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Accounting

Join a transformative journey into the world of finance and business, where practical skills, professional accreditation, and a global perspective converge to prepare you for a future in accounting.

Accounting
Undergraduate Masters Research

Undergraduate Accounting degrees

At the University of Essex, studying accounting goes beyond the numbers. Our accounting degrees focus on accountability, not just to financiers and investors but to a wider range of stakeholders, including our planet and people.

What is accounting?

Accounting is a systematic process of recording, analysing, summarising, and interpreting financial transactions of a business or organisation to enable stakeholders to make informed financial decisions.

Key components of accounting include recording transactions, classifying and summarising them into financial statements, interpreting and communicating financial information, ensuring compliance with accounting standards, and conducting audits for accuracy and credibility.

Accounting plays a crucial role in business operations, providing the foundation for financial management and decision-making. It helps businesses track their financial performance, manage resources efficiently, and meet regulatory requirements.

An accounting degree opens doors to a rich and exciting career - many of our graduates have gone on to be auditors, tax consultants and business analysts. Your degree will equip you with the knowledge and skills for you to stand out amongst the crowd. Find out more about the skills you will gain and the opportunities an Accounting degree with us can provide.

Why study accounting at the University of Essex?

Our Colchester Campus is home to the UK's first zero carbon business school, Essex Business School, where our commitment to sustainability and ethics is integrated into our teaching. We'll empower you to tackle global challenges strategically such as climate change, pandemics, and global inequality. You'll accounting skills will empower you to provide sound, ethical and sustainable decision making so that you can make a positive impact in the workplace.

Study alongside and collaborate with renowned researchers such as Professor Ilenaa Steccolini, who highlighted accounting's role in swift accounting decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic or Dr. Rebecca Warren, who works alongside local communities organisations to help make real-world social change and improvements to local communities. 

Our undergraduate bachelor degrees also allow you to pair accounting with subjects like finance, economics, and management, offering a solid understanding of financial drivers in business leadership.

Essex Business School is:

  • In the top 200 globally for accounting and finance in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024.
  • Professionally accredited (ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW), providing exam exemptions for a quicker path to a professional qualification and ensuring you’ll learn the practical skills you need to qualify as an accountant in a range of sectors.
  • A truly international business school, with students and staff from over 150 countries.
Students working in the trading room
Discover where a degree in accounting could take you

A degree in accounting will prime you for a career in the financial services sector but you could also find your niche working for small-medium sized enterprises too. Graduate roles in accountancy are abundant as businesses of all sizes need to be accountable for their finances.

Find out more
Fia Almanda, Britain's Got Talent 2016 star and BSc Accounting and Finance 2019 student
"I chose to study BSc Accounting and Finance because at sixth form I studied accounting, business, economic, maths and further maths so all my subjects were linked to accounting and finance. I realised I liked the subject and chose to study further at university."
Fia Almanda BSc Accounting and Finance Essex Business School
Apply to Essex
Find out how to apply to Essex and discover the resources we provide to support you with your application
Professional accreditation
Many of our courses are professionally accredited and give you exemptions from some professional exams. This means you can gain a professional qualification quicker, by taking fewer exams after you graduate.
Life after graduating: career advice from recent graduates
Watch four Essex Business School graduates talk about their experiences of being a recent graduate and how their degree from Essex Business School helped them to get a foot on the career ladder.

Masters degrees in Accounting

Our teaching and research in accounting are grounded in how accounting is practised around the globe.

We offer Masters courses for students who want to continue their studies in accounting or business, as well as programmes for students who are new to the subject and want to fast-track to a career in the accounting profession.

Accounting at Essex goes well beyond the preparation of financial statements. We teach you to be accountable, act ethically and make financial decisions that positively impact both organisations and society. We aim to inspire a business-minded and socially driven Essex accounting graduate.


Why study here?
  • Professional accreditation for some of our courses gives you the opportunity to get a head start on your career.
  • We offer a number of courses for you if you've never studied accounting before, as well as specialist programmes if you want to extend your knowledge.
  • You’ll learn from experts who are leading researchers in their field meaning you can be confident your studies are always right up-to-date with professional practice.

Essex Business School

Essex Business School Masters degrees with the business school Our research accounting group Professional accreditation Careers and employability within accounting
Find out more about the application process
Find out how to apply to Essex as a Postgraduate Student and discover the resources we provide to support you with your application
How we are supporting you with the cost of living
We believe no one should miss out on an Essex education. And, as the ongoing cost of living crisis is making life harder for students we want to ensure we do all we can to support all of our community.
Postgraduate events
Discover more about studying as a postgraduate student at Essex through one of our Open Days or dedicated Postgraduate events.

Research degrees

Accounting informs almost all areas of business, from strategy to outsourcing, and operational planning to environmental policies.

To us accounting means more than cutting costs and managing transactions. It’s vital for ensuring accountability by encouraging sound, ethical decision making.

We’re home to world-class researchers and academics and we are ranked in the top 200 globally for accounting and finance in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024.

The University of Essex is also ranked in the Top 175 for Business and Economics in THE World University Rankings by Subject 2024.

We belong to the Social Sciences Faculty within the University, meaning we have strong connections with other departments and can supervise innovative interdisciplinary projects. We support our PhD students to design and conduct the research project they choose, rather than telling them to complete it in a particular way.

We’re pleased to be able to offer a number of integrated PhDs, for students who have a strong research proposal but who do not have previous research or Masters-level study experience.

Why study here?
  • You’re part of a vibrant research community, challenging conventional thinking to make organisations better places to do business.
  • Limited research training or don't have a Masters? You can still gain a PhD with our integrated PhD route.
  • We’re home to two thriving research groups in accounting offering plenty of opportunity for research collaboration and supervision.

Start your application with us

Explore our accounting research by theme or your area of interest and find a supervisor that can support your through your studies. More information can be found about research degrees on our school pages. Our courses below will help guide you through the various research degree programmes we offer.


Explore funding opportunities Ready to apply? Start your application today

Essex Business School

About the business school Research degrees with the business school Professional accreditation

Our research

Accounting Research Group BAFA Accounting and Finance in Emerging Economies Group Essex Accounting Centre Centre for Accountability and Global Development
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