BA Accounting (with CIMA Advanced Diploma)

BETTER QUALIFIED EQUALS BETTER PROSPECTS BA ACCOUNTING (WITH CIMA ADVANCED DIPLOMA) Our new online accounting degree plus a CIMA Advanced Diploma equals the essential accounting skills for business success plus better career opportunities too.

A UNIQUE PROPOSITION BA Accounting (with CIMA Advanced Diploma) is the new online supported distance learning degree from Aberdeen Business School at Robert Gordon University (RGU). It gives you the opportunity to gain a degree and a professional body award whilst also progressing your career and achieving your personal goals.

This innovative course provides you with a unique opportunity. It can help you to develop a range of appropriate technical and non-technical skills which will lay the foundations for a successful career in the increasingly competitive business world.

How is this achieved?

With tuition support at all stages, students study and sit exams for all of the CIMA papers from certificate to management level, leading to the award of the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting. At the same time various RGU modules are studied and assessed and the combination leads to the award of the BA in Accounting.

For students who already hold the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting – and have at least six months of relevant work experience – we offer a top-up option in order to achieve the BA Accounting award.

What study options are there?

We anticipate that students will be able to combine this student activity with their working career and maximum flexibility has been built into the design. Fast-track students will study over a three year period. Students can, however, spread the activity over a longer time frame – up to six years – in order to accommodate a greater work commitment or indeed other outside interests. The top-up option follows the same ethos – and is available over either one or two years.

Why Robert Gordon University?

Robert Gordon University is based in Aberdeen – the oil capital of Europe. We pride ourselves on being ‘The Professional University’ and we have an outstanding international reputation for producing confident, highly employable graduates who progress to successful professional careers. Our recent accolades include: – ‘The Sunday Times’ Top Modern University in the UK 2012 “A degree from Robert Gordon University is as near to a guarantee of a job as you can get.”

– ‘The Times’ Top Modern University in the UK 2009-2011 – ‘The Guardian’ Best Modern University 2010

Our experience in online Distance Learning is long standing and we currently successfully deliver several courses to a global audience including our increasingly popular and highly regarded AMBA accredited MBA programme.

Academic members of staff are ably supported by Educational Technicians who are constantly exploring new ways to harness the ever improving technology to enhance our online distance provision.

What is the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting?

The CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting is a recognition award awarded to students reaching the appropriate stage on the path to membership of the highly – and globally – regarded professional body, The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

How and what will I study?

For all stages of the degree course, material is housed through our extremely interactive student portal, and we utilise the highly acclaimed CIMAstudy.com material alongside material developed within the University. We supplement the material with interactive tuition support from our experienced team who utilise synchronous and asynchronous online tools such as discussion forums, group exercises, web seminars, virtual tutorials, pod casts and quizzes to provide a fully supported learning environment.

Despite our supported distance learning students studying remotely from all over the world we aim to provide an experience similar to our on campus students. We actively promote group learning and business skills with a view to developing valuable communication and networking opportunities. At the same time we encourage students to become independent open learners and therefore, irrespective of their location, students experience a high quality, well supported learning experience.

Students will sit the relevant CIMA examinations at their local CIMA exam centre and submit all their coursework based RGU assessments through the University’s student portal.

STAGE ONE The first stage of the degree incorporates the five CIMA certificate level papers, assessed by Computer Based Assessment.

You will study the full range of subjects, from financial accounting to ethics, giving you a strong introduction to the accounting and business knowledge that you will build on through your degree course.

In addition you will study a module focussing on academic and professional skills, developing generic skills, writing skills, presentation skills and team-working skills. These skills are developed further as the degree progresses – and as skills desired by every employer, are vital to your future success.

STAGE TWO

STAGE THREE

The second stage of the degree progresses your skills training further with a focus on business and presentation writing, whilst developing your analytical and research skills through relevant coursework.

The final stage of the degree course gives you the opportunity to extend your skill set further through two contemporary modules – Academic Literature Review and Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability – where you will demonstrate your ability to study a subject to a deeper level.

You will study the three CIMA operational level papers – assessed by CIMA examination – covering management accounting (performance) and financial accounting, whilst the enterprise pillar enables you to study business and enterprise theory. In addition you will have the opportunity to develop and apply this theory further by submitting coursework to the University. Your Accounting skills will be enhanced by the study of both the Theory and Practice of Auditing.

You will also complete the three CIMA examinations required to achieve the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting – and extend this knowledge to assessments set by the University.

TOP UP OPTION The top up option allows students already holding the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting to enter the degree course at Stage Three to achieve the BA Accounting degree.

Our aim is to ensure you graduate with the skills that you would have gained had you studied the full degree course and the module selection for this route reflects that.

All of the modules require strong business and academic skills and we give you the opportunity to develop these with focussed supported learning.

What is the detailed structure of the course?

STAGE ONE:

TOP UP OPTION FOR STAGE THREE:

Semester One – Fundamentals of Financial Accounting – Fundamentals of Business Mathematics – Fundamentals of Business Economics Semester Two – Professional and Academic Skills for Accountants – Fundamentals of Management Accounting – Fundamentals of Ethics, Law and Corporate Governance

Semester One – Auditing Theory – Auditing Practice – Enterprise Concepts – Financial Concepts – Performance Concepts Semester Two – Academic Literature Review – Corporate Responsibility – Practical Management Accounting

STAGE TWO: Semester One – Auditing Theory – Auditing Practice – Enterprise Operations Semester Two – Performance Operations – Financial Operations

STAGE THREE: Semester One – Enterprise Management – Performance Management Semester Two – Academic Literature Review – Corporate Responsibility – Financial Management

Modules are subject to change at any time and without notice.

How can I find out more?

Detailed information about the course structure, fees and the application process can be found on our website: www.rgu.ac.uk/baaccountingcima You can also contact the course leader directly by email to BaAccCIMA@rgu.ac.uk or use the other contact details found on our website.

A final word from Professor Elizabeth Gammie, Head of Department “Within the department our focus is on delivering high-quality theoretical and applied accounting and finance education. Our students benefit from the opportunity to develop the appropriate skills to become effective practitioners and researchers in their chosen area of accounting and finance.

“Our department has a good reputation for providing high quality education and this is underpinned and informed by research and corporate engagement.

“The vision for our portfolio of courses, is to ensure we equip our graduates for career progression and central to this is a mutual understanding that they must be ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of a changing economic and business environment. Our courses are continuously developing and we are dedicated to providing our students with the best possible learning experience.

We look forward to welcoming you onto our course and wish you every success in the future.”

Aberdeen Business School Robert Gordon University Garthdee Road Aberdeen AB10 7QE

Talk to us.

We can answer any questions or queries you may have.

Simply call us on 01224 263208, email BaAccCima@rgu.ac.uk or visit us at www.rgu.ac.uk/baaccountingcima