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Accounting & Finance Bsc - Cass opinions + careers path advices

D.Darko.

Hi Guys,

Is anyone attending at the moment this course at Cass - Accounting and Finance?

1) How are you finding it? I’ve readdifferent opinions in merit of it on this forum.. any recent one?

2) And what about Banking and International Finance?

Also, I would be an international student and I’m not really familiar with the credits thing.

So I can see that this course gives you 450 credits, which I looked online and it’s equal to a 4 years degree? Is that right?
Looking at other courses on Cass ’website (but also on other Universities’ websites), like Banking and International Finance, the total credits are 360.

3) What’s the main difference in terms of credits? I mean, would it benefit me having 450 credits at the end instead of 360? Or it just means that I will work my ass off more than others without any extra benefits for future prospectives?

Other question:

4) I’m honestly a bit confused on the career path I’d like to take after the completion of the degree.

I’ve got a background in accounting (where I’m from we don’t have A levels – we have to choose a school to attend from 14 to 19, and I did a business school - did no go to Uni), but don’t know where I want to head to after the degree – whether staying in Accounting or maybe moving into Finance/Banking/Investment.

Obviously the fields are pretty different, but I thought that perhaps doing an Accounting Degree could leave more doors open compared to a degree only finance/economy related.. I’ve seen that the degree in Accounting and Finance is accredited with other institutions like ACCA or ICAEW.

I mean, I guess that with a degree in accounting and finance I’d be able to pursue a career in finance too.. but on the opposite, If I do a degree finance related only, I don’t think would be that easy to pursue a career in accounting since everyone requires to obtain a professional qualification like ACCA, CIMA or ICAEW..?

Do you think that choosing an Accounting degree would prevent to find a job for example in Banking or Finance?

5) Other University choices: I was also thinking to apply for LSE and Warwick.

Obviously I missed the deadline for Oxbridge (long story) so reading online I understood that graduates from LSE, Warwick, UCL and Imperial tend to have a better reputation when it comes to the recruitment process.

But, is this for undergraduate or postgraduate?

Looking on the Imperial and UCL website, in terms of undergraduate courses, the Imperial Business School has got only a Joint Honours or an Intercalated option (related to a science degree) undertaken obviously ad the Imperial College.

On the UCL website, I can see only BSc courses for Economics, Statistic, Maths, Information Management and Management Science and other similar one, but not specific for Accounting or Finance.

The thing that concerns me of applying at Imperial or UCL is not about the entry requirements - which perhaps I think I would be fine - but would I be able to find a job in accounting-finance-banking after graduating from one of these Universities, with a degree for example in Economics or Statistic?

I mean, is it for real that banks and employers look for the most part of the prestigious of the University you’ve taken your degree more than the subjects actually studied?

I mean, on one hand I guess that’s true that on a first sight on a CV looks better having Oxford/Cambridge/LSE/UCL/Imperial/Warwick.. but I guess that at the end is the knowledge, the capability and the personality of a candidate which make it stand out.. and not really which University has attended..

Reply 1

ajj2000

Original post by D.Darko.

Obviously the fields are pretty different, but I thought that perhaps doing an Accounting Degree could leave more doors open compared to a degree only finance/economy related.. I’ve seen that the degree in Accounting and Finance is accredited with other institutions like ACCA or ICAEW.

I mean, I guess that with a degree in accounting and finance I’d be able to pursue a career in finance too.. but on the opposite, If I do a degree finance related only, I don’t think would be that easy to pursue a career in accounting since everyone requires to obtain a professional qualification like ACCA, CIMA or ICAEW..?

You need to check this specifically for the countries you might wish to apply for jobs. In the UK there is no problem getting professional qualifications as an accountant (ACCA, ICAEW or CIMA) with a non accounting degree - pretty much any sensible looking subject is fine. This is not the same in a lot of other countries you you do need to be a bit cautious.