Studying Accounting and Finance abroad: A guide for budding number-crunchers
If you’re highly organised and numerate, love analysing data and enjoy looking at spreadsheets then accountancy may be the perfect career for you! Accountants are the backbone of the financial world and are vital to businesses of all shapes and sizes. With opportunities to become professionally qualified and to work for some of the largest companies around the globe, it’s a course that offers amazing prospects for students.
Why study Accounting and Finance?
Why should you study Accounting and Finance abroad? With nearly 70% of Accounting students in the UK going into a graduate-level position within six months of graduating, it’s a subject that promises fantastic opportunities for professional development. But the one big advantage of studying Accounting abroad is the chance to learn about international financial practices in an ever-growing globalised world.
It’s internationally diverse
If you choose to study Accounting and Finance at a UK university you’ll be joining the most culturally diverse student cohort in the country. More than 50,000 students studying Finance-related subjects are from overseas, so you certainly won’t be alone! A diverse student body gives you the chance to learn from different cultures and make friends from around the world. It’s also a perfect environment to network for future contacts who could provide international opportunities further down the line.
Get real world experience
With so many degrees now offering work placements as part of your studies, it’s really worth looking into gaining some professional experience. Universities in the UK usually have various professional connections to companies in the region, offering between a few weeks to a year’s experience at various businesses. In the UK, London is considered the financial centre and offers some of the best employer connections in the world, including top employers like PwC and KPMG. But don’t overlook other cities as they’ll all have unique features and opportunities!
Work anywhere in the world
One of the best things about studying Accounting and Finance is that pretty much every business requires an accountant to manage its finances, so you can work in almost any industry! Studying Accounting abroad exposes you to new cultures and global work practices, and will help to improve your language skills.Take advantage of any opportunity to improve your language skills – from enrolling on English courses, joining university societies or even just befriending home students. Speaking proficient English will give an extra boost to your employability, wherever you choose to start your career.
Become chartered
What does it mean to become a chartered accountant? Essentially, it means you have a professional qualification to practice accountancy that’s recognised internationally. It shows that you’ve undertaken several years of training and passed a number of rigorous exams in a number of Accounting and Finance related areas.
You don’t have to become chartered to be an accountant but it will enhance your employment prospects, as well as improve your salary expectations. Although graduating with a degree in Accounting and Finance won’t automatically give you chartered status, many UK degrees do offer exemptions from the exams would you need to take. This means that, once you graduate, you’ll already have completed some of the exams which count towards the qualification, making your road to chartered status that much quicker and easier.
Study an International Year One in Accounting at INTO Queen’s University Belfast
Study an International Foundation in Accounting, Finance and Management at INTO University of Exeter
Study an International Foundation in Accounting and Finance at INTO London
Study an International Year One in International Business, Accounting and Finance at INTO Manchester
Study an International Foundation in Business, Economics and Accounting at INTO City, University of London
Statistics taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (2017)
