Studying Accounting & Finance without Maths.

Hi everyone, i'm 17 and currently studying a T-Level in Accounting which is a path-away to get into Accounting, to study an ACCA and so on, but here comes my struggle.

I don't have an A Level in Maths, nor do i have a B in Maths for GCSE's, of course i'll be willing to re-sit if it's absolutely necessary, but i'm not even sure what to do right now to further my chances of studying Accounting & Finance at the Uni's i want to go to, i mean surely no Universities will accept me, and even if i want to do a foundational year, they're sooo hard to get into, the competition is insane! I was thinking if i put my blood, sweat and tears into my personal statement it would somehow increase my chances.. but idk anymore! :,(

I guess what i'm really asking is, am i cooked? Is it over for me, is there a way to actually pursue the career i desperately want to get into, or am i just hopeless?

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by accountingmeow

Hi everyone, i'm 17 and currently studying a T-Level in Accounting which is a path-away to get into Accounting, to study an ACCA and so on, but here comes my struggle.
I don't have an A Level in Maths, nor do i have a B in Maths for GCSE's, of course i'll be willing to re-sit if it's absolutely necessary, but i'm not even sure what to do right now to further my chances of studying Accounting & Finance at the Uni's i want to go to, i mean surely no Universities will accept me, and even if i want to do a foundational year, they're sooo hard to get into, the competition is insane! I was thinking if i put my blood, sweat and tears into my personal statement it would somehow increase my chances.. but idk anymore! :,(
I guess what i'm really asking is, am i cooked? Is it over for me, is there a way to actually pursue the career i desperately want to get into, or am i just hopeless?

I was going to rollover laughing, but I think it should take some serious note.

ACCA doesn't require you to have a degree in order to do it. See the following:
https://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/qualifications/glance/acca/minimum-entrance.html
However, it doesn't seem they accept T-Levels.

Accounting isn't really a very quantitative subject, so A Level Maths isn't necessary. What is typically necessary is 3 good A Levels in any subject (or equivalent). Finance on the other hand can sometimes ask for A Level Maths because they have quantitative content that requires you to have maths at that level of proficiency. The Finance joint degrees isn't necessary should you wish to go into accounting.

I don't know which specific unis you intend to do your degrees in (there are hundreds in the country), so it's probably better to start with the entry requirements for those unis first.
If they require you to have A Level Maths, then you could study it as a private candidate (a complete pain, but viable). However, this is substantially more difficult than GCSE Maths though.

As you have mentioned that you don't have a B in GCSE Maths and you're 17, I would want to confirm which country you're based in

Do also note, why ACCA as opposed to ACA, ICAS, CAI, AIA, CIMA, CIPFA, etc.?
Is it chartered accountancy that you are set to do as opposed to public finance, management accountancy, etc.?

Even if all is lost and you fail in all respect (including getting into uni), have you considered doing the AAT Level 3 qualification to gain entry into ACCA? Typically, there is no entry requirement and it's usually the preferred route for accounting apprentices.

I don't know enough about your situation to comment, so unless I am clearer about the above then it's difficult to advise.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 2

accountingmeow

Original post by MindMax2000

I was going to rollover laughing, but I think it should take some serious note.
ACCA doesn't require you to have a degree in order to do it. See the following:
https://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/qualifications/glance/acca/minimum-entrance.html
However, it doesn't seem they accept T-Levels.
Accounting isn't really a very quantitative subject, so A Level Maths isn't necessary. What is typically necessary is 3 good A Levels in any subject (or equivalent). Finance on the other hand can sometimes ask for A Level Maths because they have quantitative content that requires you to have maths at that level of proficiency. The Finance joint degrees isn't necessary should you wish to go into accounting.
I don't know which specific unis you intend to do your degrees in (there are hundreds in the country), so it's probably better to start with the entry requirements for those unis first.
If they require you to have A Level Maths, then you could study it as a private candidate (a complete pain, but viable). However, this is substantially more difficult than GCSE Maths though.
As you have mentioned that you don't have a B in GCSE Maths and you're 17, I would want to confirm which country you're based in
Do also note, why ACCA as opposed to ACA, ICAS, CAI, AIA, CIMA, CIPFA, etc.?
Is it chartered accountancy that you are set to do as opposed to public finance, management accountancy, etc.?
Even if all is lost and you fail in all respect (including getting into uni), have you considered doing the AAT Level 3 qualification to gain entry into ACCA? Typically, there is no entry requirement and it's usually the preferred route for accounting apprentices.
I don't know enough about your situation to comment, so unless I am clearer about the above then it's difficult to advise.

