How long is the BSc in Accounting?

Three years full-time, with part-time and accelerated online routes. The BSc in Accounting schedules cohort calls across UK and APAC time zones for distance learners.

Can the BSc in Accounting be studied online?

Yes. The BSc in Accounting runs fully online, on-campus in London and by distance learning, all assessed against the same audit-file simulation and capstone dissertation.

Is the BSc in Accounting recognised by UK employers?

Yes. The BSc in Accounting is a UK honours degree with curriculum reviewed against ACCA, ICAEW and CIMA competencies and with mapped exemptions, credentials UK practices and training-contract employers engage with.

What are the entry requirements for the BSc in Accounting?

BBC at A-level (or IB 28, BTEC DMM), GCSE English at grade 5 and Maths at grade 4, plus IELTS 6.5 for international applicants. Mature applicants may enter on portfolio and short interview.

How much does the BSc in Accounting cost?

Tuition varies by route and domicile. Contact LSIBM admissions for the current schedule and bursary eligibility for the BSc in Accounting.

BSc in Accounting | LSIBM London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The BSc in Accounting at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a three-year UK honours degree preparing graduates for chartered training contracts at UK practices, Big Four graduate schemes and finance graduate programmes at FTSE and mid-market employers. Sitting in the Accounting, Finance & Economics faculty, the degree covers financial reporting to full IFRS, audit and assurance, UK and international taxation, management accounting, corporate governance and a final-year capstone financial-reporting dissertation.

You will complete a live audit-file simulation in year two, sit ACCA-style examinations in the core professional modules, and finish with a capstone dissertation defended in front of a working practitioner. The BSc in Accounting is available on-campus in central London, fully online with cohort calls scheduled across UK and APAC time zones, and by distance learning from 2026, with substantial ACCA Applied Skills and CIMA Operational exemption mapping already agreed for graduates. The programme is reviewed against the ACCA Applied Skills syllabus, ICAEW ACA foundation stages and CIMA Managerial competencies, with case material drawn from live FRS 102 disclosures, HMRC Making Tax Digital rules and the Companies House filing regime.

Undergraduate teaching runs across three years in small tutor-visible cohorts with weekly seminars, module lectures delivered by working senior practitioners, a fortnightly practitioner clinic, a structured placement route in year two and a final-year dissertation with a dedicated supervisor. Every route is reviewed against UK professional-body competencies so graduates leave with a credential UK recruiters, City firms, PLCs and public bodies engage with. Online cohorts share the same intake calendar and receive the same tutor allocation and dissertation supervision as the on-campus route.

Key Features

Curriculum reviewed against ACCA Applied Skills / Strategic Professional, ICAEW and CIMA Management stages, with mapped exemptions.
Three study modes — central London campus, fully online with UK / APAC cohort calls, or distance learning.
Live audit-file simulation in year two using UK-parent, EU-subsidiary group accounts.
Structured UK placement route in year two with mid-market and Big-Four adjacent firms.
Capstone financial-reporting dissertation defended in front of a working practitioner.
One-to-one training-contract application coaching in the final year.
Structured route toward the ACCA Applied Skills exams and ICAEW ACA foundation stages with credit transfer at enrolment.
Assessment combines rolling reporting-and-tax portfolios with a final-year dissertation and a summative case defence.

What You Will Learn

The degree organises the accounting curriculum around the working questions a UK practice or in-house finance team actually asks graduates in their first two years — read the accounts, close the month, run the audit-file, price the tax position, and challenge the numbers when the story does not add up.

Financial reporting to full IFRS and UK GAAP (FRS 102), including group consolidations.
Audit and assurance — ISAs, risk-based audit approach, ICAEW audit-practice framework.
UK taxation — corporation tax, VAT, personal tax, deferred tax and international-tax basics.
Advanced management accounting — activity-based, target and strategic cost management.
Corporate finance basics — WACC, DCF, capital structure and dividend policy.
Corporate governance — UK Corporate Governance Code, audit committee, Companies House.
Data analytics for finance — Excel, SQL, Power BI and Alteryx basics.
Ethics and professional judgment — ACCA Code and ICAEW Fundamental Principles.
Financial-analysis dissertation methodology.
Presenting a set of accounts to an audit committee.
Preparing full FRS 102 statutory accounts including all note disclosures.
Running a UK corporation-tax computation with capital allowances and R&D interactions.
Producing management accounts for a UK PLC board audit committee.
Reviewing an ISA UK audit file against controller expectations.
Writing a defensible final-year dissertation on a UK accounting-and-reporting topic.

Who This Course Is For

A-level leavers targeting Big Four, mid-market and in-house UK finance graduate schemes.
International students seeking a UK honours accounting degree with ACCA / CIMA exemption mapping.
Higher Diploma or HND accounting holders progressing to a top-up final year.
Career changers on the portfolio route with substantial UK finance-office experience.
Family-business successors preparing to inherit statutory-reporting responsibility.
Mature applicants entering on the portfolio route from a UK finance office background.

Career Pathways

Graduates typically progress into UK training contracts at ICAEW, ACCA and CIMA practices, and into finance graduate programmes at FTSE, mid-market and shared-service employers. The degree supports applications but does not by itself guarantee training-contract offers. Typical destinations include:

Audit Trainee (ICAEW / ACCA)
Trainee Accountant (Big Four / mid-market)
Management Accountant (graduate)
Financial Analyst
Finance Business Partner (graduate)
Group Reporting Analyst
Trainee Auditor (Big Four)
Assistant Financial Controller

The BSc in Accounting is the natural step onto the MSc in Accounting, an ACCA / ICAEW / CIMA professional-body track, or the MSc in Corporate Finance.

BSc graduates take credit against the ACCA Applied Skills exams, the ICAEW ACA foundation stages, or step onto the LSIBM MSc in Accounting for a senior specialist track.

Entry Requirements

Three A-levels at BBC or above, or equivalent UK / international qualification (IB 28+, BTEC DMM, Access to HE, Foundation Year pass, or a relevant Higher Diploma with confirmed credit transfer); numeracy diagnostic is set at application.
GCSE English Language at grade 5/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or equivalent).
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
A personal statement showing genuine curiosity about accounting (relevant work, extended reading, professional-body engagement) — mature applicants (21+) may enter with a portfolio and a short interview.

Why Study at LSIBM

The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. Undergraduate cohorts sit in small groups so every student is visible to their tutor, run a single intake schedule students can rely on, and every degree route is reviewed against UK professional-body competencies — ACCA, CIMA, CIM, CIPD, CMI, CIPS, CFA UK and IOE&IT — so graduates carry a credential that City recruiters engage with.

London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England and the West End within a short tube ride of every classroom. Undergraduate students access a fortnightly practitioner clinic, at least one industry-careers day per academic year, a structured placement route and one-to-one application coaching in the final year.

Apply for the BSc in Accounting

Launch your UK career with the BSc in Accounting. Click Enrol Now and admissions will reply within one working day with UCAS guidance, intake dates and the current fee schedule. LSIBM undergraduates receive structured placement and application coaching in every final year.