles of Tax** |
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|
BSc (Hons) Finance (and industry variant) |
Accreditation for all certificate level and Financial Management at professional level** |
All Applied Knowledge level* |
All Certificate level* |
Test of Competence: Financial Accounting, Finance, Business Acumen, Management Information & Technology, Assurance & Reporting, Principles of Tax** |
Exemptions: Financial Accounting**, Management Accounting**, Business Planning & Financial Management**, Business Reporting**, Tax and Law** |
*Accreditation with degree
** Accreditation dependent on specific modules taken.
