Bachelor of Arts (Honours) BA (Hons) in Accounting with Finance with Placement

BA (Hons) in Accounting with Finance and with Placement

Course Overview

  • 4

    Year

  • 8

    Level

  • US847

    CAO Course Code

Why take this course?

Accounting Awards winner
Accounting Awards winner

The BA in Accounting recently won the award for Excellence in Education in Training at the Irish Accountancy Awards on the 1st of September 2022. This award confirms that the programme is among the best in the country and that graduates of this programme will be even more in demand.

The newly revamped BA in Accounting maintains the emphasis on accounting exemptions, while introducing two new themes, Professional Skills and Digital Skills. Preparing graduates for employment, the Professional Skills theme that runs throughout the programme encompasses a range of skills, practices and activities to build the professional competencies demanded of the modern workplace. To further enhance employability, the Digital Skills theme within the programme encompasses a range of software skills widely used in the accounting profession.

At the Department of Accounting and Business Computing our lecturing staff have extensive industry experience as well as high academic standards. With a strong legacy of accounting within the department, the lecturing team will ensure that graduates are knowledgeable, skilled and well prepared wherever their career takes them.

What’s the difference between this programme and the Accounting with placement?

Other than the year-long placement, all other modules and exemptions are identical.

Why should I do the four-year programme with placement?

There are three key reasons why you should do the placement:

- After graduation, you will have to undertake a three year training contract to become a qualified accountant. By taking this year-long placement, it can be counted towards your training contract, reducing it to two years

- it will make you more employable. Most employers give preference to graduates that have completed a placement.

- you will develop as a person and as a professional

Do I need to have studied accounting for the Leaving Certificate?

No! All our year 1 courses assume no prior knowledge of accounting.

How do I become an accountant after graduation?

After graduation, you will undertake an additional three-year training contract to become a fully qualified accountant.

What will I experience?

The TUS Athlone BA in Accounting has been totally revamped, with three key areas as follows -

Accounting:

  • This programme is a 4-year, Level 8 honours degree
  • Maximum exemptions from the professional bodies
  • A number of new and contemporary modules that ensure graduates are up to date on current trends in the accounting profession


Professional Skills:

  • The introduction of a professional skills theme will develop the student’s
  • soft-skills, with a focus on employability. These skills include how to search for a job, how to develop a professional portfolio and how to find internships and placements
  • This theme also formalises student contact with industry, with guest lectures, industry events and opportunities to build a professional network prior to graduation
  • The Department of Accounting and Business Computing prides itself on the large number of links and contacts it has within the accounting profession, both locally and nationally
  • This four-year programme has a year-long placement in the third year


Digital Skills:

  • Key emphasis put on developing students’ digital skills.
  • These skills range from using office applications to embedded certificates from companies such as Sage, which are awarded in addition to the degree, thereby increasing graduate employability
  • The programme also introduces Data Analytics and Visualisation – an area of increasing importance to the accounting profession

What opportunities might it lead to?

Do you want to be more employable when you graduate? If so, this is the accounting degree for you. In addition to focussing on professional and digital skills, the programme also enjoys a large number of exemptions from professional bodies, such as Chartered Accountants of Ireland, ACCA, CPA and CIMA. These exemptions reduce the number of professional exams you will have to take once you graduate when you start your training contract. Details of the exemptions are as follows:

  • ACCA offers graduates exemptions from nine papers out of 14 required for qualification.
  • Chartered Accountants Ireland grants exemption from CAP1 for students who pass and achieve at least 50% in year 2 and year 3 modules.
  • CIMA awards graduates of the BA (Honours) in Accounting exemptions from eight out of the 14 examinations in their professional course.
  • CPA Ireland offers graduates exemptions from 10 out of the 15 examination papers through their FastTrack programme.

Graduates also have the option of pursuing a number of Masters programmes within TUS Athlone, including the MA in Accounting, the MSc in Data Analytics or the Masters of Business.

