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If you like to pursue your bachelor degree but could not give up your current full-time job, then you are likely similar to many others. You now can pursue an online bachelor degree from Europe without attending classes. This article is a review of the Online BSc in Accounting and Finance from the University of London.

About University of London

The University of London is well-recognised for its excellence in education. They have produced 57 Nobel Prize winners and over 35 Heads of States. The University of London External System is the oldest distance learning program in the world. They have started in 1858 and have more than 40,000 students in more than 180 countries.

The Online Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance degree is for:

• Those who wish to go on to take professional accountancy qualifications.
• Those who are professionally qualified in the accountancy field and would now like to take a degree
• Those who have not yet decided which profession to pursue and are interested in the fields of accounting and finance.

The aim of the Online BSc in Accounting and Finance is to provide a thorough grounding in accounting and finance, within a strong social science framework. The online bachelor degree consists of 12 units when taken through the Standard Route and 9 units through the Graduate Entry Route.

Students studying for the Online BSc in Accounting and Finance have between 3 to 8 years to complete the programme (or a minimum of 2 years on the Graduate Entry Route).

Study Materials and Notes for the Online BSc in Accounting and Finance

Students of the Online BSc in Accounting and Finance, University of London, receives the followings study materials:

• ‘Strategies for success’ – an academic and study skills handbook containing information about study techniques, planning your studies, making the best use of resources and preparing for examinations.
• Student handbook.
• Subject guides (offering advice on how to use textbooks).
• Past exam papers and Examiners' reports.
• Regulations.

You shall need to buy your own textbooks - they provide the main focus of your studies. You are therefore advised to consider the facilities available to you locally, and how accessible books are likely to be.

You can either study independently at a pace that suits you, or enrol for additional classes at a local institution (either full time or part time) and benefit from the more formalized support this provides.

How Examinations Are Conducted for Online Bachelor Degree

The examinations for the Online Bachelor Degree in Accounting and Finance, University of London are usually held held world-wide in May and June each year. They are usually held in a number of centres in the UK and through the British Council.
Courses with full units shall be examined by one three hour unseen written paper and courses with half units shall be examined by on two hour unseen written paper.

Curriculum of the Online BSc in Accounting and Finance, University of London

You will be required to make a serious attempt in the examination for 12 units on the Standard Route of the degree. On the Graduate Entry Route you must take and pass 9 full units.

You can take the Foundation and Further units in any order, provided you satisfy any prerequisites (units which you must have already passed).

The followings are the Courses for the Foundation Units:

Introduction to Economics

This Foundation Unit Course of the Online BSc in Accounting and Finance, University of London covers microeconomics and macroeconomics. Subjects covered for the microeconomics include The Theory of Consumer Behaviour, The Theory of the Firm, Markets and Factors Market. The macroeconomics cover subjects such as Aggregation, The Closed Economy, The Goods Market, Money and Banking, General Equilibrium, The Open Economy, Exchange Rate Determination and the Money Sector, Prices, Inflation and Unemployment, and The Phillips Curve and the theory of Inflation

Statistics 1 (half unit)

The aim of this half-unit is both to introduce some of the basic ideas of theoretical statistics while emphasizing the applications of the methods in the disciplines covered by the Management, Finance and Social Science degrees. There will be an emphasis on the interpretation of tables and results.
Subjects covered under the Statistic 1 course of the Online BSc Accounting and Finance, University of London includes Basic background, Data collection, Data presentation and analysis, The Normal Distribution, Goodness of fit, and Regression and correlation.

Mathematics 1 (half unit)

This course of the Online BSc Accounting and Finance, University of London develops basic mathematical methods and emphasises on their applications to problems in economics, management and related areas.
Subjects covered include Basics of Mathematics, Differentiation, Integration, Functions of Several Variables, Matrices and Linear Equations, and Sequences and Series.

Principles of accounting

This course of the Online BSc Accounting and Finance from University of London is designed to financial and management accounting. There is two part to the principles of accounting – financial accounting and management accounting.
Financial accounting and reporting is primarily concerned with the needs of users outside the business, such as shareholders, regulators and creditors. Management accounting is concerned with the needs of users who are internal to the business, such as directors, managers, and employees.

The followings are the subjects covered under the Financial Accounting section: Balance sheets, cash flow statements, and income statements: their construction, use and interpretation. Accounting concepts and conventions: their nature, purposes and limitations. The nature and capital structure of different forms of businesses including limited companies. The essential differences between accounting and economic concepts of income.

The followings are the subjects covered under the Management Accounting section: Cost behaviour, marginal and total absorption costing for stock. Introduction to budgetary planning and control, including standard costs, targets, and simple variance analysis. Techniques for short and long-term decision-making, including: C-V-P analysis, relevant costs, introduction to capital investment appraisal.

Principles of banking and finance

This course from the Online BSc Accounting and Finance consists of three parts – the Financial Systems, the Financial Intermediaries and the Principles of Finance.

Subjects covered under the Financial Systems include Introduction to Financial Systems and Comparative Financial Systems. Subjects covered under the Financial Intermediaries section include Role of Financial Intermediation, Regulation of Banks, Risk Management in Banking, Financial Securities: Risk and Return, Capital Budgeting and Financial Markets: Transmission of Information.

The followings are the further Units to be taken in the BSc. Accounting and Finance, University of London:

Managerial economics

The followings are the subjects covered under the Managerial Economics of the Online BSc Accounting and Financial:
Basic microeconomics i.e. supply, demand, consumer theory, labour supply, neo-classical theory of the firm, production, costs, factor demands, perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, government intervention, regulation, public goods, welfare etc. Alternative theories of the firm, internal organisation of the firm, market structure, efficiency wages, incentive structures, human resource management etc. as well as some industrial organisation theories of commonly used pricing practices, resale price maintenance and transfer pricing.

