The three year honours degree in accounting and finance is accredited by HETAC and is placed at level 8 on the National Qualifications Framework. There is a focus on a mix of theory, practice and work experience. Classes are interactive environments where students are encouraged to exchange ideas and experiences. There is a strong emphasis on developing the student’s personal skills such as public speaking and debating. The first year of the BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance is a general business year. This provides students with a solid business background. The second and third year focuses on accounting, auditing, taxation and financial reporting. This provides College’s graduates a strong base on which to build their future career. Students also gain invaluable work experience during an eight-week internship after they have completed the third year. The options open to graduates are numerous. If the preferred career path is as an accountant in industry or practice, the programme offers significant exemptions from the professional bodies’ exams; nine exemptions from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the maximum that a course can achieve; Group 3 exemptions from the Irish Taxation Institute (AITI); nine exemptions from Certified Public Accountants (CPA); and ten exemptions from The Institute of Incorporated Public Accountants (IIPA). Alternatively, graduates may wish to apply their degree to a wider business environment. Opportunities will be available in such rewarding areas as financial services, banking, stock-broking, insurance and the money markets. Graduates may wish to pursue further academic studies in accounting, or indeed other business areas. Graduates they can take an additional year of ten elective modules to attain a four-year BA in Accounting and Finance degree under the institution’s Middle States accreditation. They will also find this degree to be an outstanding platform for progression to post graduate business studies. There are many possible options including postgraduate studies in finance and investment, accounting, international business, management consultancy, and strategic management.

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