Spotlight on… Accounting and Business Department

Are you a natural leader, critical thinker, innovator or have numbers all figured out? Then you could leave your mark on the world with a career in accounting or business.

Whether your end goal is to climb the corporate ladder to become a CEO or a CFO, or you want to channel your entrepreneurial spirit into launching your own company, you’ll need the right skills, experience and knowledge to make your plans a reality.

Invest in your education and learn about what makes the world go round by studying a degree or higher education course at University Centre Rotherham.

Read on to find out how the accounting and business department at University Centre Rotherham can help you achieve the qualifications needed to make it in the corporate world.

What is a career in accounting and business and where could I work?

Forget the stereotypes of horrible bosses, stuffy offices and spending hours hunched over a desk crunching numbers. The modern corporate world offers one of the most dynamic career paths.

A career in business could look like starting your own company, working in business management or consultancy, handling sales, marketing and PR, or working in human resources.

The role of an accountant is also varied and more than just making sure wages and invoices are paid. Accountants play a vital role in driving business growth, innovation and social responsibility, and ensure a company has accurate information needed for regulatory compliance, decision making and financial transparency.

Accounting and business management roles are present in all businesses, across all industries, and in every country around the world. You could get into forensic accounting, auditing and financial analysis, become a payroll officer, leger supervisor or accounts clerk at a company, or work in public finance for the government, NHS or charities.

Job security is a major benefit of this sector, with ample opportunities and routes for promotion.

We have had past students who have gone on to work for chartered accountancy firms, in administrative roles for private companies, or advance to masters level study in areas like international financial trade and wealth management.

What could I study at University Centre Rotherham?

The accounting and business department teaches the universal language of business and finance, providing area specific exams, employability skills, and industry work experience.

Whether you are new to the industry, aiming to switch careers, or need formal qualifications to secure promotion, there’s a course for you.

Here at University Centre Rotherham, we offer two higher education courses in this department: a bachelor’s degree in business management and the ACCA diploma in accounting and business.

Which option should I choose?

The two disciplines overlap each other in many ways. Accounting is the language of business, and many businesses fail due to poor financial management.

Some students choose to do both, such as 2023 business management graduate, Harry. Alongside his degree, Harry, who has autism, also chose to take the level 2 ACCA qualification in the final year of his degree. Through the business course, Harry realised his favourite subject was finance and his goal is to work in private equity or hedge funds. Having his ACCA qualification, as well as voluntary work experience in the bursary department of his local parish council, gave Harry the edge to secure an unconditional offer for a masters degree in wealth management. He’s also returned to University Centre Rotherham this year to do his level 3 ACCA exams.

What option you choose will depend on where you see your career going and your learning style. Each course requires its own set of skills, so you need to think about what your strengths and long-term career ambitions are.

Let’s look at what each course offers and how it could impact your ability to reach your career goals. 

BA (hons) in Business Management

If you want to break into management roles, consider doing the business management degree.

The bachelor’s degree is a three-year course that’s accredited by University of Hull. You’ll develop a solid grounding in key elements such as business theory, management, economics, entrepreneurship, marketing, accounting, and business law.

In the first year, our students learn about things like marketing planning, accounting and finance, what makes a good business environment, and the principles of contemporary business practice. Second year students progress to topics like business law, research methods, and how to manage people.

Then in the final year, you’ll get to choose a specialism – finance and accounting, marketing, or HR and management – and develop a business plan with that in mind.

Is it worth taking a business course if I want to start my own business?

You don’t need a degree to become start a company, but it’s not a walk in the park. Going to university to study business will give you a good understanding of basic economic principles, how to manage people who eventually work for you, and how to assess whether a business idea is profitable and sustainable in the current climate.

And who knows, you might even meet your future business partner at University Centre Rotherham.

ACCA Diploma in Accounting and Business

If you’re looking to get into accounting or progress in your administrative career, the ACCA diploma is probably the better option.

Most employers seeking out accountants want candidates to have chartered ACCA status. They know that people who have taken the ACCA route have a clearer career direction; they’re strategic thinkers with strong financial know-how and business acumen.

The level 4 diploma is the highest level of the ACCA’s Foundations in Accountancy (FIA) qualifications. You’ll sit three chartered exams in financial accounting, management accounting, and finance and business technology.