Individual (one person) decision making under uncertainty, attitudes to risk and the value of information. Theory of games i.e. strategic decision making, with applications to oligopoly, collusion, product differentiation, entry deterrence etc. The effects of asymmetric information in areas such as bargaining, bidding and auctions. Situations of moral hazard and adverse selection.

Microeconomics

Subjects covered under this course from the Online BSc Accounting and Finance, University of London includes: consumer choice and demand including inter-temporal choice and choice under uncertainty; the firm’s goals, production and costs; market structure – competition, monology, oligopoly and the new industrial economics; factor markets – the pricing of labour and capital services and capital assets; the economics of information; general equilibrium and welfare economics – economic efficiency and equity, market failures arising from monopoly, externalities and public goods; and government and the theory of public choice.

Financial Management

This course from Online BSc Accounting and Finance is a critical perspective of the topic of finance, the role of financial managers and the place of financial markets within the business environment in developed and developing economies.

Topics covered include: sources and methods of raising finance including venture capital, public offerings, private placements and project finance; a critical review of the different forms of finance such as equity, debt and their derivatives and incorporating critical consideration of their costs individually and in combination; valuation methods for costing the different elements of capital;  mergers and acquisitions; evaluation of risk measurement theories and methods and their application to both sources of finance and to investment appraisal; investment appraisal techniques; analytical tools, techniques and methods for analysing financial reports; strategic considerations of financial planning; and an introduction to risk management.

Corporate Finance

Subjects covered under the Corporate Finance course of the Online BSc. Accounting and Finance includes Project Evaluation; Risk and Return – the CAPM and APT; Derivative Assets – Characteristics and Pricing; Efficient Markets – Theory and Empirical Evidence; Capital Structure – the Modigliani-Miller Theorem; the Divident Theory; and Mergers and Acquisitions.

Financial reporting

The subjects covered under the Financial Reporting course of the Online BSc. Accounting and Finance, University of London include the rationale for financial reporting; strengths and weaknesses of historical cost accounting; accounting for investments and groups of companies; accounting for tangible and intangible assets; and analysis and interpretation of corporate financial reports.

Auditing

Subjects covered under the Auditing course of the Online BSc. Accounting and Finance include Reasons for Auditing; principles and postulates of auditing; the legal and professional environment; the duties of auditors; audit planning; conduct of the audit; computer-based systems; and the audit report.

Management Accounting

The subjects covered under the Management Accounting course of the Online BSc Accounting and Finance, University of London include: the decision-making framework; the value of information under uncertainty; the concept of relevant cost; cost estimation and cost behaviour; types of costing; pricing and decisions with scarce resources; budgeting and control; standard costing and variance analysis; divisional performance; and organizational aspects of planning and control.

Duration of the Online BSc Accounting and Finance, University of London

The duration of study for the Online BSc Accounting and Finance, University of London depends on whether you are taking the Standard Route or the Graduate Route. The Standard Route is for those who are an undergraduate degree student and they have a minimum of three years to complete the online bachelor degree. The Graduate Route are for those graduates of any discipline to gain an additional undergraduate degree by following a shorter program. The minimum duration to complete the online bachelor degree is two years.

Entrance Criteria for the Online BSc Accounting and Finance, University of London

The followings are the criteria to be admitted into the Online BSc Accounting and Finance bachelor degree:

• At least 17 years old and either have passes in:
- two subjects at GCE 'A' level, plus at least three further subjects at GCSE/GCE 'O' level at Grade C or above or
- three subjects at GCE 'A' level (with one 'A' level at not less than Grade D) or
- three subjects at GCE 'A' level and one further subject at GCSE/GCE 'O' level at Grade C or above or
- two subjects at GCE 'A' level, plus two further subjects at GCE 'AS' level and
• demonstrate competence in Mathematics at least equivalent to GCSE/GCE 'O' level at Grade C or above and
• provide proof of competence in English which is acceptable to the University. A test of proficiency may be required and
• if you wish to register for any of the law units (with the exception of unit 27) online access is also a requirement for registration.

Application for the Graduate Entry Route

In addition to the qualifications above you must hold a full first degree completed in a minimum of three years duration on a full-time basis (or equivalent) from a university or other institution acceptable to the University of London.
If you do not have traditional 'A' levels or their equivalent, the Access route has been designed to provide you with an entry route to the degrees in the fields of Economics, Management, Finance and the Social Sciences. The Diploma in Economics, a qualification in its own right, similarly provides an entry route to these degrees (please note that for the Diploma in Economics attendance at an institution that has been given 'permission to teach' by the LSE is compulsory).

Fees and Cost of the Online BSc Accounting and Finance, University of London

The total fee payable to the University is £3,013 for the Standard Route. The Graduate Entry Route costs £2,278. Please note that these figures do not reflect any annual fee increase and assume completion in the minimum study period permitted.

All fees must be paid in pounds sterling, which may be paid either by a credit card recognised by Mastercard International or by the Visa group OR by banker's draft, cheque or postal order (not including Canadian Postal Orders), made payable to 'The University of London' and crossed 'a/c payee'.
Other costs
In addition to the fees payable to the University, you should also budget for:
• textbooks (approximately £300 per year)
• tuition costs (if you are studying at a teaching institution)
• if you are taking exams outside London you will have to pay an additional fee to your local examination centre for administration and invigilation (this fee will vary).

This conclude the review of the Online Bachelor Degree for BSc Accounting and Finance from University of London.