Finance

Snapshot

Why Study at Dundee?

In the School of Accounting and Finance we aim to help you develop the skills and techniques needed for a variety of exciting careers in Finance.

The term finance is normally used to refer to the management of money and a major part of modern finance study involves examining the way in which large corporations use their funds to generate income and wealth in the future. The programme emphasises the role played by capital markets both in the UK and overseas in this wealth creation process and highlights their importance in the global economy. Where the BFin addresses financial issues relating to UK and Irish companies, the BIFin will provide you with the necessary analytical skills to understand the environment within which multinational firms operate. It will also enable you to make decisions on how these firms select, assess, and finance their projects internationally and provide you with a foundation for understanding and managing the financial risks faced by international firms.

Finance at the University of Dundee is taught by staff in the School of Accounting and Finance as well as by our Economics colleagues in the School of Social Sciences. Staff on these degrees are committed to providing a stimulating, supportive and friendly environment for our students. This commitment was recognised by our rating of "Excellent" by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. All staff, including professors, are teaching and research active; you will therefore be taught by individuals who routinely publish in the finance area.

The BFin and the BIFin programmes have been developed to equip you with the basic skills and techniques that are necessary to embark on a career in the financial sector. In addition, the degrees have been designed to offer exemptions from a number of professional bodies in the UK; it can therefore help you to find a job at the end of your studies because you are exempt from some of the examinations which these organisations require entrants to take. More importantly, staff at Dundee aim to show you how vital the financial sector is both in the UK and overseas. They will show you all aspects of the financing process from the raising of funds by companies through to the complex operation of, and links between, different capital markets.

Students studying finance at Dundee are taught by staff who have either practical experience working in the financial sector and/or who have gained insights into financial practices through research of analysts, company directors and market traders. These insights from practice help inform the teaching of finance at Dundee and are reinforced by student visits to the financial centres of both London and Edinburgh. In addition, a number of visiting guest speakers, drawn from practice, are used in several of the Honours modules to talk about the investment trust sector specifically and the fund management industry in general.

Employability

The BFin and BIFin can enhance your employability by developing your numeracy and analytical abilities, enhancing computing expertise and improving your inter-personal and communication skills. Many students go on to work in the financial services sector either as analysts, fund managers or on the trading floors of investment banks. A large number take professional examinations such as those of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland or the Chartered Financial Analyst Association. The BFin and the BIFin degrees act as an excellent stepping stone into both of these professions, but also cover much of the material required for a number of other professional financial qualifications, including the professional accountancy bodies.

Teaching and Assessment

All students studying for the BFin and the BIFin degrees take a common set of modules in first year (Level 1).

Performance in the first two levels helps to determine whether you are offered the chance to study for the Honours version of the degrees (awarded after four years) or the non-Honours version (awarded after three years). In both cases, the content builds directly on material covered in earlier years. If you embark on the non-Honours version of the degrees, five compulsory modules are taken in the third year (Level 3). Honours students take ten modules over two years, some of which are compulsory with others being selected from a wide range of finance-, accounting- and economics-based modules. Advanced Entry to Level 2 is available to those with suitable grades in Advanced Higher or A-Level (or equivalent) Accounting, Economics and Mathematics.

Our programmes are delivered using a variety of lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, projects and hands-on computer labs. Assessment is by a mixture of coursework (for example, an essay), computer labs, projects based on group assignments and exams. The weightings allocated to assessed coursework and the final examination vary from module to module. Typically 80% is allocated to the final exam but this is less in some modules and more in others. In the first two years of the BFin and the BIFin, three subjects are delivered per semester, each having approximately 5 hours of classes. Consequently, there is approximately 15 hours of contact time from Monday to Friday of each week. We expect students to undertake an additional 20 hours of individual study per week to prepare for classes and revise material covered in lectures or tutorials.

Special Features

Guest lectures are given by experienced accounting and finance practitioners and visits to financial centres (Edinburgh and London) are also organised to help you appreciate the 'real world' application of the discipline. Finance students may also apply to spend a year of their degree in Canada or North America on the Transatlantic Student Exchange scheme or a semester in Australia or Hong Kong.

Programme Content

Notes on Programme Progression

All students studying for a BFin or BIFin degree take a common set of modules at Levels 1, 2 and 3.

