Accounting and Finance / Spanish

Why study Accounting and Finance at Aberystwyth?

Our various Accounting and Finance programmes are accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA). This means that, on successful completion of your Accounting and Finance degree, you will be able to gain exemption from certain examinations and achieve professional qualifications at an earlier stage. Your accounting modules are complemented by linguistic and cultural modules including Spanish Civilization, Spanish Language and Language in Society.

The Aberystwyth Business School has an excellent reputation for the quality of its courses and for the success of its graduates across a wide variety of careers and contexts. We believe in a teaching model which requires active student involvement rather than passive information-gathering, ensuring that you can meet the demands of potential employers on graduation. The most recent figures for the National Student Survey show a high satisfaction rate with the course, so you can be sure that you will receive a very high-quality learning experience.

Teaching in the Aberystwyth Business School is underpinned by research. Our academic staff publish their work in leading academic journals and regularly act as consultants to a range of organisations. We have significant strengths in areas such as entrepreneurship, human resource management, international business and operations and supply chain management. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (2014) assessment the university was placed in the top 50 institutions for research power and intensity. It submitted 77% of eligible staff and 95% of the university's research was of an internationally recognised standard.

Our lecturers are actively engaged in academic and policy-oriented research and consulting. Many have a professional business, as well as an academic, background allowing us to inform you of the latest developments in your subject and pass on a practical awareness of the contemporary business environment. By applying their real-world knowledge to theoretical concepts, your learning experience is firmly located in the context of proper professional practice. Our programmes are supported by visiting speakers who also bring their professional experience to the classroom.

We have arrangements with many partner universities overseas to deliver short academic programmes (2 weeks) to small groups of management and business students (on a self-funding basis), to enable you to experience the impact of the cultural environment when conducting business abroad. We currently have partner universities in India, China, Russia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil and our portfolio of countries is rapidly expanding.

Our Staff

Students at the Aberystwyth Business School are taught by lecturers and other teaching staff who are active researchers and expert practitioners in their chosen subject area.

Over 75% of full time members of teaching staff are qualified to PhD level. Most are currently research active, meaning that students benefit from being taught ‘new’ knowledge in their chosen field of study as well as recognized literature. The School also employs part-time and full time staff devoted purely to teaching. Many part-time staff combine teaching duties with consultancy and business activities, ensuring that students have access not only to up to date research but the latest applied knowledge.

All of the lecturers in the Department of Modern Languages are qualified to PhD level and are research active specialists in their chosen field. We also employ highly qualified and experienced language tutors, and native-speakers, who will ensure that your learning is of the highest possible quality and who will provide you with constant support through your years of study.

Career prospects

A degree in Accounting and Finance with Spanish will prepare you for a specialist career as a Chartered accountant, Chartered certified accountant, Chartered management accountant, Chartered public finance accountant or Accounting technician. Other career pathways include tax adviser, auditor, investment analyst, financial trader, retail banker, economist and actuary. Our languages training will assist you in work relating to lexicography, speech and language therapy, publishing, translating and teaching.

Transferable Skills

Studying for a degree in Accounting and Finance with Spanish will equip you with a range of transferable skills which are highly valued by employers. These include:

• enhanced numerical skills
• the ability to research, interpret and analyse business and financial data
• the ability to express ideas and communicate information in a clear and structured manner, in both written and oral form
• effective problem-solving
• analytical and creative thinking skills
• the ability to make decisions
• the ability to work independently
• time-management and organisational skills, including the ability to meet deadlines
• self-motivation and self-reliance
• team-working, with the ability to discuss concepts in groups, accommodating different ideas and reaching agreement
• the ability to work in multi-lingual environments.

Year in Employment scheme (YES)

The University operates a Year in Employment Scheme (YES), which offers you a fantastic opportunity to take a year out between your second and third year to work in an organisation in the UK or overseas. YES provides a very rewarding and worthwhile experience, both personally and professionally, and can help you to stand out from the crowd in a very competitive job market. The University’s Career Service will help you to explore your options and secure a suitable work placement.