Course Details

Course Duration:
4 Year
CAO Course Code:
US847
Course Award:
Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
Course NFQ Level:
Level 8
Department:
Dept of Accounting & Business Computing
Minimum Entry Requirements:

Grade H5 at higher level in two subjects, plus Grade O6 at ordinary level in four other subjects in the Leaving Certificate. Two of these subjects must be Mathematics and a language (English or Irish).

QQI (FETAC) QQI applicants to this programme must hold one of the following awards: Business Administration (5M2468), Business Studies (5M2102). They must also hold distinctions in 3 modules.

Sign up our CAO mailing list

Student Testimonial

 Profile Image

2019 BA in Accounting Graduate - Will Power

"The knowledge and practical skills gained throughout my time at AIT has given me a solid foundation upon which to build the rest of my career". Will Power, Graduate Management Trainee, Lidl Ireland.

Student Testimonial

 Profile Image

BA in Accounting Graduate - Joy Salaja

"To anyone considering a career in accounting, I'd say go for it! Once you get your degree, the world is your oyster", Joy Salaja, Head of Accounting, EY Global Fusion

Course Structure

Year 1

Critical Skills for Learning*
Business Law
Financial Accounting 1A
Management Accounting 1A
Business Mathematics 1*
Computer Applications
Financial Accounting 1B
Management Accounting 1B
Corporate Law 1
Economics for Accountants*
Organisational Management 1
Taxation 1

*denotes new modules

Year 2

Financial Management 1
Organisational Management 2
Corporate Law 2
Information Systems*
Sustainability for Accountants*
Applications for Accountants*
Financial Accounting 2
Management Accounting 2
Data Analytics and Visualisation*
The Evolving Professional*


*denotes new modules

Year 3

Work Placement (year long)

*denotes new module

Year 4

Corporate Reporting
Management Accounting 3
Taxation 2
Financial Management 2
Strategic Management
Audit and Systems Review
Professional Skills & Personal Development*


*denotes new modules

Course Facilities

Careers & Opportunities

Career Prospects

BCA Tullamore
BCA Tullamore

​BCA Accounting and Advisory, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, provide a full range of proactive financial, taxation, business advisory, audit, company secretarial and commercial services to a broad range of clients. These vary from sole traders and family run businesses to large corporate groups and come from a wide range of business areas, including; Retail, Hospitality, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Medical, Educational, Government, Charities, Construction and Financial Services.

BCA have developed a strong working relationship with the academic staff and students of TUS Athlone as it continues its evolution into a Technological University. In addition to offering an industry perspective to assist TUS Athlone with the development of programmes in the Business and Accounting areas we are also avid supporters of its student work placements and regularly employ TUS Athlone graduates on our trainee program, Peter Sullivan, senior partner and member of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Work Placement

A unique feature of this programme is the year-long work placement.

Commencing preparation for placement in year 2, students will take the brand new, career-focused module, The Evolving Professional. In this module, students will learn what it means to be an accounting and develop the skills to prepare them for the work placement.

The placement commences in September and has a duration of 12 months.

Career Prospects

Nick Linane & Co.
Nick Linane & Co.

​Nick Linnane & Co is a practice located in Moate, Co. Westmeath and is a regular contributor to the accountancy programme in TUS Athlone. The company’s clients are well spread geographically and cover a wide range of sectors. They vary in size from large companies to small sole traders. Such broad coverage enables Nick and his team to advise on the numerous financial, taxation and operational implications of operating any business.

Having hired a number of Accounting graduates from TUS Athlone, I can attest to the quality education that they receive. In addition to receiving the maximum number of exemptions from professional bodies, the accounting program gives students a solid, well-rounded basis for a successful career in the profession. As well as hiring graduates, I am also delighted to work in an advisory capacity with the academic staff in the development of current and new programmes. Nick Linnane, owner.

Facility Gallery