I wrote this in a state of panic so it’s totally understandable you found it funny! 😭 And to answer the questions, i reside in the UK, i want to study at LSE, Kingston, University of Manchester, London metropolitan, University of leeds and a couple others, i’m still looking into it on my UCAS really; though i do know a couple of those options are quite far reaching considering my circumstances.

I also had considered sitting an AAT at the start of my course, do you reckon it’d increase my chances of getting into it? Based on my qualifications so far, i think it’d come in handy. I also just wrote ACCA to generalise, i’m very interested in CIMA alongside it, do you think i’d have to resit my GCSE Maths and complete an A-Level in Maths just to get into Accounting & Finance at the Uni’s i wish to go to? I know LSE are very strict about it, and i don’t really know how long it’d even take to resit them.

I would also say i’m wanting to become a chartered accountant the most.

Overall, i still am not quite sure if i even have the requirements to study at some of these Universities, which is why i’m worrying about it, especially at this time of the year when we have to start thinking about applications and such, due to it being summer holidays i don’t have much guidance with this. :frown:

Reply 3

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by accountingmeow

I wrote this in a state of panic so it’s totally understandable you found it funny! 😭 And to answer the questions, i reside in the UK, i want to study at LSE, Kingston, University of Manchester, London metropolitan, University of leeds and a couple others, i’m still looking into it on my UCAS really; though i do know a couple of those options are quite far reaching considering my circumstances.
I also had considered sitting an AAT at the start of my course, do you reckon it’d increase my chances of getting into it? Based on my qualifications so far, i think it’d come in handy. I also just wrote ACCA to generalise, i’m very interested in CIMA alongside it, do you think i’d have to resit my GCSE Maths and complete an A-Level in Maths just to get into Accounting & Finance at the Uni’s i wish to go to? I know LSE are very strict about it, and i don’t really know how long it’d even take to resit them.
I would also say i’m wanting to become a chartered accountant the most.
Overall, i still am not quite sure if i even have the requirements to study at some of these Universities, which is why i’m worrying about it, especially at this time of the year when we have to start thinking about applications and such, due to it being summer holidays i don’t have much guidance with this. :frown:

i want to study at LSE, Kingston, University of Manchester, London metropolitan, University of leeds and a couple others
For the more academic unis, it's usually safer to do A Levels as opposed to T-Level since it's still not widely accepted.
See the following entry requirements for the unis that you intend to apply to:
LSE
https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/undergraduate/bsc-accounting-and-finance#entry-requirements (if you look into this further, they do say they accept T-Level in accounting: https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Undergraduate/Prospective-Students/How-to-Apply/Entry-Requirements - however, this is on an individual basis, so I would contact them to check).
Do note, A Level Maths is required as entry requirements for normal A Levels, so there is a chance that they will ask you for A Level Maths as well as T-Level in accounting is not mathematical enough.
Kingston
Kingston has 2 degrees in accounting:
https://www.kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/accounting-finance/
https://www.kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/business-and-accounting/
If you look into the alternative qualifications, you would see similar requirements for T-Levels:
https://www.kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/how-to-apply/ucas-tariff-points-and-differential-offers/
None of the above require A Level Maths.
Manchester
There are 4 types of accounting degrees (the others are variations of these 4 with industrial/professional experience:
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2024/07808/bsc-accounting/entry-requirements/#course-profile
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2024/05151/baecon-accounting-and-finance/entry-requirements/#course-profile
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2024/12812/bsc-business-accounting-with-industrial-professional-experience/entry-requirements/#course-profile
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2024/03520/bsc-management-accounting-and-finance/entry-requirements/#course-profile
None of the degrees above require A Level Maths. However, none of them seem to accept T-Levels. You should contact Manchester to check if it's a qualification that they would accept.
London Met
https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/accounting-and-finance---ba-hons/
They don't specify whether they accept T-Levels (just only Level 3 equivalents), so you would need to check with the uni yourself. A Level Maths not required.
Leeds
https://courses.leeds.ac.uk/f834/accounting-and-finance-bsc#entry
They accept T Levels. A Level Maths not required.

