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Unit information: Accounting / Finance Professional Placement Year in 2023/24

Unit name Accounting / Finance Professional Placement Year
Unit code EFIM30032
Credit points 120
Level of study H/6
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director Dr. Bence
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

Must achieve 60% first year average

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one

None

School/department School of Accounting and Finance - Business School
Faculty Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

This unit comprises a year spent in a professional placement, involving work with an organisation which is an authorised trainer with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, having demonstrated that it provides a suitable training environment (within, for example, accounting, IT, insolvency, tax or audit) for students who might wish to complete a part of a professional accounting qualification.

The aim of this unit is to provide students with additional knowledge, understanding and skills derived from spending a period in a financial environment within a commercial, governmental or not-for-profit organisation.

The unit aims to enhance students' understanding of the areas of Accounting and Finance which they have already encountered in years 1 and 2 of their degree, as well as providing them with a practical understanding of areas which they may critique in final-year units (for example, they may choose a role in an auditing department then go on to study our final year unit in Auditing).

In addition, the placement will support personal development in terms of time management, individual responsibility within team-working, an understanding of organisational pressures and entrepreneurial skills.

Your learning on this unit

On completion of this unit students will be able to demonstrate:

  1. knowledge and experience of an industry in an accounting/finance environment
  2. the ability to work within workplace teams to solve problems, manage an employment relationship with the placement organisation and demonstrate understanding of the value of teamwork.
  3. time management and communication skills
  4. reflection upon their own development, identifing potential areas of strength and a strategy to address areas of potential weakness.
  5. the ability to analyse a problem in a work context by applying relevant theories from their academic studies

How you will learn

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions including lectures, tutorials, drop-in sessions, discussion boards and other online learning opportunities

How you will be assessed

Formative assessment required for credit: Interview conducted with student or feedback from placement organisation. Attendance at placement organisation for a minimum of 7 months (with allowance to reduce this given exceptional circumstances). Covers LO 1-3

Summative assessment

  • Essay (80%) 2000 words. The essay covers LO5
  • Reflective Journals x4 (20%) 300 words each - The reflective journals cover LO4

Any reassessment required will be a like for like assessment

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIM30032).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

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