What is Accounting and Finance like at Uni?

Final year accounting and finance student here .

Does it contain a lot of maths? (I enjoy math). Around 40-45% of my degree has been based on computations. These range from general accounting problems which only involve basic math to more complex statistics and financial mathematics. Accounting degrees, at least at my university, have a lot more theory than people seem to expect.

Is it fun?
I mean, I guess? I enjoy my course but I wouldn't say it is fun. Interesting? Mostly. Satisfying (when you finally understand complex processes)? Yeah. Fun? Not exactly haha. I consider sports and sex fun, not studying.

Do you guys do a lot of spreadsheets?
Not really. Most (if not all) unis will have written examinations make up the bulk of your marks, so having assignments based around spreadsheets is often a waste of time. I've only had two assignments that have specifically required the use of excel. Any other practical assignments have used SAGE or could be formatted in any way you wish, I just personally prefer to use excel for those anyway. Some people used microsoft word though (stupid, imo).

The whole point of your degree is to understand the principles of what you're learning, so doing it all by hand is far more beneficial (even though I hate to admit it because I moaned about it in my first 2 years) than doing it on excel. Anyone can take something they've done by hand and input it to a spreadsheet, but using a spreadsheet to compute something doesn't mean that you will understand where the balances have come from. You need to understand it for the exams, so most things are hand computed.

What sort of work placements have you obtained or are considering?
I have had 3 internships. One in audit, one in tax and one in corporate finance. I've also done job shadowing in various other roles. I have settled on pursuing a career in tax. I recommend getting a wide variety of experience because what you expect from a role is not always what you actually get. I expected to hate tax and adore audit. I found that I loved tax and really wasn't keen on audit (also really like corporate finance). Start looking for internships early, lots of firms will take on interns a lot earlier in their degrees than they used to, so the earlier the better .

Can you also work in investment through A&F?
Yes. Investment is incredibly hard to get into without undergrad experience though, so expect to spend a lot of time during your degree looking for internships, work shadowing, networking etc.

Wow thank you for all of the information! Just a few more questions. What tips would you for a personal statement in A&F? And what sorts of books that i could read to have a good understanding of some of the theories that you have learnt? And what are the exams like; essay based or something else?

You're welcome .

What tips would you for a personal statement in A&F?

Avoid cliche things like "ever since I popped out of the birth canal, I knew I wanted to be an accountant" because lets face it, everyone knows it isn't true haha. Think about WHY you want to be in this field and use that as the main draw for your personal statement. I started mine with a quote that fit in perfectly with what I was saying (although it can't have meant that much to me because I can't even remember it now :/ ).Try to show a genuine interest in the course. Do some reading on current accounting issues and financial news (or some older issues that may have piqued your interest in the course to start with).Honestly, writing a personal statement is made far more stressful by schools than it has to be. I always hear stories of how stressful it is but I can't relate because I wrote one draft of mine, edited it to fit in with the boundaries and that was it.

And what sorts of books that I could read to have a good understanding of some of the theories that you have learnt?

If you're looking to actually learn something substantial before starting the course (and have no accounting experience), then any good accounting textbook will be fine. Pauline Weetman's "Financial and Management Accounting" is a good beginners textbook.If you're looking for something a little more lighthearted than a textbook, then take a look at NotePirate on youtube. This playlist has some great videos that explain things in an easy to understand way, and he makes the videos relatively funny sometimes too. There is a management accounting playlist too .

And what are the exams like; essay based or something else?
This will vary from uni to uni, but I'll do a breakdown of my exams so you can get a better idea .
- First year semester 1: 2 100% theory exams (1 fully essay based, 1 MCQ and essay mix). 2 combo exams (a mix of theory/essay work and calculations).
- First year semester 2: 1 fully essay based exam, 3 combo exams.
- Second year semester 1: 1 fully essay based exam, 3 combo exams.
- Second year semester 2: 2 fully essay based exams, 2 combo exams.
- Third year semester 1: 1 fully essay based exam, 2 combo exams.
- Third year semester 2: 2 fully essay based exams.

My fourth year will be;
- Fourth year semester 1: 1 fully essay based exam, 1 combo exam (heavily theory based, but with some calculation requirements).
- Fourth year semester 2: 1 combo exam and a dissertation.

As you can see, there is a good mix of assessment types. Often, a lot of your coursework will be essay/report based and calculations will be assessed in exams, but this differs from course to course. Also, a few of the combo exam courses have been almost entirely essay based, but have had 1 or 2 small topics within them that required calculations.