Do note, none of the above seem to accept AAT as an alternative qualification for entry into their degree. For unis that do, see the following: https://www.aat.org.uk/qualifications-and-courses/exemptions-recognition-prior-learning

I also had considered sitting an AAT at the start of my course, do you reckon it’d increase my chances of getting into it?
Unless AAT is in partnership with the unis and the unis accept it as accredited prior learning, I don't think it would help you that much any more than helping you build a good personal statement.
Should you do an accounting degree for any random reason, the exemptions that you would have gotten with an AAT for a professional accounting qualification you would have already likely receive exemptions for by doing the degree (AAT only goes up to NVQ Level 4, which is the equivalent of the first year of uni) i.e. it's mere duplication and very unnecessary.
As such, I would do AAT if you are set to skip the degree and go straight into the relevant professional accounting qualification (which I recommend you do instead of an accounting degree, since you're not going into academia).

I also just wrote ACCA to generalise
Whilst I don't like to generalise, ACCA's entry requirements are similar for a number of other professional accounting qualifications including: ACA, ICAS, CAI, AIA, CIPFA, IFA. The only one where it's not is CIMA where there are no entry requirements i.e. you can do CIMA without needing to even do GCSEs.

i’m very interested in CIMA alongside it
Why alongside it? You can go into management accounting with a qualification in financial accounting (e.g. ACCA, ACA, ICAS, CAI, etc.). Even if you want to do both a financial accounting qualification with CIMA, it makes more sense to do one first before doing the other, because you get more exemptions that way round. If you do them both side by side, you would have to duplicate the work (you go through the same material twice and take up more time).

do you think i’d have to resit my GCSE Maths and complete an A-Level in Maths just to get into Accounting & Finance at the Uni’s i wish to go to?
I would encourage you to resit GCSE Maths if the grade is particularly low, but since it's a B it's adequate for most unis (you would need to check the entry requirements to check what specific GCSE requirements they have).
Also, if the entry requirements doesn't require A Level Maths if you're applying with A Levels, doing A Level Maths with your T-Level is not likely going to help. (For example LSE requires it, so it might help but for the other unis that you have listed they don't.) Furthermore, if you do A Level Maths privately, you don't need GCSEs in any specific grade - the exam boards don't care what you got for your GCSEs (only colleges care and set these arbitrary entry requirements).

I know LSE are very strict about it, and i don’t really know how long it’d even take to resit them.
Exam cycles for GCSEs (including resits) is November and May - so you have 2 times in the year to resit.
Exam cycles of GCSEs is in May only, so you only have one chance per year.
A typically GCSE takes 200 hours to go through the material, and it's recommended to do another 200 hours to revise. A typical A Level takes 300 hours to go through the material, and a recommended 300 hours for revision. If you do both for any reason, you need 1000 hours. At 10 hours of study per day (very intensive by the way; 5 hours per day is more realistic for most people), you need 100 days or roughly 3 months (at 5 hours a day, 200 days or roughly 7 months). So under a year if you really need to, but as I mentioned above you don't and it's not necessary.

I would also say i’m wanting to become a chartered accountant the most.
Chartered accountant is defined as "a financial professional who is qualified to execute certain accounting procedures. It also refers to an accounting designation granted internationally to individuals aside from the United States. CAs work in four main areas, including applied finance, financial accounting and reporting, management accounting, and taxation. Their responsibilities may include filing taxes and auditing financial statements." See: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/ca.asp
As financial accounting and reporting is a key area for chartered accountants, you would need a financial accounting qualification as opposed to one that specialises in management accounting (CIMA) or public finance (CIPFA). In other words, your key qualifications are ACA (preferred in my opinion), ACCA, ICAS, CAI, AIA, IFA.

due to it being summer holidays i don’t have much guidance with this.
See the above.