Level 1

The six modules taken in Level 1 are:
Introductory Financial Accounting, where the basic concepts of accounting practice, including bookkeeping and the production of external financial reports, are introduced;
Introductory Management Accounting, where students are introduced to the foundations of costing and accounting for planning and control;
Statistics, where statistical methods such as probability theory and regression analysis are presented, as well as other quantitative techniques relevant to modern business activity;
Information Systems, which provides hands-on experience of the modern software applications relevant to accounting and finance as well as introducing students to some of the theoretical concepts relevant to the processing of information in large organisations.
The fifth and sixth modules introduce students to economic theory and analysis.
The first module, Global Perspectives, uses practical examples to illustrate how economic principles apply to real world situations, for example the manner in which modern competitive markets operate.
The second module, Foundations of Economic Analysis, introduces students to fundamental economic concepts such as pricing theory, resource allocation and fiscal policy.

Level 2

Level 2 of the BFin also consists of six modules; these are designed to build on and develop the theoretical and practical material covered at Level 1.

The modules are:
Intermediate Financial Accounting, which builds on Level 1 by introducing students to UK regulatory requirements and some key contemporary accounting issues such as accounting for goodwill;
Intermediate Financial Management which builds on some of the material covered in Level 1 by introducing students to techniques used in practice to appraise financial and capital investments as well as discussing working capital management and long-term fund raising;
Financial Decision Analysis, which examines the modern techniques used in financial decision analysis including linear programming, queuing and inventory modelling;
Management and Information Systems, which discusses contemporary management theories and case studies as well as developing the information technology skills and systems theory introduced in Level 1.
The fifth and sixth modules build on the economics modules from Level 1.
The first module, Microeconomics, builds on the material by considering topics such as business interaction in competitive markets and the link between corporate decisions and the cost of goods and services.
The second module, Macroeconomics and Economic Statistics, adds depth to the issues covered in Level 1 by introducing students to the debate about appropriate monetary and fiscal policies as well as explaining the methods used in analysing open economies. This module also comprises a section on the use of statistical techniques in economic analysis.

For the BIFin, Management and Information Systems is replaced by International Accounting and Finance.

Levels 3 and 4

Performance in the first two Levels helps to determine whether students are offered the chance to study for the Honours version of the degree (awarded after four years) or the non-Honours version (awarded after three years). In both cases, the material builds directly on issues covered in earlier years. Students taking both the Honours and the non-Honours versions of the degree take five modules at Level 3. Honours students proceed to take a range of compulsory and elective modules at Level 4.

Entry Requirements

2011 Entry Requirements

Your Application

What skills, qualities and experience do I need?

• The main objective of finance professionals is the provision and dissemination of financial information for planning, control and decision-making purposes. Therefore, any student who is thinking of studying finance must be numerate and have excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as strong inter-personal skills.
• An awareness of current affairs and the general subject area is essential. Potential finance students may find that reading broadsheet newspapers, such as the Financial Times, may help in this regard.
• In their day-to-day working life, finance professionals face many challenges that require them to have good problem-solving skills. Applicants therefore need to be able to view and analyse problems from different perspectives, and think clearly as to how an overall solution can be achieved.
• Evidence suggests that, as well as academic ability and excellent communication skills, employers expect potential employees to have integrity, motivation and enthusiasm. During your time at university you should be willing to involve yourself in non-academic activities that allow you to demonstrate these qualities.
• If you wish to gain advanced entry into second year (and complete your honours degree in 3 years) you should have an HND in Accounting or Advanced Higher or A-Level passes in Accounting, Economics and Mathematics.

Tips for your application

• Your personal statement should explain why you are interested in studying finance. You should also tell us of any practical experience you have in the field e.g. acting as a club or society treasurer or taking part in a business enterprise activity at school. We also like to know of your ambitions beyond university and any career plans you may have already formed.
• Your application should contain a prediction of the marks that you are likely to achieve for any exams that you are studying towards at the time of your application. An explanation of the subjects covered in non-UK qualifications gained is also useful.
• Referees should indicate whether they feel an applicant's skills and personality are suited to their choice of course. It is also beneficial to know if an applicant engages in a wide range of extra-curricular activities and if they have been granted any positions of responsibility.
• If you are unsure whether you satisfy the advanced entry requirements for the 3 year honours degree you should apply for this degree alone. Any application that does not meet the requirement for the 3 year programme but does satisfy the qualifications for the 4 year programme will automatically be considered for the latter.

Advanced Entry Honours Degree

It is possible to study for the BFin Finance and BIFIn International Finance Honours degrees in 3 years if you have the required grades and subjects as listed in the Entry Requirements section. There are definite advantages to considering this route as the time needed to study is reduced by one year which enables you to start working and earning earlier.

Contact

Naseem Ahmad
Admissions & Student Recruitment
University of Dundee
Nethergate
Dundee
DD1 4HN
Scotland

Telephone: 01382 388 074 (from the UK)
Telephone: +44 1382 388 074 (from outside the UK)

Email: ContactUs@dundee.ac.uk