ACCA Professional Accountancy ACCA PROF

Overview

This course is for people who wish to work, or are working, in financial accounting and want to develop their career to a recognised, professional level. It is designed to provide the knowledge, skills and professional values necessary to build a successful career across all sectors, whether you are working in the public or private sectors, practising in accounting firms, or pursuing a career in business.
The University of Brighton has been awarded Gold Level status by the ACCA. As such, we are recognised as providing the highest quality standards in facilities, tuition and course management.
ACCA members, whatever their subsequent specialisation, need a general understanding spanning all the associated disciplines. As such, the course covers a broad range of subjects, including financial accounting, management accounting, financial management, taxation, auditing, law, quantitative techniques and economics.
You can choose to study part-time (one day a week over four years) or full-time (two days a week over two years).

Course duration
Full-time: 2 years
Part-time: 4 years
Course content

Course structure

The ACCA qualifications are divided into two levels: Fundamentals and Professional.
Currently we teach 13 of the 16 ACCA papers; we do not offer tuition for the three Knowledge papers. However, the ACCA grant exemptions if you have a relevant degree or professional qualification. To find out whether you are exempt check the ACCA website.

Areas of study

The course goes beyond the technical skills dominating a traditional syllabus, encompassing fundamental professional attributes such as judgement, professional ethics, imagination, and problem-solving. It contains a significant amount of material on communication with clients and colleagues, and on the management process.

Syllabus

Fundamentals Level
The Fundamentals level is divided into two modules: Knowledge and Skills. The Knowledge papers introduce you to the main areas of financial and management accounting. The Skills papers cover the main technical areas that accountants are expected to know.
You may be able to claim exemptions from the fundamental skills elements of the ACCA qualification. There are a number of entry points, depending on experience and previous academic qualifications.
Knowledge Papers (not offered by the University of Brighton):
- F1 Accountant in Business
- F2 Management Accounting
- F3 Financial Accounting
Skills Papers (you can choose to be assessed internally by the University or externally by the ACCA):
- F4 Corporate and Business Law
- F5 Performance Management
- F6 Taxation
- F7 Financial Reporting
- F8 Audit and Assurance
- F9 Financial Management
More details about individual papers are available from the ACCA website.
Professional Level
The Professional level is divided into two modules: Essentials and Options. Both of the modules at Professional level have been set at the same ability level as a Masters degree.
This level builds on the technical knowledge you will already have. It will also explore more advanced professional skills, techniques and values. These are required at a senior level by accountants working in an advisory or consultancy role.
Essentials Papers:
- P1 Governance, Risk and Ethics
- P2 Corporate Reporting
- P3 Business Analysis
Option Papers - choose two from:
- P4 Advanced Financial Management
- P5 Advanced Performance Management
- P6 Advanced Taxation
- P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance
More details about individual papers are available on the ACCA website.
The course goes beyond the technical skills dominating a traditional syllabus, encompassing fundamental professional attributes such as judgement, professional ethics, imagination, and problem-solving. It contains a significant amount of material on communication with clients and colleagues, and on the management process.
Entry requirements

Typical entry requirements
individual offers may vary
ND/C (Level 3):
DMM.
International Baccalaureate:
26 points, including 13 at higher level
QAA-approved access course:
acceptable.
GCSE (minimum grade C):
at least 3 subjects including English language and mathematics or a science.
Foundation degree/HND
direct entry to fundamental knowledge level may be possible in some cases.
For non-native speakers of English:
IELTS 6.0 overall, 6.0 in writing.
Other:
Fundamentals Level - Skills Papers
Direct entry onto Skills Papers stage requires documentary evidence that applicants have passed all but one of the Knowledge Papers or have gained ACCA exemption from the Knowledge Papers stage.
Professional Level
Direct entry onto Professional Stage requires documentary evidence that applicants have have passed or have exemption from all but one of the Fundamentals Level exams.
ACCA student membership
You need to be a current registered student of the ACCA. It is advisable to apply for membership as soon as possible, since the process of obtaining membership is much longer between September and December, and membership brings a number of advantages, particularly receipt of the Student Accountant magazine and practical online support.
For more information about ACCA student membership, registration and exemptions see www.accaglobal.com.
APPLYING FOR THIS COURSE
Students should apply direct to the university.Application forms are available from:
Sharen Staines
Brighton Business School
University of Brighton
Mithras House
Lewes Road
Brighton BN2 4AT
Telephone: +44 (0)1273 642974
Email: enquiries.business@brighton.ac.uk
Location

Location Moulsecoomb
Career opportunities

An Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification will help your career progress in any organisation. Globally, employers will understand and respect your qualification. You will be in demand for your finance and accounting knowledge regardless of employment sector.
This qualification, subject to ACCA's practical experience requirements, enables you to become a Chartered Certified Accountant and use the letters ACCA after your name.

Visit the careers centre website.

Fees and costs

The tuition fee you have to pay is dependent on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, your chosen mode of study and whether or not you already have a higher education qualification.

For detailed advice on tuition fees including International and Island fee paying status please visit www.brighton.ac.uk/money.

Fees for academic year 2012/2013

Full-time, 2 year route UK and EU students International students	£3,600 £10,500
Part-time, 4 year route UK and EU students International students	£1,800 pro rata FT fee

Fees are subject to confirmation. Fees exclude study manuals and textbooks.

ACCA additional fees

Registration to the ACCA is not included in the university tuition fees.
ACCA exam or exemption fees are applicable and will need to be paid directly to the ACCA, please contact them for further details.

More details

For more details about our ACCA Professional Accountancy course fees contact:
Tel 01273 642974
Email enquiries.business@brighton.ac.uk

More details

Assessment

At the Fundamentals level the Skills Papers can be assessed by the University or the ACCA. You choose where you would like to be assessed. Should you choose to be internally assessed by the University, each paper will be assessed by one piece of coursework and an examination at the end of the academic year.

At the Professional level the papers are entirely assessed by examination. The exams are externally assessed by the ACCA. No exemptions are given at the Professional level.

Who is this course for?

Our ACCA students come from a wide mixture of backgrounds and cultures, some coming directly from school or college with A levels, while others have followed an Access, National Diploma or other programme.

A significant number are mature students with work experience, many using the course as an opportunity to change their career. Most of the part-time students are in work - often, but not always, accountancy related. A growing number of students are from other countries. There is mostly a fairly even ratio of male to female students.

Student support

We offer a high level of student support from a small and committed course team.

Class sizes do not normally exceed 30 students.

As a registered ACCA student, you will have access to syllabuses and study guides, past exam papers, examiners' approach presentations and examiners' reports online. So you can fully prepare for each paper before being assessed.
Student views

Ahmad Darwish, Chairman, ACCA's Members Advisory Committee

The course was delivered by experienced lecturers who discussed the subjects in depth. They provided us with assignments, case studies and projects that tested our knowledge and required us to implement the skills learned throughout the program, thus helping us in critical thinking and problem solving.

The course didn’t focus only on ACCA text books, the lecturers provided us with additional reading materials, examples and books which talked about real life case studies. This gave me a broader understanding and made me realise that it is important to have a holistic view of the subject matter before I make any decision.

Looking back, I’m glad that I did this course at the University of Brighton for reasons such as: working with an international team and accepting the cultural differences; knowing when to use technology for efficiency; and learning accounting and finance in depth from qualified professional lecturers who make sure that we understand the big picture.