On completion, learners can then progress through to the final applied skills chartered exams from levels 5 to 7.

To enrol on the course, you’ll need to have done either ACCA or AAT level 2 or 3 qualifications. But we also consider contextual applications for mature students who have professional experience in accounting but don’t currently hold any relevant qualifications.

We find that the ACCA diploma attracts mature students who wish to retrain or improve their job prospects within administrative roles, with students joining the course even in their 60s. However, we also have some exceptional students aged 16 to 18 who are studying ACCA in addition to their level 3 extended business diploma at our sister site, Rotherham College.

There is also an even split between students who are self-funding their course, and those whose employers are sponsoring the course as part of an employee benefit.

Is the accounting diploma hard?

Accounting is one of the most challenging courses offered at University Centre Rotherham, but that’s because there’s no coursework. Success rates hinge solely on external exams that are either graded as pass or fail.

However, the ACCA diploma at University Centre Rotherham has consistently high pass rates of 90 percent and above, which is 30 percent higher than the national average.

The ACCA also has the highest attendance data across RNN Group and a 100 percent retention rate, which means all students who have passed level 2 or 3 return to University Centre Rotherham to complete the next level of study.

Experience gold-standard teaching

Success rates like this are testimony to the hard work and dedication of our curriculum team.

The department recently been awarded Gold approved learning partner status from ACCA for its accountancy tuition. To date, there are only 14 gold accredited ACCA centres in the UK, the nearest being the University of Bolton.

This quality kitemark is one of the highest set by ACCA and pays homage to the outstanding quality of teaching, learning and assessment, success rates and high level of student satisfaction.

The department was assessed on 12 performance targets related to student expectation and experience. The curriculum team’s teaching methods are consistently improving and our staff have created a fantastic learning environment within the accounting and business department.

All our tutors have industry experience, such as accounting curriculum lead tutor, Conal White, who followed a similar path to many of his students.

After leaving school at 16, Conal trained as a plumber but quickly found this wasn’t the career for him. He got a job in payroll at Rotherham College at 18, through which he completed his accountancy qualifications. He then moved into industry, spending ten years as an auditor in the medical industry, before returning to his roots to teach at Rotherham College. He’s been based at University Centre Rotherham since it opened in 2018 where he leads the higher education accounting courses.

Real Graduate stories:

Karen Chapman

Once a young mum with no qualifications and no idea what to do, Karen is now the finance manager of the RNN Group.

After 13 years as a business administrator, Karen invested in her career prosects by signing up to the ACCA course at University Centre Rotherham. She passed the level 4 diploma thanks to great support from Conal and the team.

While studying, she applied for a job at RNN as a finance assistant and was promoted after three months due to the knowledge and skillset she learnt from the course.

“My time at University Centre Rotherham was fulfilling and enriching. I have completely changed my career path and direction as a result of my time here. I have grown personally and have learnt so much about myself as a human being. To any student who is considering studying accounting, I can wholeheartedly recommend the RNN Group,” she says.

Read more about Karen’s journey here

Liam Senior

From coming of age at 18, Liam has been a bingo caller at Buzz Bingo. When he hit Dirty Gertie (30) Liam realised he wanted to better himself and improve his work-life balance. His employer agreed to fund his ACCA qualifications and Liam has passed his level 2 exams, advancing onto the level 3 qualification.

With the ACCA qualifications under his belt, Liam was promoted to financial reconciliations officer at Buzz Bingo’s head office, responsible for reconciling transactions to ensure financial validity, as well as investigating any discrepancies.

He said: “When your career is in something you enjoy and are interested in, it doesn’t feel like you are doing work. Whilst studying accounting at University Centre Rotherham, I realised that analysing discrepancies and trying to fix them was something that really intrigued me.

“The course has allowed me to figure out which areas of Accounting I prefer and enabled me to choose an appropriate career path. It took getting to the age of 30 to realise I wanted to better myself, improve my work-life balance and become a fully qualified accountant. Taking this step has enabled me to do all of these things, as I have a career I am truly happy with and I get to spend more time with my family.

“It is never too late to start a new career and change your life.’’