If you have any other questions, ask away

Final year accounting and finance student here .

Does it contain a lot of maths? (I enjoy math). Around 40-45% of my degree has been based on computations. These range from general accounting problems which only involve basic math to more complex statistics and financial mathematics. Accounting degrees, at least at my university, have a lot more theory than people seem to expect.

Is it fun?
I mean, I guess? I enjoy my course but I wouldn't say it is fun. Interesting? Mostly. Satisfying (when you finally understand complex processes)? Yeah. Fun? Not exactly haha. I consider sports and sex fun, not studying.

Do you guys do a lot of spreadsheets?
Not really. Most (if not all) unis will have written examinations make up the bulk of your marks, so having assignments based around spreadsheets is often a waste of time. I've only had two assignments that have specifically required the use of excel. Any other practical assignments have used SAGE or could be formatted in any way you wish, I just personally prefer to use excel for those anyway. Some people used microsoft word though (stupid, imo).

The whole point of your degree is to understand the principles of what you're learning, so doing it all by hand is far more beneficial (even though I hate to admit it because I moaned about it in my first 2 years) than doing it on excel. Anyone can take something they've done by hand and input it to a spreadsheet, but using a spreadsheet to compute something doesn't mean that you will understand where the balances have come from. You need to understand it for the exams, so most things are hand computed.

What sort of work placements have you obtained or are considering?
I have had 3 internships. One in audit, one in tax and one in corporate finance. I've also done job shadowing in various other roles. I have settled on pursuing a career in tax. I recommend getting a wide variety of experience because what you expect from a role is not always what you actually get. I expected to hate tax and adore audit. I found that I loved tax and really wasn't keen on audit (also really like corporate finance). Start looking for internships early, lots of firms will take on interns a lot earlier in their degrees than they used to, so the earlier the better .

Can you also work in investment through A&F?
Yes. Investment is incredibly hard to get into without undergrad experience though, so expect to spend a lot of time during your degree looking for internships, work shadowing, networking etc.

You are literally like my messiah right now thanks! I have so many questions in mind like:
Thanks for answering my questions, it is much appreciated!!!

Where did you have internships?and one each year of your degree

Hey sorry for the delay, I no longer get quote notifications which is really annoying!

What made you go and study Accountancy and Finance at Uni?
I really liked numbers and had an interest in financial things from a young age anyway, so it seemed like the right fit for me (and it was).

Do they help teach you how to write an Essay?
My uni required all students to do an academic writing "test" within the first week or two. It was basically just an online thing to see if your writing was up to scratch and if you failed, you had to go to additional classes. We weren't specifically taught how to write essays, but my university offers free student support for academic writing and lecturers were always willing to answer any questions. I can send you a guide on how to write an academic essay if you like?

What subjects were you doing at A-level, and have they helped at all?
I didn't do A-levels, sorry! Universities use first year courses to bring everyone up to the same level though, so you won't be disadvantaged if you start without having done any accounting before.

Does it matter which Uni you go to for an A&F degree?
Not really, unless you have certain specific goals for your degree. Some unis have a more academic approach to the degree, delving quite deep into theories behind accounting. Others are more practical. RGU is often highlighted as a great degree for a&f because they have a year long placement and don't have to write a dissertation. I would always recommend that people choose a uni based on where they can realistically see themselves studying. There's not point going to a uni that other people think is great and being miserable, when you could be enjoying your time somewhere else. Your final degree classification is important though.

The dilemma i'm facing now is to decide between A&F and Economics, were you in a similar situation?
No, I always knew I wanted to do accounting and finance. There was a brief period where I thought about dropping finance and picking up economics instead, but that turned out to be because I hated one of my modules rather than hating finance as a whole.




I don't want to disclose the firms because I like to remain relatively anonymous on here and anyone who knows me knows I had those internships. They weren't each year of my degree though, two of them were in summer last year (6 week internships) and one this year.

I completely understand, sorry for the question..

Can i ask what you want to do after your course is finished?anywhere you want to work or a specific department perhaps?

No need to apologise at all, don't worry about it . I want to qualify as a CA and work in tax (preferably leading to me being able to specialise in private client tax work).

And do you know where you want to do your CA?with a firm yes

Yes I have a specific firm in mind that would be my first choice (again won't be named as I will be going through the recruitment process soon).